With the governor’s race over and Kathleen Blanco sworn in, many might be wondering what former gubernatorial candidate Bobby Jindal plans to do.
Although Jindal does not plan to run for a seat in the state or federal Senate, he believes that if he were on Capitol Hill, he could use his experiences and understanding of issues important to the residents of Louisiana.
“He is possibly running for Congressman in David Vitter’s seat,” said Jindal’s public relations director Trey Williams. “He is seriously considering it, and he plans to make a decision in the next week.”
Jindal recently endorsed Congressman Vitter for Senator.
“David has been a very good Congressman and a longtime friend,” said Jindal. “If elected Senator, he will champion causes for the state, like coastal erosion.”
Jindal said the oil business and the ports in the state depend on national policies, and that he believes Vitter will work with the president on issues important to both the state and the country.
According to Jindal, the three most important areas of concern in the state are job pay, education and the affordability and quality of healthcare.
As a product of the Baton Rouge public school system, Jindal believes that the city should concentrate on improving the kindergarten through 12th-grade educational system in the city and state. He said that there is a lot of hope after the recent desegregation case in Baton Rouge.
The number one problem in the state, according to Jindal, is the loss of population, especially young people.
Jindal said that the state should aim to keep students from moving to nearby states such as Texas and Georgia after graduation. He believes that the creation of better paying jobs will help this.
“Louisiana has to continue investing in higher education,” Jindal said.
He said the public universities in the state are traditionally under-financed compared to their competitors.
Also, he believes that ideas should be taken from the labs of universities, such as LSU, and used to start local companies.
Despite Jindal’s continued ideas for improving the state, he said he is not yet considering the 2007 gubernatorial election.
“I am not even thinking yet about running for governor in the next election,” Jindal said. “Right now we need to give our current governor our support.”