Kathleen Blanco
Encyclopedia
Kathleen Babineaux Blanco (born December 15, 1942) was the 54th Governor of Louisiana, having served from January 2004 until January 2008. She was the first woman to be elected to the office of governor of Louisiana
.
When first elected, Blanco outlined her top priorities as providing affordable healthcare, improving the education system in the state, and helping to create a strong and vibrant economy through aggressive economic development initiatives. Her work as governor changed dramatically when, in 2005, coastal Louisiana was severely damaged by two hurricanes that stuck less than a month apart. In August, Hurricane Katrina devastated the New Orleans region, an urban area of 1.4 million people. Then, in September, Hurricane Rita struck the southwestern coast, displacing another 300,000 people. More than 200,000 housing units were destroyed, 81,000 businesses closed, entire electrical and telecommunication systems were torn apart, and one million people were made homeless as a result of severe flooding caused by levee failures and storm surges.
Many believed the immediate response from the city, state, and federal governments was inadequate, and Blanco later acknowledged there were failures on the part of her administration before and after the storm; much criticism, however, was directed at the Federal Emergency Management Agency
, for what was seen as a slow initial response to the disaster and an inability to effectively manage, care for and delivered promised resources to those trying to evacuate from New Orleans.
Blanco announced in March 2007 that she would not seek re-election later that year
, saying that she would instead "focus [her] time and energy for the [remainder of her term] on the people's work, not on [the] politics" of running for another term.
, Louisiana, the daughter of Louis Babineaux and his wife, the former Lucille Fremin. Her Babineaux grandfather was a farmer and grocer with a country store, and her father was a small businessman who moved to the rural hamlet of Coteau near New Iberia; the community has one church and one elementary school. Blanco attended Mount Carmel Academy, an all-girls school run by the Catholic Sisters of Mount Carmel, which was situated on the banks of Bayou Teche. (The school closed in the middle 1980s with the majority of girls transferring to Catholic High School). In 1964, Blanco received a Bachelor of Science
in Business Education from the University of Southwestern Louisiana, now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. On August 8, 1964, she married Raymond Blanco, a football coach and educator; the couple has four daughters: Karmen, Monique, Nicole, and Pilar and two sons: Ray (Jr.) and Ben.
Following college, she taught business at Breaux Bridge High School, but with six children she stoon became a stay-at-home mom for roughly 15 years. She later worked as a District Manager for the U.S. Department of Commerce during the 1980 Dicennial Census initiative and with her husband, owned Coteau Consultants, a political and marketing research firm.
Prior to her election as governor, she served 20 years in public office. elected in 1983 as the first woman legislator from the city of Lafayette, she served five years in the Louisiana House of Representatives. She then became the first woman in Louisiana elected to the Public Service Commission
, where she served seven years, where she was chosen to preside as the first woman chair of the PSC. She was then elected Lieutenant Governor, where she served for eight years.
, in the general election
, by a margin of 52 percent to 48 percent. On January 12 of 2004 she took the oath of office in both English and French languages, succeeding Murphy J. Foster, Jr.
as Governor of Louisiana. She kept Foster's Chief of Staff, Andy Kopplin
, on under the same post. Blanco traveled more than her predecessor, seeking new sources of economic development for the state. She visited Nova Scotia, and in December 2004 visited Cuba
to boost its trade with the state. During this controversial visit, she met with President Fidel Castro
, with whom the United States government has no formal diplomatic relations. In 2005, Governor Blanco also visited Asia (primarily Japan, China, and Taiwan
).
Despite the upheaval of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, by the end of her term she met all of her initial goals, most notably prioritizing education investment from pre-kindergarten to universities. She recruited a number of businesses to Louisiana and also provided proper funding and policies to lay a foundation for coastal Louisiana's recovery.
As governor, she was a member of the National Governors Association
, and the Democratic Governors Association
, and served as president of the Southern Governors' Association.
, told the media in Jefferson Parish
, "I believe we are prepared. That's the one thing that I've always been able to brag about." Later that day she issued a request for federal assistance and USD $9 million in aid to President George W. Bush
, which stated, "...I have determined that this incident is of such severity and magnitude that effective response is beyond the capabilities of the State and affected local governments, and that supplementary Federal assistance is necessary to save lives, protect property, public health, and safety, or to lessen or avert the threat of a disaster. I am specifically requesting emergency protective measures, direct Federal Assistance, Individual and Household Program (IHP) assistance, Special Needs Program assistance, and debris removal." Also in the requesting letter, the governor stated: "In response to the situation I have taken appropriate action under State law and directed the execution of the State Emergency Plan on August 26, 2005 in accordance with Section 501 (a) of the Stafford Act. A State of Emergency has been issued for the State in order to support the evacuations of the coastal areas in accordance with our State Evacuation Plan."
FEMA issued a statement dated August 27, that President Bush authorized the allocation of federal resources, "following a review of FEMA's analysis of the state's request for federal assistance. A White House statement of the same date also acknowledges this authorization of aid by President Bush. On August 28, Governor Blanco sent a letter to President Bush, which increased the amount of aid requested to US $130 million.
Governor Blanco oversaw the massive evacuation of 93 percent of the New Orleans area, and the subsequent rescue effort utilizing state employees, law enforcement agencies from across the state and nation, citizen volunteers and federal emergency services such as the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Military. More than 60,000 people were rescued and removed from the affected region after the storm. As Commander-in-Chief of the Louisiana National Guard, Blanco called on her fellow governors for troop reinforcement as more than a third of her own soldiers and airmen were serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. The response from states delivered nearly 40,000 troops to her command, one of the largest domestic activation of troops in the nation's history.
On September 1, 2005, with reports of looting and lawlessness escalating, Governor Blanco announced she was sending 300 Arkansas National Guardsmen to supplement the New Orleans Police Department, saying, "These troops are fresh back from Iraq. They are well-trained, experienced, battle-tested and under my orders to restore order in the streets. These are some of the 40,000 extra troops that I have demanded. They have M-16's, and they're locked and loaded. When hoodlums victimize and inflict suffering on people at their wit's end, they're taking away our limited resources, or whatever resources we have, to save babies, or save children and to save good people. I have one message for these hoodlums. These troops know how to shoot and kill and they are more than willing to do so if necessary, and I expect they will.. This followed President Bush's statement that looters in New Orleans and elsewhere in the chaotic aftermath of Hurricane Katrina should be treated with "zero tolerance."
President Bush, during a visit to Louisiana September 2, 2005,five days after the storm, offered to federalize the Louisiana National Guard
to simplify the command structure. The Governor declined, because the Guard would then become part of the federal military forces and therefore lose much-needed policing powers. The President subsequently continued to press the offer so Governor Blanco rejected it in writing, citing the need for flexibility in National Guard operations, particularly the need for Guard in areas other than New Orleans where the military is not currently operating. Governor Haley Barbour
of Mississippi
reportedly declined a similar offer from the President. Had either state's National Guard been federalized, they would not have been able to directly enforce Louisiana state law (i.e., control looting) under the provisions of the 1878 Posse Comitatus Act
. It has not previously been a policy during natural disasters to combine the command of National Guard and military operations under the authority of the President. President Bush had the power to take command of a state's National Guard units under the Insurrection Act
of 1808 without the agreement of a state Governor, but no President had done this since Lyndon Johnson in the 1960s and President Bush had so far also declined to do so. However, Governor Blanco and Major General
Bennett Landreneau, Louisiana Adjutant General and senior Louisana National Guard officer, co-operated closely with U.S. Army Lieutenant General
Russel L. Honoré
, who was then commanding Federal military operations under Joint Task Force Katrina
.
CNN
and Fox News reported the Louisiana Homeland Security Department (which operates under the authority of Governor Blanco) refused to allow the American Red Cross
to enter the city of New Orleans. http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/09/08/katrina.redcross/index.html, http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,168799,00.html The http://www.redcross.org/faq/0,1096,0_682_4524,00.html#4524 American Red Cross confirms that the organization had not entered the city to provide aid, but also states that it is providing relief at the evacuation centers: "As the remaining people are evacuated from New Orleans, the most appropriate role for the Red Cross is to provide a safe place for people to stay and to see that their emergency needs are met. We are fully staffed and equipped to handle these individuals once they are evacuated." The deputy director of Louisiana's Homeland Security Department, Colonel Jay Mayeaux, has stated that he asked the Red Cross to delay relief operations for 24 hours for logistical reasons, and by the time that was up the evacuations had already begun.
On September 14, after President Bush had accepted responsibility for all problems that occurred at the federal level, Governor Blanco accepted responsibility for all problems that occurred at the state level. Blanco stated, "At the state level, we must take a careful look at what went wrong and make sure it never happens again. The buck stops here, and as your governor, I take full responsibility." In 2006, a Congressional report later stated that the "National Response Plan
did not adequately provide a way for federal assets to quickly supplement or, if necessary, supplant first responders."
Governor Blanco continued to press President Bush and Congress for additional recovery funds for Louisiana, pointing out the disparity in assistance received by Louisiana compared to neighboring Mississippi, in spite of statements by members of the Louisiana State Republican Party that recommended quietly accepting what was offered and then possibly request more aid at a later date. Assisted by protests in the press, including the Washington Post and the New York Times, which referred to the treatment of Louisiana and New Orleans as "America's Shame,' in February 2006, Governor Blanco and the Louisiana Recovery Authority negotiated an additional $4.2 billion in aid for rebuilding housing in Louisiana.
Early in 2006, Blanco was inducted into the Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame
in Winnfield
.
On June 19, 2006, Governor Blanco announced that she would send the National Guard to patrol the streets of New Orleans after five teenagers were killed, in an effort to combat a greatly increased rate of violent crime.
On June 19, 2006, Blanco signed into law a ban on most forms of abortion (unless the life of the mother was in danger or her health would be permanently damaged) once it passed the state legislature. Although she felt exclusions for rape or incest would have "been reasonable," she felt she should not veto based on those reasons. The bill would only go into effect if the United States Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade
.
In August 2006, Blanco filed a lawsuit and formally objected to the federal Gulf of Mexico lease sale "to force the federal government to spend part of its oil and gas income from the Outer Continental Shelf to help shore up Louisiana's coastline".
In December 2006, Blanco called a special session of the Louisiana State Legislature
which she intended to use to dispense $2.1 billion worth of tax cuts, teacher raises, road projects and other spending programs. Legislators allied with Blanco attempted to lift a spending cap imposed by the state constitution, but Republican lawmakers rejected the governor’s spending measure. The high-profile defeat further eroded Blanco’s political reputation.
By late 2006 and early 2007, Blanco was facing increasingly heated accusations of delays in administering the Road Home Program, a state-run program which Blanco and the Louisiana Recovery Authority had set up following Katrina in order to distribute federal aid money to Katrina victims for damage to their homes. By January 2007, fewer than 250 of an estimated 100,000 applicants had received payments from the program, and many of the payments were apparently based on assessments which grossly undervalued the cost of damage to homes.
Facing an upcoming re-election campaign with greatly reduced popularity, Blanco made repeated public criticisms of the administration of President Bush in January 2007. Noting that Bush neglected to mention Gulf Coast reconstruction in his 2007 State of the Union Address, Blanco called for a bipartisan Congressional investigation into the conduct of the Bush administration following Katrina, to determine whether partisan politics played a role in the slow response to the storm. This call followed comments by former Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA) director Michael D. Brown
, who claimed that the White House offer to federalize the National Guard in the days following the storm was part of a plan to upstage Blanco. Blanco has also publicly stated that Mississippi received preferential treatment because its governor, Haley Barbour, is Republican.
Blanco announced on March 20, 2007 that she would not seek re-election. On January 14, 2008, Bobby Jindal
succeeded her as governor.
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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...
.
When first elected, Blanco outlined her top priorities as providing affordable healthcare, improving the education system in the state, and helping to create a strong and vibrant economy through aggressive economic development initiatives. Her work as governor changed dramatically when, in 2005, coastal Louisiana was severely damaged by two hurricanes that stuck less than a month apart. In August, Hurricane Katrina devastated the New Orleans region, an urban area of 1.4 million people. Then, in September, Hurricane Rita struck the southwestern coast, displacing another 300,000 people. More than 200,000 housing units were destroyed, 81,000 businesses closed, entire electrical and telecommunication systems were torn apart, and one million people were made homeless as a result of severe flooding caused by levee failures and storm surges.
Many believed the immediate response from the city, state, and federal governments was inadequate, and Blanco later acknowledged there were failures on the part of her administration before and after the storm; much criticism, however, was directed at the Federal Emergency Management Agency
Federal Emergency Management Agency
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security, initially created by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1978 and implemented by two Executive Orders...
, for what was seen as a slow initial response to the disaster and an inability to effectively manage, care for and delivered promised resources to those trying to evacuate from New Orleans.
Blanco announced in March 2007 that she would not seek re-election later that year
Louisiana gubernatorial election, 2007
The Louisiana gubernatorial election of 2007 was held on October 20. The filing deadline for candidates was September 6. On the day of the election, all 12 candidates competed in an open jungle primary. With all precincts reporting, Bobby Jindal won the election with 54%.-Background:Elections in...
, saying that she would instead "focus [her] time and energy for the [remainder of her term] on the people's work, not on [the] politics" of running for another term.
Early life and career
She was born Kathleen Babineaux in New IberiaNew Iberia, Louisiana
New Iberia is a city in and the parish seat of Iberia Parish, Louisiana, United States, 30 miles southeast of Lafayette. In 1900, 6,815 people lived in New Iberia; in 1910, 7,499; and in 1940, 13,747...
, Louisiana, the daughter of Louis Babineaux and his wife, the former Lucille Fremin. Her Babineaux grandfather was a farmer and grocer with a country store, and her father was a small businessman who moved to the rural hamlet of Coteau near New Iberia; the community has one church and one elementary school. Blanco attended Mount Carmel Academy, an all-girls school run by the Catholic Sisters of Mount Carmel, which was situated on the banks of Bayou Teche. (The school closed in the middle 1980s with the majority of girls transferring to Catholic High School). In 1964, Blanco received 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...
in Business Education from the University of Southwestern Louisiana, now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. On August 8, 1964, she married Raymond Blanco, a football coach and educator; the couple has four daughters: Karmen, Monique, Nicole, and Pilar and two sons: Ray (Jr.) and Ben.
Following college, she taught business at Breaux Bridge High School, but with six children she stoon became a stay-at-home mom for roughly 15 years. She later worked as a District Manager for the U.S. Department of Commerce during the 1980 Dicennial Census initiative and with her husband, owned Coteau Consultants, a political and marketing research firm.
Prior to her election as governor, she served 20 years in public office. elected in 1983 as the first woman legislator from the city of Lafayette, she served five years in the Louisiana House of Representatives. She then became the first woman in Louisiana elected to the Public Service Commission
Louisiana Public Service Commission
Louisiana Public Service Commission is an independent regulatory agency which manages public utilities and motor carriers in Louisiana. The commission has five elected members chosen in single-member districts for staggered six-year terms...
, where she served seven years, where she was chosen to preside as the first woman chair of the PSC. She was then elected Lieutenant Governor, where she served for eight years.
Governor of Louisiana
Blanco was elected on November 15, 2003, defeating her Republican opponent Bobby JindalBobby 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....
, in the general election
Louisiana gubernatorial election, 2003
The Louisiana gubernatorial election of 2003 resulted in the election of Kathleen Babineaux Blanco as governor of Louisiana.- Background :Elections in Louisiana—with the exception of U.S. presidential elections—follow a variation of the open primary system called the jungle primary...
, by a margin of 52 percent to 48 percent. On January 12 of 2004 she took the oath of office in both English and French languages, succeeding Murphy J. Foster, Jr.
Murphy J. Foster, Jr.
Murphy James "Mike" Foster, Jr. served as 53rd Governor of Louisiana from January 1996 until January 2004. Foster's father was Murphy J. Foster, Jr., but Mike Foster uses "Jr." even though he is technically Murphy J. Foster, III. Foster is a businessman, landowner, and sportsman in St...
as Governor of Louisiana. She kept Foster's Chief of Staff, Andy Kopplin
Andy Kopplin
Andy Kopplin is the former chief of staff to Louisiana Governors Mike Foster and Kathleen Babineaux Blanco . He has also served as Executive Director with the Louisiana Recovery Authority. Kopplin is a graduate of Rice University and the John F...
, on under the same post. Blanco traveled more than her predecessor, seeking new sources of economic development for the state. She visited Nova Scotia, and in December 2004 visited Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
to boost its trade with the state. During this controversial visit, she met with President Fidel Castro
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...
, with whom the United States government has no formal diplomatic relations. In 2005, Governor Blanco also visited Asia (primarily Japan, China, and Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
).
Despite the upheaval of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, by the end of her term she met all of her initial goals, most notably prioritizing education investment from pre-kindergarten to universities. She recruited a number of businesses to Louisiana and also provided proper funding and policies to lay a foundation for coastal Louisiana's recovery.
As governor, she was a member of the National Governors Association
National Governors Association
The National Governors Association , founded in 1908 as the National Governors' Conference, is funded primarily by state dues, federal grants and contracts and private contributions. NGA represents the governors of the fifty U.S. states and five U.S. territories The National Governors Association...
, and the Democratic Governors Association
Democratic Governors Association
The Democratic Governors Association is a Washington, D.C. based 527 organization founded in 1983, consisting of U.S. state and territorial governors affiliated with the Democratic Party. The mission of the organization is to provide party support to the election and re-election of Democratic...
, and served as president of the Southern Governors' Association.
Hurricane Katrina
On August 27, 2005, Governor Blanco, speaking about Hurricane KatrinaHurricane 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...
, told the media in Jefferson Parish
Jefferson Parish, Louisiana
Jefferson Parish is a parish in Louisiana, United States that includes most of the suburbs of New Orleans. The seat of parish government is Gretna....
, "I believe we are prepared. That's the one thing that I've always been able to brag about." Later that day she issued a request for federal assistance and USD $9 million in aid to President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
, which stated, "...I have determined that this incident is of such severity and magnitude that effective response is beyond the capabilities of the State and affected local governments, and that supplementary Federal assistance is necessary to save lives, protect property, public health, and safety, or to lessen or avert the threat of a disaster. I am specifically requesting emergency protective measures, direct Federal Assistance, Individual and Household Program (IHP) assistance, Special Needs Program assistance, and debris removal." Also in the requesting letter, the governor stated: "In response to the situation I have taken appropriate action under State law and directed the execution of the State Emergency Plan on August 26, 2005 in accordance with Section 501 (a) of the Stafford Act. A State of Emergency has been issued for the State in order to support the evacuations of the coastal areas in accordance with our State Evacuation Plan."
FEMA issued a statement dated August 27, that President Bush authorized the allocation of federal resources, "following a review of FEMA's analysis of the state's request for federal assistance. A White House statement of the same date also acknowledges this authorization of aid by President Bush. On August 28, Governor Blanco sent a letter to President Bush, which increased the amount of aid requested to US $130 million.
On September 1, 2005, with reports of looting and lawlessness escalating, Governor Blanco announced she was sending 300 Arkansas National Guardsmen to supplement the New Orleans Police Department, saying, "These troops are fresh back from Iraq. They are well-trained, experienced, battle-tested and under my orders to restore order in the streets. These are some of the 40,000 extra troops that I have demanded. They have M-16's, and they're locked and loaded. When hoodlums victimize and inflict suffering on people at their wit's end, they're taking away our limited resources, or whatever resources we have, to save babies, or save children and to save good people. I have one message for these hoodlums. These troops know how to shoot and kill and they are more than willing to do so if necessary, and I expect they will.. This followed President Bush's statement that looters in New Orleans and elsewhere in the chaotic aftermath of Hurricane Katrina should be treated with "zero tolerance."
President Bush, during a visit to Louisiana September 2, 2005,five days after the storm, offered to federalize the Louisiana National Guard
Louisiana National Guard
The Louisiana National Guard consists of the:*Louisiana Army National Guard** includes the U.S. 256th Infantry Brigade*Louisiana Air National Guard-External links:*** compiled by the United States Army Center of Military History...
to simplify the command structure. The Governor declined, because the Guard would then become part of the federal military forces and therefore lose much-needed policing powers. The President subsequently continued to press the offer so Governor Blanco rejected it in writing, citing the need for flexibility in National Guard operations, particularly the need for Guard in areas other than New Orleans where the military is not currently operating. Governor Haley Barbour
Haley Barbour
Haley Reeves Barbour is an American Republican politician currently serving as the 63rd Governor of Mississippi. He gained a national spotlight in August 2005 after Mississippi was hit by Hurricane Katrina. Barbour won re-election as Governor in 2007...
of Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
reportedly declined a similar offer from the President. Had either state's National Guard been federalized, they would not have been able to directly enforce Louisiana state law (i.e., control looting) under the provisions of the 1878 Posse Comitatus Act
Posse Comitatus Act
The Posse Comitatus Act is an often misunderstood and misquoted United States federal law passed on June 18, 1878, after the end of Reconstruction. Its intent was to limit the powers of local governments and law enforcement agencies from using federal military personnel to enforce the laws of...
. It has not previously been a policy during natural disasters to combine the command of National Guard and military operations under the authority of the President. President Bush had the power to take command of a state's National Guard units under the Insurrection Act
Insurrection Act
The Insurrection Act of 1807 is the set of laws that govern the US President's ability to deploy troops within the United States to put down lawlessness, insurrection and rebellion. The laws are chiefly contained in - . The general aim is to limit Presidential power as much as possible, relying on...
of 1808 without the agreement of a state Governor, but no President had done this since Lyndon Johnson in the 1960s and President Bush had so far also declined to do so. However, Governor Blanco and Major General
Major general (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, major general is a two-star general-officer rank, with the pay grade of O-8. Major general ranks above brigadier general and below lieutenant general...
Bennett Landreneau, Louisiana Adjutant General and senior Louisana National Guard officer, co-operated closely with U.S. Army Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General (United States)
In the United States Army, the United States Air Force and the United States Marine Corps, lieutenant general is a three-star general officer rank, with the pay grade of O-9. Lieutenant general ranks above major general and below general...
Russel L. Honoré
Russel L. Honoré
Russel L. Honoré is a retired Lieutenant General who served as the 33rd commanding general of the U.S. First Army at Fort Gillem, Georgia. He is best known for serving as commander of Joint Task Force Katrina responsible for coordinating military relief efforts for Hurricane Katrina-affected areas...
, who was then commanding Federal military operations under Joint Task Force Katrina
Joint Task Force Katrina
Joint Task Force Katrina was a joint operation between the United States Department of Defense and the Federal Emergency Management Agency created on August 31, 2005 at Camp Shelby, Mississippi to organize relief efforts along the Gulf Coast in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The operation was...
.
CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
and Fox News reported the Louisiana Homeland Security Department (which operates under the authority of Governor Blanco) refused to allow the American Red Cross
American Red Cross
The American Red Cross , also known as the American National Red Cross, is a volunteer-led, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief and education inside the United States. It is the designated U.S...
to enter the city of New Orleans. http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/09/08/katrina.redcross/index.html, http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,168799,00.html The http://www.redcross.org/faq/0,1096,0_682_4524,00.html#4524 American Red Cross confirms that the organization had not entered the city to provide aid, but also states that it is providing relief at the evacuation centers: "As the remaining people are evacuated from New Orleans, the most appropriate role for the Red Cross is to provide a safe place for people to stay and to see that their emergency needs are met. We are fully staffed and equipped to handle these individuals once they are evacuated." The deputy director of Louisiana's Homeland Security Department, Colonel Jay Mayeaux, has stated that he asked the Red Cross to delay relief operations for 24 hours for logistical reasons, and by the time that was up the evacuations had already begun.
On September 14, after President Bush had accepted responsibility for all problems that occurred at the federal level, Governor Blanco accepted responsibility for all problems that occurred at the state level. Blanco stated, "At the state level, we must take a careful look at what went wrong and make sure it never happens again. The buck stops here, and as your governor, I take full responsibility." In 2006, a Congressional report later stated that the "National Response Plan
National Response Plan
The National Response Plan was a United States national plan to respond to emergencies such as natural disasters or terrorist attacks. It came into effect in December 2004 , and was superseded by the National Response Framework on March 22, 2008....
did not adequately provide a way for federal assets to quickly supplement or, if necessary, supplant first responders."
Aftermath and recovery
Early in 2006, Blanco was inducted into the Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame
Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame
The Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame in Winnfield, Louisiana, highlights the careers of more than a hundred of the state’s leading politicians and political journalists. Because three governors, Huey P. Long, Jr., Oscar K...
in Winnfield
Winnfield, Louisiana
Winnfield is a city in and the parish seat of Winn Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 5,749 at the 2000 census. It has long been associated with the Long faction of the Louisiana Democratic Party and was home to three governors of Louisiana.-Geography:Winnfield is located at ...
.
On June 19, 2006, Governor Blanco announced that she would send the National Guard to patrol the streets of New Orleans after five teenagers were killed, in an effort to combat a greatly increased rate of violent crime.
On June 19, 2006, Blanco signed into law a ban on most forms of abortion (unless the life of the mother was in danger or her health would be permanently damaged) once it passed the state legislature. Although she felt exclusions for rape or incest would have "been reasonable," she felt she should not veto based on those reasons. The bill would only go into effect if the United States Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade
Roe v. Wade
Roe v. Wade, , was a controversial landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court on the issue of abortion. The Court decided that a right to privacy under the due process clause in the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution extends to a woman's decision to have an abortion,...
.
In August 2006, Blanco filed a lawsuit and formally objected to the federal Gulf of Mexico lease sale "to force the federal government to spend part of its oil and gas income from the Outer Continental Shelf to help shore up Louisiana's coastline".
In December 2006, Blanco called a special session of the Louisiana State Legislature
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...
which she intended to use to dispense $2.1 billion worth of tax cuts, teacher raises, road projects and other spending programs. Legislators allied with Blanco attempted to lift a spending cap imposed by the state constitution, but Republican lawmakers rejected the governor’s spending measure. The high-profile defeat further eroded Blanco’s political reputation.
By late 2006 and early 2007, Blanco was facing increasingly heated accusations of delays in administering the Road Home Program, a state-run program which Blanco and the Louisiana Recovery Authority had set up following Katrina in order to distribute federal aid money to Katrina victims for damage to their homes. By January 2007, fewer than 250 of an estimated 100,000 applicants had received payments from the program, and many of the payments were apparently based on assessments which grossly undervalued the cost of damage to homes.
Facing an upcoming re-election campaign with greatly reduced popularity, Blanco made repeated public criticisms of the administration of President Bush in January 2007. Noting that Bush neglected to mention Gulf Coast reconstruction in his 2007 State of the Union Address, Blanco called for a bipartisan Congressional investigation into the conduct of the Bush administration following Katrina, to determine whether partisan politics played a role in the slow response to the storm. This call followed comments by former Federal Emergency Management Agency
Federal Emergency Management Agency
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security, initially created by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1978 and implemented by two Executive Orders...
(FEMA) director Michael D. Brown
Michael D. Brown
Michael DeWayne Brown was the first Undersecretary of Emergency Preparedness and Response , a division of the Department of Homeland Security . This position is generally referred to as the director or administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency . He was appointed in January 2003 by...
, who claimed that the White House offer to federalize the National Guard in the days following the storm was part of a plan to upstage Blanco. Blanco has also publicly stated that Mississippi received preferential treatment because its governor, Haley Barbour, is Republican.
Blanco announced on March 20, 2007 that she would not seek re-election. On January 14, 2008, 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....
succeeded her as governor.
Electoral history
State Representative, 45th Representative District, 1987Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, October 24, 1987
| Candidate | Affiliation | Support | Outcome |
| Kathleen Blanco | Democratic | 7,713 (60%) | Elected |
| J Luke LeBlanc | Democratic | 5,037 (40%) | Defeated |
Public Service Commission, District 2, 1988
Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, October 1, 1988
| Candidate | Affiliation | Support | Outcome |
| Kathleen Blanco | Democratic | 44,450 (32%) | Runoff |
| Kernan "Skip" Hand Kernan "Skip" Hand Kernan August Hand, Sr., known as Kernan "Skip" Hand , is a retired state court judge of the 24th Judicial District from Kenner in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana. A Republican, Hand served in the "Division H" judgeship from the spring of 1994 until his retirement on December 31, 2008... |
Republican | 25,293 (18%) | Runoff |
| George Ackel | Democratic | 23,383 (17%) | Defeated |
| Edward "Bubby" Lyons | Democratic | 22,082 (16%) | Defeated |
| Others | n.a. | 22,314 (17%) | Defeated |
Second Ballot, November 8, 1988
| Candidate | Affiliation | Support | Outcome |
| Kathleen Blanco | Democratic | 161,270 (57%) | Elected |
| Kernan "Skip" Hand Kernan "Skip" Hand Kernan August Hand, Sr., known as Kernan "Skip" Hand , is a retired state court judge of the 24th Judicial District from Kenner in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana. A Republican, Hand served in the "Division H" judgeship from the spring of 1994 until his retirement on December 31, 2008... |
Republican | 120,392 (43%) | Defeated |
Public Service Commission, District 2, 1994
Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, October 1, 1994
| Candidate | Affiliation | Support | Outcome |
| Kathleen Blanco | Democratic | Unopposed | Elected |
Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana, 1995
Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, October 21, 1995
| Candidate | Affiliation | Support | Outcome |
| Kathleen Blanco | Democratic | 590,410 (44%) | Runoff |
| Suzanne Mayfield Krieger Suzanne Mayfield Krieger Suzanne Mayfield Krieger is a lifelong resident of Slidell, Louisiana, who represented District 76 in the Louisiana House of Representatives as a Republican for a single term from 1992 to 1996... |
Republican | 211,520 (16%) | Runoff |
| Chris John Chris John Christopher Charles "Chris" John is American politician who was a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1997 to 2005, representing Louisiana's 7th congressional district.-Early life:... |
Democratic | 206,915 (15%) | Defeated |
| Others | n.a. | 342,910 (25%) | Defeated |
Second Ballot, November 18, 1995
| Candidate | Affiliation | Support | Outcome |
| Kathleen Blanco | Democratic | 964,559 (65%) | Elected |
| Suzanne Mayfield Krieger Suzanne Mayfield Krieger Suzanne Mayfield Krieger is a lifelong resident of Slidell, Louisiana, who represented District 76 in the Louisiana House of Representatives as a Republican for a single term from 1992 to 1996... |
Republican | 513,613 (35%) | Defeated |
Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana, 1999
Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, October 23, 1999
| Candidate | Affiliation | Support | Outcome |
| Kathleen Blanco | Democratic | 968,249 (80%) | Elected |
| Kevin Joseph Duplantis | Republican | 121,296 (10%) | Defeated |
| Others | n.a. | 117,467 (10%) | Defeated |
Governor of Louisiana, 2003
Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, October 4, 2003
| Candidate | Affiliation | Support | Outcome |
| 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.... |
Republican | 443,389 (33%) | Runoff |
| Kathleen Blanco | Democratic | 250,136 (18%) | Runoff |
| Richard Ieyoub Richard Ieyoub Richard Phillip Ieyoub, Sr. , is a Baton Rouge lawyer and a Democratic politician who was the attorney general of Louisiana from 1992 to 2004. Ieyoub was the Calcasieu Parish district attorney in Lake Charles from 1984 to 1992, and is presently with the Baton Rouge firm Couhig Partners... |
Democratic | 223,513 (16%) | Defeated |
| Claude "Buddy" Leach | Democratic | 187,872 (14%) | Defeated |
| Others | n.a. | 257,614 (19%) | Defeated |
Second Ballot, November 15, 2003
| Candidate | Affiliation | Support | Outcome |
| Kathleen Blanco | Democratic | 731,358 (52%) | Elected |
| 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.... |
Republican | 676,484 (48%) | Defeated |
External links
- State of Louisiana – Biography
- National Governors Association – Louisiana Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco biography
- Follow the Money – Kathleen Blanco 2003 campaign contributions
- On the Issues – Kathleen Blanco issue positions and quotes
- Project Vote Smart – Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco (LA) profile
- Snopes.com – Blame Blanco debunking claims that Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco refused President Bush's pleas to declare an emergency before Hurricane Katrina struck
- Complete text and audio of Kathleen Blanco's Speech to the Louisiana Legislature on Hurricane Katrina AmericanRhetoric.com