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If You Don’t Have Anything Nice to Say: Candidates Debate

The four major candidates for governor participated in a forum Thursday, put on by the Public Affairs Research Council in Baton Rouge. Scott Angelle, Jay Dardenne and John Bel Edwards each appeared in person, while David Vitter participated via pre-recorded video.

Predictably, they sniped at Governor Bobby Jindal.

“The only thing transparent about our governor right now is his ambition for further office at the national level,” Lt. Gov. Dardenne quipped.

Each candidate was asked about the governor’s lack of transparency—in particular, invoking “deliberative process” as the reason for withholding information as consistent response to public records requests.

“The privilege must not be used as a catch-all phrase to deny access to public records,” stated Angelle, who is a Public Service Commissioner, LSU System Board member, and a former Jindal cabinet member.

“Under our present governor, the deliberative process privilege has been an abuse of power,” responded Edwards, who leads the Democratic Caucus in the Louisiana Legislature.

Vitter compared his record to Jindal’s, saying, “I think all my work in public service has been marked by outreach, openness, transparency.”

But Dardenne challenged the audience not to accept Vitter’s self-description.

“Elect people with a reputation for doing the right thing—people whose actions are going to make us proud, and not become the feedstock for late-night television jokes,” Dardenne said.

But mindful of the old adage, “If you don’t have anything nice to say…” PAR president Robert Travis Scott also asked the candidates what they think Jindal has done right.

“The emphasis that has been placed on job creation during this administration has been admirable,” Dardenne said.

Edwards gave the governor credit for “sticking with the coastal plan.”

Vitter said Jindal did well by “focusing on choice in education.”

And Angelle applauded the privatization of the Charity Hospital system.

“For too long, we were the only state to deliver health care services to those in need through an unsustainable state-managed hospital system,” Angelle said.