A 1971 graduate of UL with a B.S. in marketing, Tom Schedler was appointed first assistant secretary of state three years ago to serve as Jay Dardenne's second in command. Dardenne has moved on to serve as lieutenant governor.
Tom Schedler, a former state senator and St. Tammany Parish politico, will serve his first full week as interim secretary of state beginning Monday. A 1971 graduate of UL with a B.S. in marketing, Schedler was appointed first assistant secretary of state three years ago to serve as Jay Dardenne's second in command. Dardenne was recently elected lieutenant governor.
The New Orleans native will serve the remaining year of Dardenne's unexpired term. He will also oversee a daunting task for any secretary of state: congressional reapportionment. The state will receive figures from the 2010 census next spring, and the secretary of state's office will be instrumental in the redrawing of congressional districts. It's widely anticipated that Louisiana will lose one of its seven House districts, which could pit Rep. Charles Boustany, R-Lafayette, against newly elected Rep. Jeff Landery, R-New Iberia, against one another in a new district covering much of south Louisiana.