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CEO/party boss
By John Maginnis , Columnist

01.18.05

When the governor's husband flew to a football game on a Shaw Group jet along with officials of a Japanese company considering building a plant in Louisiana

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Raymond "Coach" Blanco was being used to show off to the Shintech execs, for whom Shaw is hustling to build a $1 billion plant,

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Now, as more questions are raised about the Blancos' relationship with Shaw CEO Jim Bernhard (Chairman of the Democrat Party in Louisiana)

The flight of the first gentleman followed closely the story of Shaw replacing another company doing design work on the $100 million Union Tank Car plant to be built with the help of a $30 million state subsidy. When Shaw also won the construction contract, two other firms complained that they were excluded from bidding.

Shaw didn't have to fly Coach Blanco around to impress Shintech executives with how tight Bernhard is with the First Family. One needed only to read about the Mansion reception the governor held to introduce Bernhard to members of the Democratic State Central Committee or to see her seated next to him when he was elected as its new state chairman (of the Democrat Party).

Now that Bernhard has gone from political player to party boss, the question to raise is not ethical but practical. How does the CEO of a publicly traded Fortune 500 company function as a party chairman?

Shaw works for many companies receiving government contracts or public subsidies.