Governor-Elect John ‘Bel’ Edwards has tapped Democratic State Senator Ben Nevers to coordinate his transition team and be the administration Chief of Staff.
Of Nevers, Edwards says "he knows state government. He has the relationships necessary to help me do what we have to do and he is fully committed with respect to the issues we’ve raised in this campaign."
Nevers served one term in the House of Representatives from 2000 to 2004, followed by three terms in the Senate, reaching his term limit this year.
The past two years, he led the push for Medicaid expansion in the Senate. In 2014, after seeing his bill killed in committee, he got lawmakers to pass a bill to implement Governor Jindal’s “America Next” plan for healthcare coverage. During debate on the Senate floor, Nevers asked, “Why shouldn’t we allow our Governor to implement this here in Louisiana and he can point back to Louisiana to show how successful it’s been?"
Nothing came of the bill after state health officials said it would only work if Obamacare was repealed.
He was also the author of the now-controversial Louisiana Science Education Act in 2008, which opened the door for teaching creationism in public schools.
Nevers was honored to be chosen by Edwards for Chief of Staff, especially since he feels he’ll be leaving the Senate with work undone on the budget. "Let’s face it," he says, "we’ve passed the buck onto next year, for the next Governor to deal with these issues. It’s an immediate problem that we cannot afford to go on any longer."
He says the vote the people of Louisiana made November 21 convinced him to remain in state politics. "It renewed my belief that the people want what’s right for our state. They realize that we have fiscal and other problems in this state, and they want them fixed. And I think they indicated that by electing John 'Bel' Edwards," he explains.