Republican Jefferson Parish President John Young marked his map from Bogue Chitto to Tickfaw as he plotted out the trail to visit all 22 of Louisiana’s state parks during his campaign for lieutenant governor.
Young personally visited and toured the parks and the Louisiana State Arboretum and saw some problem areas he thought he could fix.
“I think the challenge we have is making sure our state parks are properly funded, properly staffed and have a proper maintenance budget because they’re assets for our state that are deteriorating due to budget cuts,” he said.
Young faces three other contenders for the job soon to be vacated by incumbent Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne: Republican state Sen. Elbert Guillory, Democratic East Baton Rouge Parish Mayor-President Kip Holden and Republican former Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser.
Young said he plans to build his platform from the ground up, like he did in his campaign for Jefferson Parish President.
Young grew up in Jefferson Parish before graduating from Loyola University with a bachelor’s degree in public administration. He obtained his juris doctorate from the University of New Orleans.
Throughout his collegiate and graduate experience, Young said he paid his way through school by working in the tourism and hospitality industries in roles ranging from fry cook to bartender.
Young worked a brief stint as a maritime defense attorney, representing oil and gas service companies in the offshore oil industry. He became a firm partner and started his own practice 10 years later.
“I learned the difference between endorsing the back of the check and signing the front of the check,” Young said.
In addition to his private law practice, he also worked as an assistant district attorney and prosecutor in Jefferson Parish for nearly seven years. In 2003, he was elected councilman-at-large and council chairman for the parish and was re-elected in 2007.
A corruption scandal plagued the parish in 2010 when its former parish president, former attorney and former chief administrative officer were all indicted on federal corruption charges. A special election was immediately called.
Young, who was in the middle of his second term as Parish Councilman-at-large, ran and won with 80 percent of the vote.
“Literally 10 days after I got elected, I was sworn in as Parish President and had to go about not only running the second largest parish in the state, but also … rebuilding the public’s confidence and trust in the parish government,” Young said.
He said he regained constituent trust by creating the Office of Inspector General, the first of its kind in parish history. He made the office independent of the parish president’s office and the parish council, so it would have its own budget source.
Young said he was able to create the office without imposing any new taxes.
He also garnered public support by calling two executive orders: cancelling all government-issued credit cards — including his own — and putting every parish contract online after inviting the Louisiana Bureau of Governmental Research to conduct a study on Jefferson Parish’s contracting process.
After these executive orders, Young said Jefferson Parish became one of the most transparent and accountable models for parish governments in Louisiana.
He said his unique skill set, acquired from his legal career as an assistant district attorney and prosecutor, works to his advantage when dealing with the negative influence of crime on tourism.
“[Crime] has a negative impact in both the growth of the tourism industry and the ability for us to attract retirees to our state, which is also a function of the lieutenant governor’s office,” Young said.
Young said he would like to see the lieutenant governor’s office better funded and see Louisiana establish itself as a retirement destination and see Hollywood increase its presence in the state to attract younger people.
If elected, Young said he would make sure every community receives its fair share of tourism dollars by promoting all areas of the state equally.
“That’s what makes Louisiana such a special place — every corner of this state, every parish of this state, has a unique story to tell,” Young said.