Shockwaves continue to reverberate in Louisiana after state Senator Karen Carter Peterson, chairman of the Louisiana Democratic Party, forced the resignations of Louisiana Gambling Board Chairman Ronnie Jones and Ernest N. Morial Convention Center Board President Walt Leger III, a former state representative. Both men had been appointees of Governor John Bel Edwards.
The action occurred as the state Senate held a private session to consider 700 appointees by Edwards to his cabinet and dozens of boards and commissions. It leaves the gambling board without a chairman as Jones was overseeing the reopening of the state’s gambling industry.
Jones said, “It was a total surprise to me. After the Senate had adjourned, I got a call from a staffer with the Senate and Governmental Affairs Committee. He said, ‘I have to tell you that you were not confirmed.’ I said, ‘Excuse me?’ He said it again, and I said, ‘Wow.'” He added, “This isn’t how I anticipated 46 years of state service wrapping up. I respect the process, but I don’t think it serves the citizens of the state very well.”
Peterson used a fairly uncommon procedure allowing senators to block the appointment of an individual who is a registered voter in their district. Traditionally, senators give the governor or appointee advance notice if they have concerns, but Peterson did not do that for Jones, Leger and nine other Edwards appointees she blocked. No reasons have been given yet for blocking Jones or Leger.
State Senator Sharon Hewitt, who chairs the Senate committee that holds confirmation hearings, said, “There’s not a whole lot I can really say about that. All of those discussions would happen in executive session, and so I’m not able to share any of that. I’m sworn to confidentiality, as is every senator and staff member that was involved.”
Jones was appointed gambling board chairman by former Governor Bobby Jindal in 2013. A retired state police deputy superintendent, he helped the agency oversee the launch of riverboat casino gambling in the state in the 1992. Jones is one of the most respected regulators in the U.S., with an enlightened attitude toward gaming oversight and cooperation with all parties.
Fifteen months ago Peterson was forced to admit she had a gambling problem, after an anonymous source leaked to a local television station that Peterson violated a self-imposed ban on entering Louisiana casinos and was issued a summons.
