Lt. Governor

The election for Lt. Governor did not create much excitement when announced, and was not expected to generate very much interest to the electorate.

This was before voters realized that the next Lt. Governor is a heartbeat away from the governorship and also would succeed in the event Governor Jindal opts to resign to accept another position.

Many in the state believe the office is superfluous and that it should be eliminated. We don’t share that view.

We believe it serves a good purpose, not just in the ascendency to the governorship in an emergency, but in the role of promoting tourism and economic benefits to the state.

Having said that, we don’t believe the attributes for each office are necessarily the same or that the experience and leadership requisites are equal.

To the contrary we believe the role of a governor in Louisiana, unlike in other states, is that of a Chief Executive Officer. A CEO/Governor must have in-depth knowledge of state government and how government works.

Equally important, the CEO/Governor must have broad-brushed and diversified experiences in leadership that are vitally necessary to cope with 144 legislators, all of whom are independently representing a broad range of constituents with various and sundry interests.

It should be noted, that Jay Dardenne’s governmental service is extensive beginning with service on the East Baton Rouge Council in 1988 to 1991, the Louisiana State Senate from 1992 to 2006, Chairman of the powerful Senate Finance Committee, Chairman of the Senate and Governmental Affairs Committee, Co-Chairman of the Arts in Education Task Force, Chairman of the State Coordinating Council on Domestic Violence and Secretary of State from 2006 to the present.

Dardenne has also held leadership positions as Past President or Chairman of ten non-profit groups. Some of these include emcee of Jerry Lewis’ Telethon for more than 25 years, a member of the National MDA Board, twice chaired the Baton Rouge Organizing Committee for National Senior Olympics.

And finally last but not least, Jay Dardenne, in all of his public and community service, has never incurred the slightest breath of scandal or one iota of any wrong doing.

Jay Dardenne is conservative, has the integrity, the maturity, the knowledge of government, the experience and the leadership qualities to lead not only the Lt. Governor’s office but also the Governor’s office should he one day become Governor.

For all of the above reasons, we can recommend Jay Dardenne for the office of Lt. Governor without reservations.

LSN

Editorials represent the opinions of this newspaper, and not of any one individual.