Students scrambling to math class in their pajamas might bump into the state’s future governor on their way, as a campus residential hall becomes his temporary office space.
As Gov. Bobby Jindal prepares to vacate the Governor’s Mansion, governor-elect John Bel Edwards’ transition team is setting up camp on the 12th floor of LSU’s Kirby Smith Hall, LSU Media Relations Director Ernie Ballard said.
The campus-central transition location is no new phenomenon — Ballard said Jindal and former Gov. Mike Foster both utilized campus for their transitions.
“We didn’t choose this location,” state Sen. Ben Nevers said. “I guess precedent has been set.”
As Edwards’ newly appointed chief of staff, Nevers will spearhead transitional operations on the Democratic governor-elect’s behalf. He said he plans to lead eight transition teams, each with 25-50 members, to discuss how to further Edwards’ objectives and goals.
Nevers said each team deals with distinct subject matters on Edwards’ agenda, including transportation, health and welfare, public education in grades K-12 and higher education.
Nevers said Edwards already has an office in the residence hall, and soon so will he.
Though the entire 12th floor is reserved for the operation, Nevers said none of the individual rooms are large enough to properly accommodate meetings for everyone involved. He said they reached out to administration to use a separate conference room more conducive for a large group of people.
Finance freshman and Kirby Smith resident Nora Zhang said Edwards’ team started taking up the first five rows of parking near the residential hall last week. Residents were asked to move their cars last weekend, she said, behind a fenced-off section.
She also said there is now an elevator just for the governor-elect’s staff to use.
“They did all this without explaining to us what is going on,” Zhang said. “But I’m also pretty excited to see what they are going to do and how it’s going to change my dorm experience.”
An email Zhang received Nov. 22 warned students to “be aware that parking may tow away vehicles as the lot is being rezoned for a temporary state office transition team beginning at 7 a.m. on Monday, November 23.”
Crowd control should not be an inconvenience, she said, as Kirby Smith residents only live in the first 11 floors of the 14-story building.
Other than stir craziness, Nevers said the team has its own obstacles to tackle. Nevers said the budget crisis sits at the top of Edwards’ agenda, while his staff tries to involve people from all sections of the state in his planning period.
With Edwards’ inauguration Jan. 11 and a proposed special session in February, he said the team’s time frame to phase a total transition of government will be difficult.
“All of our schedules really have to coincide with the inauguration of the governor,” Nevers said.