Lagasse and Yenni run for Jefferson Parish president

30th March 2015   ·   0 Comments

By Christopher Tidmore
Contributing Writer

They finally believe that John Young is going to actually qualify to run for Lieutenant Governor, at least to the extent that Mike Yenni and Elton Lagasse finally felt confident enough to announce their campaigns to replace him.

The fact that the incumbent Jefferson Parish President has spent months campaigning for Lt. Gov in towns from Amite to Zwolle, commissioned campaign videos about his bid for statewide office, and raised $2 million for the effort, did little to dissuade the Jeff Parish political intelligencia that, in the end, Young would qualify for re-election to his current job.

That reality kept the list of potential candidates for Parish President from announcing their candidacies until comparatively late — in comparison to election years past. Yet, with a Facebook posting on March 9 from Councilman At-Large and former Jeff Schools Superintendent Elton Lagasse revealed he would run, followed eight days later by the formal campaign launch of Kenner Mayor Mike Yenni for Jefferson Parish President, followed by Lagasse’s massive kickoff party last Wednesday, the expectation that Young was seriously not going to stand again seemed to be finally accepted.

But not by all, as political consultant James Farwell noted in an interview with The Louisiana Weekly. “John has been a good parish president…but he has flirted with running for other offices in past…notably Congress…and a lot of people still think he may not run.”

Farwell is not one of them, though. “I think John is serious. They only thing that could get him out of this race is if Jay Dardenne decides to run for Lt. Governor again.” And, Farwell believes that’s not going to happen. He noted that Dardenne has a difficult road to make a runoff, which is why the speculation has been that the current Lt. Governor would renege on a bid in favor of re-election has occurred.

With Democratic State Rep. John Bel Edwards enjoying endorsements from the AFL-CIO and other prominent progressive groups, and U.S. Senator David Vitter having what Farwell called “an incredibly strong base” in the metro New Orleans area and amongst conservatives state­wide, the pathway to a Gubernatorial runoff for Dardenne is difficult. Even though, many confess, that he is the one GOP candidate that could beat Vitter in a head to head matchup.

That pathway out of the primary be­comes even more bleak when GOP Public Ser­vice Com-missioner, former Jin­dal Admini­stra­tion Na­tu­ral Resources Sec­retary, and St. Martin Parish President Scott Angelle is factored into the Governor’s race. Hence, the ardent belief in Baton Rouge that Dardenne would demur, and with his powerful incumbency employed for re-election, he would eliminate any chance to win Lt. Governorship for Young (or his fellow candidates, Billy Nungesser, Kip Holden or Elbert Guillory.)

Still, Elton Lagasse, who could have easily won re-election to his Council At-Large seat, jumped into the Parish President’s race firmly. And, he could not easily reverse his choice, as District 5 Councilwoman Cynthia Lee-Sheng (daughter of Harry of ‘blessed’ Sheriff memory) has already announced her bid to replace him in the At-Large post, and candidates are already lining up for her District 5 seat.

Moreover, to emphasize La­gasse’s resolve at running for President, the former Jeff School Board member, Superintendent, and current At-Large Councilman threw a huge, formal campaign launch on March 25, 2015 at the Crossing, a private reception hall in Kenner’s Rivertown. It was a costly affair, with food, drink, and two large banners flanking the candidate. One showed his photo and read “experience;” the other was entitled “leadership.” Together they underscored the theme that at 75, Lagasse has a lifetime of service that he could draw upon, nearly twice the years of his 38-year-old opponent.

“Much has been said about my age,” he told the crowd. “They are going to hang that around my neck…I don’t care.” For a reason, listing his experience, he turned his septuagenarian status into a virtue of vision.

Lagasse noted how Orleans Parish residents were more optimistic about the future than Jeffersonians, according to a UNO study. His years would give him the ability to see a better future, and in a dig at both Yenni and the current Jefferson Parish President Young, Lagasse also said they would render him the ability to “unify.” Both men have had contentious relationships, at times, with their respective councils.

Lagasse’s affair at the Crossing occurred at a Rivertown venue whose renovation into a venue hall is one of the claims to fame of his opponent, Mike Yenni. Its conversion also remains a point of controversy, as some in the crowd remembered. Until late 2011, the converted railroad station served as the “Toy Train Museum” anchoring a street of museums from the Mardi Gras to Wildlife to Native American collections.

Yenni closed the museums for lack of funds, selling off parts of the collections that the city owned, and returning the remainder to their donors. “No one is coming to Rivertown to go to a museum,” he observed to The Weekly, noting the anemic attendance records.

Of course, the historic strip sits only blocks from where Elton Lagasse grew up. The revitalization of historic Kenner under Aaron Broussard and his successors had the museums as an intrinsic element. Yenni showed that the buildings could be successful utilized for other purposes, such as the conversion of the railroad station into the “Crossing.” It still rankled some in the crowd, though, and perhaps the candidate who chose that venue in which to announce his Presidential campaign.

The irony of the Mayor who closed the “Mardi Gras Museum” is that Yenni’s claim to fame as employee in Jefferson Parish government (before leaving to be Chief Administrative Officer for Councilman-turned-Kenner Mayor Ed Muniz) was the creation of “Family Gras.” This Metairie Mardi Gras weekend of live music performance between the parades, of bands and costumes mixing with a festival atmosphere in front of Lakeside Mall reinvigorated the crowds attending parades on Veterans Blvd, at least for a couple of days during Carnival.

At 30, Yenni was known as “Mr. Mardi Gras” in Jefferson Parish circles. Lagasse left unmentioned in his speech the moniker he has come to carry. While he noted his work on flood control, levees, and quality-of-life issues, La­gasse glossed over one of his signature projects, the massively overbudget but finally opened Jefferson Performing Arts Center.

Likely, Yenni will have little trouble reminding the voters how the new theatrical complex on Airline Drive spiraled millions of dollars over budget, nearly double the initial allocation. Many blame the current Jeff Council and President.

The danger of such a strategy is that the architect responsible for the faulty designs of the complex leading to almost a complete rebuild was hired by Aaron Broussard. Neither Lagasse, nor John Young, signed that initial contract.

Young himself has had to dodge allegations that he was responsible for the spiraling costs of the complex from his opponents, particularly former Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser. The Jefferson Parish President noted accurately that the contracts were finalized long before he assumed the Presidency in a special election upon the resignation—and later imprisonment—of Aaron Broussard.

With two strong candidates vying for Parish President, Young would now have little chance of reversing course, and staying in his current job. It’s Lt. Governor or bust, and the Parish President explained to The Weekly, that’s okay with him. “I’m extremely serious about becoming Lt. Governor,” he maintained.

His pathway to a runoff will have to overcome two challenges, as the field is currently constituted. He must stop Nungesser from siphoning support in their joint base in the metro New Orleans area. At the same time, he must not be drawn too far to the Right in a fight with Elbert Guillory, a favorite of the Tea Party. Navigating those candidates, in a runoff with Democrat Kip Holden, Young must emphasize his centrist management skills against those of the popular Baton Rouge Mayor-President, without losing conservatives.

The “R” behind Young’s name makes that somewhat easier. Louisiana’s conversion into a GOP State, helps against those obstacles. However, there remains a possibility that Holden might not actually remain in the Lt. Governor’s race, at least according to some insiders. Should that happen, Young would face a GOP runoff as the more moderately conservative candidate against either Nungesser or Guillory.

He would be quite formidable in such a scenario, both in the primary and runoff as the Republican most able to win Democratic votes in the City of New Orleans. Perhaps that’s why John Young has had little hesitation giving up his “safe” re-election to the Parish Presidency.

This article originally published in the March 30, 2015 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.