C.B. Forgotston
Encyclopedia
Charlton Bath Forgotston, Jr., known as C.B. Forgotston (born January 19, 1945), is an attorney
, political pundit, and state government
watchdog who resides in Hammond
, the principal city of Tangipahoa Parish, a part of the Florida Parishes
east of Baton Rouge in southeastern Louisiana
. Forgotston served for seven years at chief counsel of the Appropriations Committee of the Louisiana House of Representatives
. He is an outspoken fiscal conservative and critic of legalized gambling
, unconstitutional legislation, and political corruption
.
in Tensas Parish in northeastern Louisiana. He graduated in 1962 from the since defunct Newellton High School
.
Forgotston thereafter procured a Bachelor of Science
degree in business administration from Louisiana State University
in Baton Rouge. In 1970, he received his Juris Doctor
from LSU's Paul M. Hebert Law Center
. Forgotston then worked for thirteen years for the legislature, the last seven as counsel of the Appropriations Committee. In 1973, he was a senior staff member of the Louisiana Constitutional Convention
, which drafted the current state constitution, ratified subsequently by voters in the spring of 1974. Many prominent politicians were delegates to the convention, including future Governor
Charles E. Roemer, III
, and future Louisiana Secretary of State and Insurance Commissioner James H. "Jim" Brown.
, an organization formed in the middle 1970s to balance the power of organized labor, which was headed for four decades in Louisiana by Victor Bussie
. He was the treasurer and a consultant for the Louisiana Council for Fiscal Reform, a statewide tax-reform interest group. He has been quoted in the major newspaper
s and other print and electronic media across the United States
, including an appearance on CBS's news magazine, 60 Minutes
. He is a fellow of the Institute of Politics of Loyola University in New Orleans. Forgotston has lectured at the law schools at Tulane
and Loyola universities and at the Government Leadership Institute of the University of New Orleans
. The Young Leadership Council of New Orleans selected him as "Role Model for Community Activism". Readers of Gambit Weekly named Forgotston "Best Community Activist" in the New Orleans area.
Clancy Dubos, in the website Best of New Orleans, describes Forgotston as a "dangerous adversary" to the political leadership because, having been staff counsel to the Appropriations Committee, he knows the weaknesses of those in power. "He knows first-hand how lawmakers sometimes pass laws that they know are unconstitutional – sometimes to assuage the demands of an aroused but largely uninformed electorate, but just as often to help themselves and/or their cronies. Forgotston has railed for years about the arrogance of those in power, but no official sin gets under his skin more than lawmakers passing blatantly unconstitutional laws."
Forgotston has been dubbed the "on-line scourge of Louisiana politicians" by the Times-Picayune 's James Gill
. In 2006, Forgotston called for the resignation of Legislative Auditor Steve Theriot
on a matter of conflict of interest
regarding a company of which Theriot was an officer that handled state bond issues.
s, including the statewide Moon Griffon
program based in Monroe
. Like Griffon, he has grown skeptical of Louisiana Republican
Governor Bobby Jindal
, whom Forgotston rates an "A" in "self-promotion" and a "D" for actual performance in office. Shortly after taking office in 2008, Jindal called a special legislative session to focus upon ethics
reform. Forgotston declared that the session "accomplished nothing except it cost the taxpayers money."
Jindal has frequently left the state on political trips, was apparently considered for the vice presidency
in 2008 by party nominee John McCain
, and has been mentioned as a potential candidate for the GOP
presidential nomination
in 2012. Forgotston, however, maintains that Jindal has not yet established a record of real reform in Louisiana, as he pledged in his successful 2007 campaign for governor.
In 2008, Forgotston challenged Jindal's decision to permit the legislature to triple its pay, but as public outrage mounted, Jindal reversed himself and indicated that he would veto a legislative pay raise.
On his website, Forgotston says that Louisiana should not "settle for last place on all the good lists and first place on all the bad lists." He notes that the state ranks last in population gain since 2000, even behind the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico
. This rating has cost Louisiana one of its seven seats in the United States House of Representatives
following the 2010 census
. "Where are the proactive efforts of the Jindal administration?" Forgotston asks.
closed a large casino
in 1995, Forgotston asked: "Why would you go to New Orleans, a historic city like we have, and go sit in some windowless casino? You want to go drive down St. Charles Avenue
. You want to go to the French Quarter
. This is an outdoor city. It would be like going to Aspen
, and spending the whole time in a bar at a video poker machine."
Forgotston maintains that gambling holds decreasing appeal for tourists in that forty-eight states as of 1995 had some kind of legalized gaming, and twenty-five states had casinos either on land, riverboats or Indian reservation
s. Harrah's, a consortium of investors led by Memphis
-based Harrah's filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November 1995 and laid off 2,500 workers at a temporary casino that had opened only six months earlier at New Orleans Municipal Auditorium. The bankruptcy also halted work on a permanent casino on Canal Street, in the heart of the municipal hotel district.
s) and only one Democrat
to the U.S. House of Representatives. The Vietnamese
Republican, Joseph Cao
, of the New Orleans-based 2nd district
, defeated incumbent William J. Jefferson
in a stunning upset in the December 6 runoff election. Forgotston commented on the outcome: "It was a shock to all of us. We would have lost a lot of money if we would have bet on that race. Yes, it was great to get rid of Bill Jefferson, but everybody knows it's just a one-time thing." The assumption to which Forgotston was referring is that Democrats will unite behind a scandal-free opponent in 2010 and easily dispatch Cao. Forgotston was correct in his prediction, and Cao became a one-term member. Despite facing a criminal corruption trial, Jefferson was still assumed to have a formidable get-out-the-vote operation among fellow African American
s. In the general election, only 14 percent of black voters came to the polls, compared to 28 percent of whites, who comprise only 40 percent of district residents. Cao said that wetlands and levee
restoration matters were crucial to his victory.
after Hurricane Katrina
ruined their residence in the Lakewood section of New Orleans. "E.J." Forgotston is a daughter of Troy Adams (1901–1972) and the former Bernice Hart (1912–2002), a retired nurse from Kentwood, which, like Hammond, is in Tangipahoa Parish. C.B. Forgotston, a frequent columnist
and blog
ger, operates the website forgotston.com in which he quotes Voltaire
: "It is dangerous to be right in matters on which the established authorities are wrong."
On June 22, 2009, as a regular guest on the Moon Griffon radio program, Forgotston said that the current Louisiana legislature contains not even a single reliable voice for fiscal conservatism. He noted that three past legislators -- V.J. Bella
, Raymond Laborde
of Marksville
, and Ed Scogin
of Slidell
-- had served as fiscal watchdogs often at the irritation of colleagues. Forgotston also said that the legislators rarely read the bills that they pass and focus on minor matters irrevelant to average citizens.
On August 18, 2009, Forgotston told the Louisiana Commission on Streamlining Government that "state government should stop paying for things that should be financed by local authorities":
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
, political pundit, and state government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
watchdog who resides in Hammond
Hammond, Louisiana
Hammond is the largest city in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 20,049 at the 2009 census. It is home to Southeastern Louisiana University...
, the principal city of Tangipahoa Parish, a part of the Florida Parishes
Florida Parishes
The Florida Parishes , also known as the North Shore region, are eight parishes in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Louisiana, which were part of West Florida in the 18th and early 19th centuries. Unlike much of Louisiana, this region was not part of the Louisiana Purchase, as it had been...
east of Baton Rouge in southeastern Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
. Forgotston served for seven years at chief counsel of the Appropriations Committee of the Louisiana House of Representatives
Louisiana State Legislature
The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...
. He is an outspoken fiscal conservative and critic of legalized gambling
Gambling
Gambling is the wagering of money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods...
, unconstitutional legislation, and political corruption
Political corruption
Political corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by...
.
"It is dangerous to be right in matters on which the established authorities are wrong," says Forgotston in quoting VoltaireVoltaireFrançois-Marie Arouet , better known by the pen name Voltaire , was a French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher famous for his wit and for his advocacy of civil liberties, including freedom of religion, free trade and separation of church and state...
.
Early years and education
Forgotston was born to Charlton Forgotston, Sr. (1913–1987) and Elsa Forgotston (born 1918) in NewelltonNewellton, Louisiana
Newellton is a town in northern Tensas Parish in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Louisiana. The population is 1,227 in the 2010 census, a decline of 255 from 2000. Newellton is some 65 percent African American. It is just west of the Mississippi River on Lake St. Joseph, an ox-bow lake....
in Tensas Parish in northeastern Louisiana. He graduated in 1962 from the since defunct Newellton High School
Newellton High School
Newellton High School was a rural public high school in Newellton in northern Tensas Parish in northeastern Louisiana, along the Mississippi River. NHS operated throughout most of the 20th century until its closure in 2006...
.
Forgotston thereafter procured a Bachelor of Science
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
degree in business administration from Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...
in Baton Rouge. In 1970, he received his Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
from LSU's Paul M. Hebert Law Center
Paul M. Hebert Law Center
The Paul M. Hebert Law Center is a law school in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, part of the Louisiana State University System and located on the main campus of Louisiana State University....
. Forgotston then worked for thirteen years for the legislature, the last seven as counsel of the Appropriations Committee. In 1973, he was a senior staff member of the Louisiana Constitutional Convention
Louisiana Constitution
The Constitution of the State of Louisiana is the cornerstone of Louisiana state law ensuring the rights of individuals, describing the distribution and power of state officials and local government, establishes the state and city civil service systems, creates and defines the operation of a state...
, which drafted the current state constitution, ratified subsequently by voters in the spring of 1974. Many prominent politicians were delegates to the convention, including future Governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
Charles E. Roemer, III
Buddy Roemer
Charles Elson "Buddy" Roemer III is an American politician who served as the 52nd Governor of Louisiana, from 1988 to 1992. He was elected as a Democrat but switched to the Republican Party on March 11, 1991...
, and future Louisiana Secretary of State and Insurance Commissioner James H. "Jim" Brown.
Talking back to power
Forgotston has also served as director of the Taxation and Fiscal Policy Council and a lobbyist for the Louisiana Association of Business and IndustryLouisiana Association of Business and Industry
The Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, known by the acronym LABI, is the largest and most successful business lobbying group in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It was founded in Baton Rouge in 1976, when Louisiana adopted a new right-to-work law during the administration of Democratic...
, an organization formed in the middle 1970s to balance the power of organized labor, which was headed for four decades in Louisiana by Victor Bussie
Victor Bussie
Victor V. Bussie was until his retirement in 1997 the 41-year unopposed president of the Louisiana AFL-CIO, having first assumed the mantle of union leadership in 1956. Journalists often described him as the most significant non-elected "official" in his state's politics...
. He was the treasurer and a consultant for the Louisiana Council for Fiscal Reform, a statewide tax-reform interest group. He has been quoted in the major newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
s and other print and electronic media across the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, including an appearance on CBS's news magazine, 60 Minutes
60 Minutes
60 Minutes is an American television news magazine, which has run on CBS since 1968. The program was created by producer Don Hewitt who set it apart by using a unique style of reporter-centered investigation....
. He is a fellow of the Institute of Politics of Loyola University in New Orleans. Forgotston has lectured at the law schools at Tulane
Tulane University
Tulane University is a private, nonsectarian research university located in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States...
and Loyola universities and at the Government Leadership Institute of the University of New Orleans
University of New Orleans
The University of New Orleans, often referred to locally as UNO, is a medium-sized public urban university located on the New Orleans Lakefront within New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. It is a member of the LSU System and the Urban 13 association. Currently UNO is without a proper chancellor...
. The Young Leadership Council of New Orleans selected him as "Role Model for Community Activism". Readers of Gambit Weekly named Forgotston "Best Community Activist" in the New Orleans area.
Clancy Dubos, in the website Best of New Orleans, describes Forgotston as a "dangerous adversary" to the political leadership because, having been staff counsel to the Appropriations Committee, he knows the weaknesses of those in power. "He knows first-hand how lawmakers sometimes pass laws that they know are unconstitutional – sometimes to assuage the demands of an aroused but largely uninformed electorate, but just as often to help themselves and/or their cronies. Forgotston has railed for years about the arrogance of those in power, but no official sin gets under his skin more than lawmakers passing blatantly unconstitutional laws."
Forgotston has been dubbed the "on-line scourge of Louisiana politicians" by the Times-Picayune 's James Gill
James Gill (columnist)
-Background:James Gill is a graduate of the University of Liverpool who emigrated to the United States in 1977. Since 1986 he has been a columnist for the Times-Picayune in New Orleans, Louisiana.-Times-Picayune columns:...
. In 2006, Forgotston called for the resignation of Legislative Auditor Steve Theriot
Steve Theriot
Steven J. Theriot, known as Steve Theriot , is a Certified Public Accountant from Marrero in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, USA, who served as his state’s legislative auditor from 2004–2009 and as a Democratic member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1988-1996.-State legislator:Theriot...
on a matter of conflict of interest
Conflict of interest
A conflict of interest occurs when an individual or organization is involved in multiple interests, one of which could possibly corrupt the motivation for an act in the other....
regarding a company of which Theriot was an officer that handled state bond issues.
Forgotston and Jindal
Forgotston frequently appears on radio talk showTalk show
A talk show or chat show is a television program or radio program where one person discuss various topics put forth by a talk show host....
s, including the statewide Moon Griffon
Moon Griffon
Blane M. Griffon, known as Moon Griffon is a conservative radio talk show host who broadcasts statewide through station KMLB FM in Monroe, the seat of Ouachita Parish in northeastern Louisiana. He has sometimes been called the "Rush Limbaugh of Louisiana" though his program reflects his distinct...
program based in Monroe
Monroe, Louisiana
Monroe is a city in and the parish seat of Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 53,107, making it the eighth largest city in Louisiana. A July 1, 2007, United States Census Bureau estimate placed the population at 51,208, but 51,636...
. Like Griffon, he has grown skeptical of Louisiana Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
Governor Bobby Jindal
Bobby Jindal
Piyush "Bobby" Jindal is the 55th and current Governor of Louisiana and formerly a member of the United States House of Representatives. He is a member of the Republican Party....
, whom Forgotston rates an "A" in "self-promotion" and a "D" for actual performance in office. Shortly after taking office in 2008, Jindal called a special legislative session to focus upon ethics
Ethics
Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime, etc.Major branches of ethics include:...
reform. Forgotston declared that the session "accomplished nothing except it cost the taxpayers money."
Jindal has frequently left the state on political trips, was apparently considered for the vice presidency
Vice President of the United States
The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
in 2008 by party nominee John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
, and has been mentioned as a potential candidate for the GOP
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
presidential nomination
Nomination
Nomination is part of the process of selecting a candidate for either election to an office, or the bestowing of an honor or award.In the context of elections for public office, a candidate who has been selected by a political party is normally said to be the nominee of that party...
in 2012. Forgotston, however, maintains that Jindal has not yet established a record of real reform in Louisiana, as he pledged in his successful 2007 campaign for governor.
In 2008, Forgotston challenged Jindal's decision to permit the legislature to triple its pay, but as public outrage mounted, Jindal reversed himself and indicated that he would veto a legislative pay raise.
On his website, Forgotston says that Louisiana should not "settle for last place on all the good lists and first place on all the bad lists." He notes that the state ranks last in population gain since 2000, even behind the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
. This rating has cost Louisiana one of its seven seats in the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
following the 2010 census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
. "Where are the proactive efforts of the Jindal administration?" Forgotston asks.
Opponent of gambling
Forgotston has often been a lone public voice against the expansion of gambling in New Orleans. When Harrah'sHarrah's Entertainment
Caesars Entertainment Corporation is a private gaming corporation that owns and operates over 50 casinos, hotels, and seven golf courses under several brands. The company, based in Paradise, Nevada, is the largest gaming company in the world, with yearly revenues $8.9 billion...
closed a large casino
Casino
In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
in 1995, Forgotston asked: "Why would you go to New Orleans, a historic city like we have, and go sit in some windowless casino? You want to go drive down St. Charles Avenue
St. Charles Avenue
St. Charles Avenue is a thoroughfare in New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.A. and the home of the St. Charles Streetcar Line. It is also famous for the hundreds of mansions that adorn the tree-lined boulevard for much of the Uptown section of the route. The southern live oak trees, particularly found in...
. You want to go to the French Quarter
French Quarter
The French Quarter, also known as Vieux Carré, is the oldest neighborhood in the city of New Orleans. When New Orleans was founded in 1718 by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, the city was originally centered on the French Quarter, or the Vieux Carré as it was known then...
. This is an outdoor city. It would be like going to Aspen
Aspen, Colorado
The City of Aspen is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Pitkin County, Colorado, United States. The United States Census Bureau estimates that the city population was 5,804 in 2005...
, and spending the whole time in a bar at a video poker machine."
Forgotston maintains that gambling holds decreasing appeal for tourists in that forty-eight states as of 1995 had some kind of legalized gaming, and twenty-five states had casinos either on land, riverboats or Indian reservation
Indian reservation
An American Indian reservation is an area of land managed by a Native American tribe under the United States Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs...
s. Harrah's, a consortium of investors led by Memphis
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
-based Harrah's filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November 1995 and laid off 2,500 workers at a temporary casino that had opened only six months earlier at New Orleans Municipal Auditorium. The bankruptcy also halted work on a permanent casino on Canal Street, in the heart of the municipal hotel district.
2008 congressional elections
In the 2008 elections, Louisiana supported McCain and elected six Republicans (three of them physicianPhysician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
s) and only one Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
to the U.S. House of Representatives. The Vietnamese
Vietnamese people
The Vietnamese people are an ethnic group originating from present-day northern Vietnam and southern China. They are the majority ethnic group of Vietnam, comprising 86% of the population as of the 1999 census, and are officially known as Kinh to distinguish them from other ethnic groups in Vietnam...
Republican, Joseph Cao
Joseph Cao
Anh "Joseph" Quang Cao is the former U.S. Representative for , serving from 2009 until 2011. He is a member of the Republican Party. In April 2011, he announced he will be a candidate for Attorney General of Louisiana in 2011, however in September 2011 he pulled out of the race.He was the first...
, of the New Orleans-based 2nd district
Louisiana's 2nd congressional district
Louisiana's 2nd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The district contains nearly all of the city of New Orleans , and some of its suburbs, including the West Bank portion of Jefferson Parish and South South Kenner.The district is currently represented...
, defeated incumbent William J. Jefferson
William J. Jefferson
William Jennings "Bill" Jefferson is a former American politician, and a published author from the U.S. state of Louisiana. He served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for nine terms from 1991 to 2009 as a member of the Democratic Party. He represented , which includes much of the...
in a stunning upset in the December 6 runoff election. Forgotston commented on the outcome: "It was a shock to all of us. We would have lost a lot of money if we would have bet on that race. Yes, it was great to get rid of Bill Jefferson, but everybody knows it's just a one-time thing." The assumption to which Forgotston was referring is that Democrats will unite behind a scandal-free opponent in 2010 and easily dispatch Cao. Forgotston was correct in his prediction, and Cao became a one-term member. Despite facing a criminal corruption trial, Jefferson was still assumed to have a formidable get-out-the-vote operation among fellow African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
s. In the general election, only 14 percent of black voters came to the polls, compared to 28 percent of whites, who comprise only 40 percent of district residents. Cao said that wetlands and levee
Levee
A levee, levée, dike , embankment, floodbank or stopbank is an elongated naturally occurring ridge or artificially constructed fill or wall, which regulates water levels...
restoration matters were crucial to his victory.
Attorney in Hammond
Forgotston remains engaged in the private practice of law as a sole-practitioner limited to legislative and governmental matters. He and his wife, the former Ella Joy Adams—born in 1944 and known as "E.J."—relocated to HammondHammond, Louisiana
Hammond is the largest city in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 20,049 at the 2009 census. It is home to Southeastern Louisiana University...
after Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
ruined their residence in the Lakewood section of New Orleans. "E.J." Forgotston is a daughter of Troy Adams (1901–1972) and the former Bernice Hart (1912–2002), a retired nurse from Kentwood, which, like Hammond, is in Tangipahoa Parish. C.B. Forgotston, a frequent columnist
Columnist
A columnist is a journalist who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs....
and blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
ger, operates the website forgotston.com in which he quotes Voltaire
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet , better known by the pen name Voltaire , was a French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher famous for his wit and for his advocacy of civil liberties, including freedom of religion, free trade and separation of church and state...
: "It is dangerous to be right in matters on which the established authorities are wrong."
On June 22, 2009, as a regular guest on the Moon Griffon radio program, Forgotston said that the current Louisiana legislature contains not even a single reliable voice for fiscal conservatism. He noted that three past legislators -- V.J. Bella
V.J. Bella
Vincent Joseph Bella, known as V.J. Bella , is a former member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from St. Mary Parish whose service extended from 1972-1990. Thereafter, Bella served in Baton Rouge as the appointed state fire marshal from 1990–1992 and again from 1996-2004...
, Raymond Laborde
Raymond Laborde
Raymond Julian Laborde, I , is a department store owner and a retired Democratic politician in his native Marksville, the seat of Avoyelles Parish in south Central Louisiana. He was the mayor of Marksville from 1958–1970 and thereafter served five terms from 1972–1992 in the Louisiana House of...
of Marksville
Marksville, Louisiana
Marksville is a city in and the parish seat of Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 5,537 at the 2000 census. Louisiana's first land-based casino, Paragon Casino Resort, opened in Marksville in June 1994...
, and Ed Scogin
Ed Scogin
Edward C. Scogin, known as Ed Scogin , was from 1972-1992 a Republican member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from Slidell in St. Tammany Parish in suburban New Orleans, Louisiana, known as a fiscal watchdog over state government...
of Slidell
Slidell, Louisiana
Slidell is a city situated on the northeast shore of Lake Pontchartrain in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 25,695 at the 2000 census. The Greater Slidell Community has a population of about 90,000...
-- had served as fiscal watchdogs often at the irritation of colleagues. Forgotston also said that the legislators rarely read the bills that they pass and focus on minor matters irrevelant to average citizens.
On August 18, 2009, Forgotston told the Louisiana Commission on Streamlining Government that "state government should stop paying for things that should be financed by local authorities":
-
- What we have to do is not more with less. . . . I'm saying we have to do less with less.