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Where EAST meets the Northwest
GOVERNOR’S BALL. Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal and First Lady Supriya dance with their son Shaan, three, and daughter Selia, six, during the Inaugural Ball at the River Center in Baton Rouge, La. (AP Photo/Arthur D. Lauck)
From The Asian Reporter, V18, #4 (January 22, 2008), page 8.
Bobby Jindal takes office as Louisiana’s 55th governor
By Melinda Deslatte
Associated Press Writer
BATON ROUGE, La. — The dancing and celebrating behind him, new Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal moves into office with a slate of hefty promises to rehab the state’s corrupt image and to reverse what he called "decades of failure in government."
Jindal, a Republican, recently took office as the state’s 55th governor, putting a decidedly new public face on Louisiana government, often stereotyped as a haven for backslapping good ‘ol boys who hold office for decades.
The 36-year-old son of Indian immigrants, Jindal is the nation’s first elected Indian-American governor and Louisiana’s first nonwhite governor since Reconstruction. He’s the nation’s youngest sitting governor, and many of his top administrators are new to the halls of the Louisiana Capitol.
"We will come to this Capitol to make a clean break with the past," the new governor told an audience of about 3,000 people who gathered on and near the state Capitol steps where Jindal took his oath of office from the state Supreme Court’s chief justice, Pascal Calogero.
Also taking office were six other statewide elected officials: Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu, Secretary of State Jay Dardenne, Attorney General James "Buddy" Caldwell, Treasurer John Kennedy, Agriculture Commissioner Mike Strain, and Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon. The 144-member Legislature was sworn in earlier in the day, with more than 60 new faces because term-limits wiped out several longtime lawmakers.
The inauguration ceremony, themed "Believe in Louisiana," began with music and a 19-cannon salute, included a series of prayers and religious blessings, and ended with a flyover from four F-15s and the singing of "God Bless America." The inaugural festivities wrapped up at midnight’s end with the traditional, invitation-only formal ball.
Jindal took over from Democrat Kathleen Blanco, who had defeated him four years earlier but whose image was battered by the state’s response to hurricanes Katrina and Rita, both in 2005. She did not seek re-election.
Blanco attended the inaugural ceremonies with three other former Louisiana governors: Dave Treen, Buddy Roemer, and Mike Foster. The state’s only other living ex-governor is Edwin Edwards, who couldn’t attend because he is serving a federal prison sentence on corruption charges.
While Jindal thanked the former governors for their service, he tried to separate himself from the politics of the past and repeated his campaign theme that the state’s problems were rooted in incompetent and corrupt leadership.
"In our past, too many politicians looked out for themselves. Too many arms of state and local government did not get results. And the world took note," the new governor said.
Jindal described hurricanes Katrina and Rita as opportunities to rebuild a better state.
"For reasons beyond our earthly comprehension, this opportunity, this mandate, has been placed on our generation. We must rise to this challenge," he said. "Our goal is a new Louisiana where success is shared by all Louisianians."
To help with his plans, the new governor inherits a healthy state treasury, including a more than $1 billion state surplus, rather than the gaping budget holes left to many of Louisiana’s past governors.
Barry Erwin, head of the nonpartisan Council for a Better Louisiana, said though Jindal’s speech lacked specifics, it gave people a sense of encouragement and optimism about the state’s future. Erwin said Jindal’s challenge will involve managing the high expectations for his term and keeping public support for his agenda.
"It’s really passing the torch to a whole group of new people," Erwin said. "I think there’s a sense this is a real opportunity and not a rhetorical one."