There is more at stake in the upcoming governor’s race than who will become the next governor of Louisiana. The future governor will appoint people to perform jobs ranging from promoting crawfish to improving education statewide.
After this month’s election, the winning candidate will be able to nominate whomever he or she wants to fill empty positions on all the committees in the state.
Steven Johnston, Gov. Mike Foster’s deputy press secretary, said the new governor will take recommendations from experts on who to appoint.
The new governor will not have to fill all of the several hundred appointed positions. Berry Irwin, president and CEO of Council for a Better Louisiana, said the terms are staggered to avoid a complete overhaul.
Johnston said these appointments are “pretty important because they determine who does the actual work of the state government.”
Irwin said it is important to ask the candidates about “the kind of people” they are going to appoint.
“Some are mundane, but the major ones are tremendously influential,” Irwin said of the appointments.
During his term, two of Foster’s appointees on the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education played critical roles in creating school accountability programs such as the LEAP test.
Irwin said this shows how much of an impact an appointed official can have.
Irwin said many factors go in to choosing appointments. The governor has the final say in how they are chosen, and the state Senate must confirm several of the appointments.
“Hopefully, the governor will have a long recruiting process and talk to people about who would be best for positions,” Irwin said.
Robert Hogan, a political science professor, said some positions are simply re-appointed, while some are “political cronies.”
“There’s a place for your cronies, and some need an expert,” Hogan said. He said that those appointed to specialized committees, such as the Medical Advisory Board, must have experience and a vast understanding of their area.
In this election, there are several appointments that will affect current issues facing Louisiana.
Irwin said the Commission of Administration, Department of Health and Hospital and BESE will all be important in the upcoming term.
The DHH will have to deal with health care issues. Irwin said the BESE office is also an important one because the bumps in the school accountability program must be worked out.
Jenny Guillory, a wildlife and fisheries freshman, said appointments were a big deal.
“If they appoint people who don’t agree with the same things I do, that defeats the whole purpose,” she said.
Hogan said appointees will affect LSU in many ways.
“From LSU’s perspective, it’s critical to have someone support making LSU into a flagship university,” Hogan said.