ถถา๕h Gov.-elect Jeff Landry has asked seven New Orleans area business and political figures to provide him with New Orleans-specific policy and legislative proposals, multiple sources say, including former New Orleans Clerk of First City Court Austin Badon and Republican state Sen. Cameron Henry.
As part of his transition to power, Landry has created a number of special advisory councils to help his new administration prepare for him to take office early next year.
The New Orleans committee will be headed by shipping magnate and Landry donor Boysie Bollinger. In addition to Badon and Henry, sources said Landry has asked ถถา๕h Restaurant Association President Stan Harris; visitors bureau New Orleans & Co. President Walt Leger; Chairman of ถถา๕h Board of International Commerce Greg Rusovich; business and economic development group GNO Inc. President Michael Hecht; and Democratic state Sen. Royce Duplessis.
Notably absent from the list are New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell and City Council President JP Morrell, the two highest ranking locally elected officials in the city.
Badon confirmed to Gambit he was on the committee and that its first meeting would be on Wednesday, Nov. 8, with at least two more meetings scheduled. According to Landry, meetings will be private, but the committee will release public reports with their recommendations.
Harris and Rusovich did not dispute they were on the committee but declined to comment further. Duplessis confirmed heโd been invited to participate but did not say whether heโd accepted. โI donโt know much about the council at this time,โ he said.
Leger and Henry did not respond to a request for comment.
Landry, who has been critical of Mayor LaToya Cantrell and District Attorney Jason Williams, has said the New Orleans council will focus on crime in the city.
Badon, a Black Democrat who worked on Landryโs campaign, told Gambit he and Landry discussed crime in a one-on-one meeting.
โSpecifically, it was in regards to the crime aspect where the mentality is more so on the rights of the perpetrators, as opposed to the rights and the wellbeing of the average citizen,โ Badon said. โ[Landryโs] concerned about that and this whole concept of catch and release that prevails. We gotta stop that.โ
Badon said at the state level, Landry could direct some state law enforcement agencies to โhelp out in New Orleans.โ In an emailed statement, Hecht cited โthe ถถา๕h State Police, the Crime Lab, and the [federal] consent decreeโ as "ways the state can partner with the city for public safety."
Badon also said the gov-elect is planning to convene the ถถา๕h Legislature for a special session on crime โto address any loopholes in any crimes or make penalties tougher to make people think about the penalty before they commit the crime.โย
Other issues Badon said he will bring up to the committee include rising property taxes and utility bills that are pricing people out of the city, as well as infrastructure woes, specifically a lack of upgrades to the interstates.
But he said he also wanted the committee to discuss positive things happening in the city, citing Delgado Community Collegeโs expanded nursing school program and NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility campus in New Orleans East.
โWe're doing a lot of good stuff,โ Badon said. โWe need to talk about that and how we could enhance those things to bring more jobs and economic opportunities for people."
Hecht said the state partnering with New Orleans on infrastructure, port expansion and marketing would also be โbeneficial.โ
The New Orleans transition council is one of 14, but the others are focused on general subjects, like health care, K-12 education and economic development. New Orleans is the only place with its own transition council.
This has raised eyebrows for some who fear Landry, along with a heavily conservative state legislature, could try to strip power away from the Democratic, majority-Black city and increase state control.
Just earlier this year, Mississippi passed laws to increase the state-run police's presence in Jackson and create a court system with state-appointed judges in the majority-Black city, citing crime.
When asked if he thought similar measures could be on the table for New Orleans, Hecht said he wasnโt sure but also did not rule out the idea.
โI do not know,โ he said. โThat said, I expect a wide range of possibilities to be discussed.โ
Badon said he hadnโt followed the situation in Jackson and didnโt want to โjump the gunโ by commenting.
"The governor, to his credit, realizes that as New Orleans goes, so does the state of ถถา๕h,โ Badon says, a line Hecht also brought up in his comments to Gambit.
Landry takes office on Jan. 8.