Jay Dardenne: incumbent. Photo by Shreveport-Bossier Convention and Tourist Bureau. Billy Nungesser: challenger. Photo by Gage Skidmore. Three weeks ago I thought I’d be the only one to plumb the lurid depths of the lieutenant governor’s race between Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser and incumbent Jay Dardenne. But, happily, pundits of all stripes have jumped […]
Tag: David Vitter
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Opinion
Will strange bedfellows come back to haunt Billy Nungesser?
Nungesser works the room at the recent Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans. Photo by Gage Skidmore Outspoken Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser is picking up endorsements from prominent Republicans as he runs for Lieutenant Governor against incumbent Jay Dardenne, who is himself a Republican. The first nod was from U.S. Sen. David Vitter, who […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Government & Politics
Leadership Forum impresario still hasn't paid contractors left in the lurch from April event
By Ariella Cohen, The Lens staff writer | Nearly two months after globetrotting entrepreneur Bill Loiry told The Lens that he would pay stiffed New Orleans contractors who worked on a Gulf Coast Leadership Summit held here in April, most still haven’t been paid in full. Megan Hargroder, left, tweets from the Gulf Coast Leadership […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Opinion
Tea Partyers lick chops as GOP moderate enters presidential fray
Former Utah governor Jon Huntsman announced for president this morning, which may well mean it’s downhill from here. That’s right, national Huntsmania may never get more intense than it is right now, so let’s all savor this political apex. I suspect it will be fleeting. Huntsman is a Republican who served as U.S. ambassador to […]
Posted inOpinion
Like healthcare repeal, Vitter's math-challenged pitch is dead on arrival
By Jed Horne, The Lens contributing opinion writer | With Louisiana’s David Vitter in faithful lockstep, U.S. Senate Republicans made good on their promise to put repeal of “Obamacare” to a vote and just as predictably have been defeated. The party-line vote came amid Democrats’ accusations that the GOP had no alternative, no meaningful plan […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Opinion
What can brown do for Vitter?
While polls show Sen. David Vitter with a comfortable lead over Democratic challenger U.S. Rep. Charlie Melancon, Vitter’s campaign remains in attack mode. This month, Vitter’s team released a TV ad claiming Melancon voted to award “actual welfare checks” to illegal immigrants. The political advertisement depicts “illegals” pouring through a border fence in celebratory fashion […]
Posted inLand Use
Senate action helps chances for New Orleans housing
Just a couple weeks ago, affordable-housing proponents had little hope that developments to replace the public-housing complexes torn down after the levee failures would materialize. A damning federal assessment of the Housing Authority of New Orleans stated that, “Two of HANO’s Big Four the former Lafitte and B.W. Cooper projects mixed-income deals are in jeopardy. […]