Posted on 04/13/2007 3:53:55 PM PDT by Ellesu
http://www.thenewsstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070413/UPDATES01/70413023/1002/NEWS01
rules:link only
John Breaux announces he will not be a candidate for governor of LouisianaBy CAPITOL NEWS BUREAU
Published: Apr 13, 2007Former U.S. Sen. John Breaux announced late Friday that he will not run for governor.
Breaux said in a statement that he does not want to be in a courtroom weeks before the election fighting a legal battle over his eligibility.
“For me to run now means that we would face a campaign based on an eligibility to run,” he said.
Attorney General Charles Foti declined Friday to give his legal opinion on whether Breaux is a “citizen” of Louisiana as candidates for statewide office are required to be.
Foti said that is a question that can only be answered by the courts.
Candidates have to sign up in September for the Oct. 20 race. So far, several Republicans — U.S. Rep. Bobby Jindal of Kennever, state Sen. Walter Boasso of Arabi and New Orleans businessman John Georges — and Democrats Public Service Commissioner Foster Campbell of Bossier Parish and the Rev. Raymond Brown of New Orleans are committed to running.
Gov. Kathleen Blanco is not seeking a second term.
Text of announcement:
“Ever since Governor Kathleen Blanco announced she was not running for re-election I have expressed my strong interest in running for Governor.I did so because I have received an enormous amount of encouragement and numerous requests to enter the race from people across our state. My interest would be to provide leadership in order to help bring our people together, regardless of party. The issues of healthcare, education, economic growth, crime and many others need to be our focus and solutions can only be achieved with bipartisan cooperation.
Because questions were raised about my eligibility to run and efforts were made to prevent my running through advertising attacks, I said that I would be guided by an opinion of our attorney general. I have always felt that this issue needed to be settled as soon as possible so that the governor’s election could be about the important challenges we face and not about me personally.”
“The Attorney General has stated he cannot issue an opinion on the facts of this very important matter. I was hopeful that an unambiguous declaration would clearly state what I have believed from the very beginning: I am a citizen of the state and therefore qualified to run for Governor of Louisiana. While I appreciate the hard work of the Attorney General and his office, the failure of a clear declaration of my status as a citizen greatly inhibits my ability to conduct a campaign based on the issues instead of the law.
I said I would be guided by the Attorney General’s opinion and therefore will not be a candidate for Governor. For me to run now means that we would face a campaign based on an eligibility to run, with the prospects of being in a courtroom only weeks before the election. That is not in the best interest of our state or what this election should be about.
This is a crucial time for Louisiana. The election must not be an old style campaign of political destruction, but a debate on who has the best ideas and who can best implement them into public policy.
We must also do everything we can to encourage our people to return to Louisiana, to be involved in public service, in business and help unite and build a new and better Louisiana.
I plan to stay involved in anyway that I can to be helpful in that process. I was born in Louisiana, my entire career has been in service to Louisiana and I will always be a Louisianian.
Finally, let me say to all of the many people who encouraged me to run how much Lois and I sincerely appreciate your faith in me, your support and most importantly your true friendship. We will never forget how much you have meant to me and my family.”
Sounds like an excuse to me, blaming it on the rules and the Attorney General’s decision not to issue an opinion.
Most Democrats would read that as amounting to permission to run. I suspect he may want to leave the possibility open for some future time when he returns to Louisiana. Meantime make more money in Washington at the country’s most influential lobbying firm.
In any case, it’s the first really good news for Republicans in some time.
Expect the New Orleans Machine to run Foti out of the state.
excerpt: [complete opinion at the link above]
IV. Conclusion
The questions posed in your request rest on issues of fact. Since 1918, it has been the policy of this office that no opinions will be rendered on issues of fact.[15] In addition, the law favors qualification and places the burden of proving otherwise on the party challenging a candidate’s eligibility. The law does not provide for or require “pre-qualification.” Under the existing statutory scheme which presumes qualification subject to legal challenges by a registered voter, the issue of Mr. Breaux’s eligibility can be resolved definitively only by the courts, if challenged. It also has long been the policy of this office to decline to render an opinion on matters where litigation appears likely. Therefore, I must refrain from rendering an opinion on the ultimate factual issue of whether Mr. Breaux is qualified to run for the office of the governor.
I hope this sufficiently answers your inquiry; if I can be of any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me.
With best regards,
Charles C. Foti, Jr.
LOUISIANA ATTORNEY GENERAL
Some of our local pundits have speculated that Breaux may have been looking for a way out of this race or was only flirting with it all along.
In any event, he may have just decapitated the Democrats’ chances of holding on to the governor’s mansion. Governor Jindal, here we come.
If Jindal does a great job as Governor, then he could be promoted to the White House in 2016.
Good news for Jindal.
I work with some engineers from a client’s Baton Rouge office. What I have been hearing has been that since Blank-O’s handling of the Katrina mess (which I think was criminal), Jindal’s numbers have been increasing.
I guess Breaux doesn’t want to have to pay back Stellys, and Fees for his Maryland purchases, like the rest of us here in the socialist state of Lousyanna.
I guess when the polls show he would lose he said what the point.
Rules.....Schmules....they’re only for Republicans, and you KNOW that John.
The reason that Breaux didn’t run was because he was trailing Bobby Jindal by double-digit margins in the polls. And IMHO, Breaux was the best candidate the Rodents could have run.
I feel great about this race.
This is the most fantastic thing I have heard all week. I plan on working a couple of hours in Jindal’s booth at the Franklin Parish Catfish Festival tomorrow (if we survive the storms tonight) ... can’t wait to see what he thinks about this!
Who gets Jindal’s seat? We can’t give up more ground in the House.
Don’t worry. Jindal’s seat is my congressional district, and it’s not going RAT. It voted 71% for Bush. It’s made up of the suburbs between Lake Ponchatrain and the Mississippi River, and fast growing St. Tammany parish to the north.
I don’t know who would run. My current state senator Ken Hollis might. Steve Scalise would be a terrific choice, but he’s moving from the state house to run for state senate this year. We’ve got some good people here.
GO BOBBY!
You are kidding - Breaux was trailing that badly? I thought he was really popular.
Bodes well for defeating Landrieu in 2008 - especially if they are smart and use clips of her tirades after Katrina (including threatening to punch the President).
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