Gov. Bobby Jindal may have to run for office again if a recall petition is successful.
The Recall Bobby Jindal Campaign is a concentrated effort to rid Louisiana of “those elected officials who have performed their duties with the intention of prohibiting citizen participation in the legislative process,” according to its website.
Recalls for Representatives Ray Garofalo, Kevin Pearson and Greg Cromer and Speaker of the House Chuck Kleckley are also listed.
Lee Barrios, media and communications director for the organization, said the effort began when two teachers from Calcasieu Parish filed recall petitions for Jindal and Kleckley in response to Jindal’s education reforms.
But Recall Bobby Jindal isn’t made up of just teachers anymore.
“This has developed into an ongoing sort of political action by people who are totally dissatisfied,” Barrios said. “Not only with Governor Jindal, but [also] all those legislators who are doing whatever he wants.”
The organization’s efforts have not gone unnoticed.
Jason Dore, executive director of the Republican Party of Louisiana, e-mailed all the chairmen of the Recall efforts, asking for the names and addresses of all who had signed the petition, citing a public records request.
The e-mail also states failure to comply with the Louisiana Public Records Act could “result in the institution of proceedings for the issuance of a writ of mandamus, together with attorney’s fees, costs and damages as provided for by law.”
In this case, a writ of mandamus would force the names and adresses of signees to be revealed.
However, the signees’ information is not covered under the Public Records Act until all the names are verified by the Secretary of State, according to Barrios.
Thomas Filo, a lawyer representing a former Recall Kevin Pearson chairman, said in a letter to Dore, “attempting to secure the names of recall petition signatories prior to filing or certification raises serious constitutional issues under the 1st and 14th Amendments.”
The organization has a September 1 deadline to reach its goal – 1 million signatures. Only 950,000 are needed to force a recall election for Jindal, though.
Barrios said there isn’t a way of knowing how close they are to that goal.
“So many petitions are out that we can’t know the number until the deadline,” she said.
The organization also can’t choose who would run against Jindal in a recall election.
“That’s up to the political parties,” Barrios said. “We are working with, among other groups, the state democratic party. We’re hoping there will be a viable candidate that runs against him.”
The recall organization is supported by the Louisiana Political Action Committee, who helps fund the recall campaign and will support any viable candidate that runs against Jindal, according to Barrios.
 
____ Contact Taylor Balkom at [email protected]