BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Outside groups are trying to influence the decision of who will be Louisiana's next House speaker, in an unusual public dispute that has conservative organizations trying to keep a Democrat from getting the job.
The Republican Party of Louisiana, the anti-abortion group Louisiana Right to Life and the Christian conservative organization Louisiana Family Forum have sent emails to supporters and urged people to contact their lawmakers to oppose Gov.-elect John Bel Edwards' pick for House speaker, Rep. Walt Leger, a New Orleans Democrat.
Governors usually have a heavy hand in determining legislative leaders, an anomaly largely unique to Louisiana.
Senators have coalesced around the re-election of Republican John Alario as Senate president, and Edwards seems to have no objections with the decision. But Edwards' backing of Leger in the majority Republican chamber has irritated some GOP members in the House who wanted one of their own to get the top leadership job.
Republican Rep. Cameron Henry of Metairie is mounting a challenge to Leger.
Rarely do lobbying groups and other outside organizations get publicly involved in legislative leadership elections, but conservative groups have mounted public opposition to Leger.
Henry said Monday that he didn't seek to get the groups involved, but he said sheriffs, district attorneys and other local elected officials have been calling lawmakers behind the scenes and asking them to support Leger for Edwards.
"Members are getting pressure from both sides. It's not just one or the other," Henry said. "So, it's a good balance for having another view of why people should vote for a more conservative member."
The state GOP created an online petition objecting to Leger as speaker.
"The speaker wields the power to set the agenda for the House of Representatives. With John Bel Edwards and Walt Leger calling the shots, all conservative reforms will be dead on arrival," the Republican Party of Louisiana said in an email.
The House speaker chooses the makeup of each subject matter committee and assigns legislation to committees. Those decisions can help determine whether a bill passes or fails.
A speaker needs at least 53 votes in the 105-member chamber. The House has 61 Republicans, 42 Democrats and two independents.
Leger and Henry each say they have enough votes to win the competition if it comes to a head-to-head vote Jan. 11, the day new terms begin and lawmakers select their leaders. Neither contender has released his list of commitments.
Leger didn't return a call for comment Monday.
Gene Mills, president of the Louisiana Family Forum, said in an email to supporters that while Leger is "a very talented and affable guy," he has voted against "pro-family" issues.
Mills said Leger has less than a 46 percent voting record with his group, which scores votes on tax, gambling, education, religion-related and abortion bills. Henry has a 93 percent voting record.
In his email, Mills asks people to call their representatives to "respectfully request that Louisiana values are embraced in casting a vote for House speaker."
Louisiana Right to Life sent emails to current and newly-elected members of the House comparing the voting records of Leger and Henry. The organization wants Leger defeated, saying he has the fourth-lowest anti-abortion record in the House.
"This is not about political party. We have a long history of working with pro-life Democrats and Republicans," Benjamin Clapper, executive director of Louisiana Right to Life, said in a statement. "This is about putting people in leadership positions who resemble the pro-life commitments of our citizens and the pro-life composition of the House."