Rob Couhig
Encyclopedia
Robert Emmet Couhig, Jr., known as Rob Couhig (born April 20, 1949), is an attorney
, business
man, entrepreneur, Republican
political activist, and a former radio talk show
host from New Orleans
, Louisiana
. His last political foray was into the 2010 New Orleans mayoral election
.
A former partner of the Adams and Reese law firm, Couhig now leads his own firm, Couhig Partners. Couhig has twice been a candidate for the United States House of Representatives
. A persistent Republican in a heavily Democratic
city, he was defeated in a race for mayor of New Orleans in the spring of 2006 by the incumbent, Ray Nagin
. He is also known for bringing the minor league baseball
team the New Orleans Zephyrs
to the city.
after World War II
. He was hired by the Orkin
Company to manage two area pest-control offices. He eventually became the top executive of a four-state territory. In the mid-1960s, Rollins Environmental Services, Inc., bought Orkin and transferred Couhig to its office in Atlanta
, Georgia
.
After a year-long relocation to Georgia, Couhig, Sr., left the company and moved his family to their previously-acquired Asphodel Plantation in West Feliciana Parish. The Couhigs lived in one part of the plantation and operated a restaurant and gift shop until the later 1980s in the other part of the house. The senior Couhig thereafter formed his own pest-control company in St. Francisville
.
Rob Couhig spent a few years at the Catholic
Jesuit High School while the family still lived in New Orleans. However, after moving to West Feliciana Parish, he graduated from St. Francisville High School in 1967. He won a scholarship to study international economics
at the Georgetown University
School of Foreign Service
in Washington, D.C.
He completed his Bachelor of Arts
from Georgetown and then obtained his Juris Doctor
from the Tulane University Law School
in New Orleans.
Couhig married the former Susan Mullins of New York City
. The couple has two sons, Robert E. Couhig, III, and Benjamin Couhig. Over time, Couhig said that the pressures of politics, business, and travel adversely affected his family life. He and Susan first separated and then divorced. After being single again for some fifteen years, Couhig married Michelle "Missy" Aleman in 2003.
, Jackson
, Mississippi
, and Washington, D.C.
Couhig was also the principal owner of Couhig-Southern Environmental of New Orleans, Inc., one of the largest Louisiana-owned pest and termite
control companies. This was the company begun by his father, whom Couhig bought out before himself selling in 2001 to a firm based in Lafayette
.
Though continuing to practice law, Couhig now speaks more about building viable companies than engaging in litigation. He left Adams and Reese on the day after Labor Day 2003. Couhig and two other attorneys started Couhig Partners in September 2003 as a firm that works with entrepreneurs. As of 2006, the firm had more than twenty lawyers, a consulting group, and an office in Baton Rouge headed by former Louisiana Attorney General Richard Ieyoub
. Couhig is also the managing partner of Couhig Investments, LLC which invests in small businesses in Louisiana.
team to New Orleans (which had been without a baseball team since the demise of the New Orleans Pelicans
). He negotiated with the owner of the Denver
Zephyrs with the goal of bringing the team to New Orleans. He lobbied three governors for a stadium off Airline Highway in Jefferson Parish
. In 1995, Couhig put together an investor group to buy the team at an undisclosed price. The new Zephyr Field opened on April 11, 1997, and the team has been a household name ever since.
Couhig also developed an interest in soccer. In November 1997, he purchased the New Orleans Riverboat Gamblers, a team founded in 1993, from Donnie Pate. Couhig renamed the team the New Orleans Storm and relocated it from Tad Gormley Stadium
to Zephyr Field
. On February 11, 2000, Couhig sold his New Orleans Zephyrs
baseball team to Donald Beaver. Two weeks later, Couhig announced he was suspending operations of the Storm pending a move to another stadium. Couhig told Kathy Finn that he probably lost $1 million on the team.
Couhig sold his pest-control company in 2001 and enrolled in the executive MBA course at Tulane in 2002.
In 1976, Couhig defected to the Republican Party. In 1977, he became the campaign coordinator for Republican Robert L. "Bob" Livingston
, who for the second time sought to represent the First Congressional District in the U.S. House. Livingston had lost in the 1976 general election to Democrat Richard A. Tonry
. When Tonry was forced to resign because of campaign finance violations in 1977, Livingston won the seat in a special election, with Couhig's backing, and served until 1999.
, popular widow of former House Majority Leader Thomas Hale Boggs, Sr.
, of New Orleans.
Couhig raised some $200,000 for the race, a large amount at that time for a challenger in a difficult district. Lindy Boggs was the winner; she polled 45,091 votes (63.8 percent) to Couhig's 25,512 (36.2 percent). She was never seriously challenged in all of her congressional races between 1973 and 1988, when she won her last term. Couhig was actually among the stronger opponents that Boggs ever faced.
The Second District did not support a Republican candidate for Congress until the general election
held on December 6, 2008, when the Vietnamese
refugee, Joseph Cao
, unseated the scandal-plagued William J. Jefferson
, who had succeeded Mrs. Boggs in 1991. Cao, however, was unseated in the 2010 general election.
Not long after his first congressional race, Couhig was the campaign manager for Republican State Representative Garey Forster
, who represented the New Orleans French Quarter
district from 1982-1997.
, who resigned amid a sex scandal. He finished in fifth place with 5,149 votes (8 percent). Former Republican Governor David C. Treen
was forced into a runoff for the seat with state Representative David Bruce Vitter
. Vitter narrowly won the second round of balloting and held the seat from 1999-2005. Vitter then became the state's first Republican U.S. senator since Reconstruction. Couhig was even overshadowed in the House race by the controversial Republican convert David Duke
.
Couhig said that he had expected Livingston to support him in 1999 in return for the help that Couhig had rendered to Livingston in the 1977 election. Couhig said that his weak showing may have been a reflection of his inability to convince voters how his vision differed from the other Republican candidates. He noted that he spent $500,000 of his own money on the race despite bleak prospects.
and related Levee failures
(see: Effect of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans
). The majority of the city was still in ruins and the majority of the population still living elsewhere in early 2006, for what many felt was the most important election in the city's history.
Couhig and former city council member Peggy Wilson were the two Republican candidates for mayor. His campaign started with television ads mocking the perceived leading candidates, Mitch Landrieu
, Ron Forman
, and incumbent Mayor Ray Nagin. In televised debates prior to the nonpartisan blanket primary, Couhig's combative style attracted attention. MSNBC pundit Chris Matthews
declared Couhig the "absolute winner" of the pre-primary debate.
Couhig said that New Orleans residents should accent "self-reliance" in the post-Katrina rebuilding, rather than a sense of "entitlement". Couhig criticized Nagin for supposedly "sugar-coating" the city's woes. He claimed that Nagin was "reaping short-term political gains at the expense of the city's long-term best interests." Couhig said that his opponents were promoting a "fantasy" that the city can continue operating on a budget meant for nearly half a million people when fewer than half that many persons remained in New Orleans in the spring of 2006. Couhig said that the city could not sustain basic services in sparsely populated areas. He also chided Nagin for his use of the term "Chocolate City
." He urged Nagin, who had supported the 2003 Republican gubernatorial candidate Bobby Jindal
along with other Republican candidates, to "stop pandering for political gain."
Couhig finished a distant fourth in the April 22 primary with 10,312 votes (10 percent). He led in seven precincts. A second Republican, former city councilwoman Peggy Wilson received another 773 votes (1 percent). Eighty-nine percent of New Orleans voters supported a Democratic candidate in the primary.
The general election was scheduled between the top two candidates, the incumbent Nagin and Democratic Lieutenant Governor Mitchell Landrieu
. Despite his earlier criticism of Nagin, Couhig enthusiastically endorsed Nagin, made television ads urging his reelection, and helped to mobilize the city's Republicans and conservatives behind the incumbent mayor.
Couhig's support may have been the "swing vote" that was critical to Nagin's reelection. Couhig said that the Landrieu "political dynasty" had failed the city. (This was a reference to Mitch Landrieu's sister Mary Landrieu
and his father, former Mayor Moon Landrieu
.) Couhig noted that the New Orleans population peaked in 1960, even before the rise of the Landrieu family to political dominance.
Couhig then co-hosted "The Rob and Bo Show", a weekly talk radio show on WRNO-FM
with radio personality Bo Walker, until it was canceled at the end of January 2008. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4200/is_20080130/ai_n21217341/
http://www.fox8live.com/news/local/story/Couhig-enters-mayors-race-through-cyber-gateway/-7dk4dVf7Emyw6NFkgq1WQ.cspx. He finished fourth, with 5 percent of vote. The race was won by the Democrat Mitch Landrieu
, who received 65 percent.
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...
, business
Business
A business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...
man, entrepreneur, 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...
political activist, and a former radio talk show
Talk 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....
host from New Orleans
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
, 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...
. His last political foray was into the 2010 New Orleans mayoral election
New Orleans mayoral election, 2010
The New Orleans mayoral election of 2010 is an election for Mayor of New Orleans, Louisiana. The first round of voting took place on December 9 through December 11, 2009, and the election occurred on February 6, 2010...
.
A former partner of the Adams and Reese law firm, Couhig now leads his own firm, Couhig Partners. Couhig has twice been a candidate for 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...
. A persistent Republican in a heavily Democratic
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...
city, he was defeated in a race for mayor of New Orleans in the spring of 2006 by the incumbent, Ray Nagin
Ray Nagin
Clarence Ray Nagin, Jr. is a former mayor of New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Nagin gained international note in 2005 in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, which devastated the New Orleans area....
. He is also known for bringing the minor league baseball
Minor league baseball
Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...
team the New Orleans Zephyrs
New Orleans Zephyrs
The New Orleans Zephyrs are a minor league baseball team based in Metairie, Louisiana, a suburb of New Orleans. The Zephyrs play in the Pacific Coast League and are the Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. The Zephyrs play their home games at Zephyr Field....
to the city.
Education and family
Couhig was born in Baptist Hospital in New Orleans to Robert Emmet Couhig, Sr., and the former Marcelle Reese. Couhig, Sr., came to New Orleans from MassachusettsMassachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. He was hired by the Orkin
Orkin
Orkin is a pest-control company that is a wholly owned subsidiary of Rollins Inc.-The Orkin Uniform:The most recognized Orkin uniform consists of a white collared shirt with the Orkin logo and red epaulets and pressed khaki pants. The uniform varies depending on an employee’s job function for...
Company to manage two area pest-control offices. He eventually became the top executive of a four-state territory. In the mid-1960s, Rollins Environmental Services, Inc., bought Orkin and transferred Couhig to its office in Atlanta
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
.
After a year-long relocation to Georgia, Couhig, Sr., left the company and moved his family to their previously-acquired Asphodel Plantation in West Feliciana Parish. The Couhigs lived in one part of the plantation and operated a restaurant and gift shop until the later 1980s in the other part of the house. The senior Couhig thereafter formed his own pest-control company in St. Francisville
St. Francisville, Louisiana
St. Francisville is a town in and the parish seat of West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 1,712 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:St...
.
Rob Couhig spent a few years at the Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
Jesuit High School while the family still lived in New Orleans. However, after moving to West Feliciana Parish, he graduated from St. Francisville High School in 1967. He won a scholarship to study international economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
at the Georgetown University
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
School of Foreign Service
Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service
The Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service is a school within Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., United States. Jesuit priest Edmund A...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
He completed his Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
from Georgetown and then obtained 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 the Tulane University Law School
Tulane University Law School
Tulane University Law School is the law school of Tulane University. It is located on Tulane's Uptown campus in New Orleans, Louisiana. Established in 1847, it is the 12th oldest law school in the United States....
in New Orleans.
Couhig married the former Susan Mullins of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. The couple has two sons, Robert E. Couhig, III, and Benjamin Couhig. Over time, Couhig said that the pressures of politics, business, and travel adversely affected his family life. He and Susan first separated and then divorced. After being single again for some fifteen years, Couhig married Michelle "Missy" Aleman in 2003.
Law and business career
Couhig practiced law in the areas of antitrust, casualty and personal injury litigation, products liability, class action litigation, and appellate matters. He was a partner in the firm Adams and Reese from 1975 until 2003. He was involved in the expansion of the firm into Baton Rouge, HoustonHouston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
, Jackson
Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson is the capital and the most populous city of the US state of Mississippi. It is one of two county seats of Hinds County ,. The population of the city declined from 184,256 at the 2000 census to 173,514 at the 2010 census...
, 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...
, and Washington, D.C.
Couhig was also the principal owner of Couhig-Southern Environmental of New Orleans, Inc., one of the largest Louisiana-owned pest and termite
Termite
Termites are a group of eusocial insects that, until recently, were classified at the taxonomic rank of order Isoptera , but are now accepted as the epifamily Termitoidae, of the cockroach order Blattodea...
control companies. This was the company begun by his father, whom Couhig bought out before himself selling in 2001 to a firm based in Lafayette
Lafayette, Louisiana
Lafayette is a city in and the parish seat of Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, United States, on the Vermilion River. The population was 120,623 at the 2010 census...
.
Though continuing to practice law, Couhig now speaks more about building viable companies than engaging in litigation. He left Adams and Reese on the day after Labor Day 2003. Couhig and two other attorneys started Couhig Partners in September 2003 as a firm that works with entrepreneurs. As of 2006, the firm had more than twenty lawyers, a consulting group, and an office in Baton Rouge headed by former Louisiana Attorney General 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...
. Couhig is also the managing partner of Couhig Investments, LLC which invests in small businesses in Louisiana.
Sports businessman
In the early 1990s, Couhig decided to bring a minor league baseballMinor league baseball
Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...
team to New Orleans (which had been without a baseball team since the demise of the New Orleans Pelicans
New Orleans Pelicans
The New Orleans Pelicans were a Minor league professional baseball team based in New Orleans, Louisiana.-Team history:Founded in 1887, the Pelicans became part of the Southern Association in 1901...
). He negotiated with the owner of the Denver
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
Zephyrs with the goal of bringing the team to New Orleans. He lobbied three governors for a stadium off Airline Highway 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....
. In 1995, Couhig put together an investor group to buy the team at an undisclosed price. The new Zephyr Field opened on April 11, 1997, and the team has been a household name ever since.
Couhig also developed an interest in soccer. In November 1997, he purchased the New Orleans Riverboat Gamblers, a team founded in 1993, from Donnie Pate. Couhig renamed the team the New Orleans Storm and relocated it from Tad Gormley Stadium
Tad Gormley Stadium
Tad Gormley Stadium is a multi-purpose outdoor stadium, located in City Park, in New Orleans, Louisiana, named for Frank "Tad" Gormley. It has been used for football, track & field, and soccer. It played host to the US Olympic Track & Field Trials for the 1992 Summer Olympics...
to Zephyr Field
Zephyr Field
Zephyr Field is a 10,000-seat baseball park in Metairie, Louisiana, a suburb of New Orleans, that hosted its first regular season baseball game on April 11, 1997, as the tenants of the facility, the New Orleans Zephyrs, defeated the Oklahoma City 89ers, 8-3. The ballpark hosted the 1998 and 2001...
. On February 11, 2000, Couhig sold his New Orleans Zephyrs
New Orleans Zephyrs
The New Orleans Zephyrs are a minor league baseball team based in Metairie, Louisiana, a suburb of New Orleans. The Zephyrs play in the Pacific Coast League and are the Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. The Zephyrs play their home games at Zephyr Field....
baseball team to Donald Beaver. Two weeks later, Couhig announced he was suspending operations of the Storm pending a move to another stadium. Couhig told Kathy Finn that he probably lost $1 million on the team.
Couhig sold his pest-control company in 2001 and enrolled in the executive MBA course at Tulane in 2002.
Republican political activist
Couhig has been active in Louisiana politics since 1971. He was the campaign manager in the election in 1971 and 1975 of his half-brother, Sam LeBlanc, a Democrat. LeBlanc left the legislature in 1980.In 1976, Couhig defected to the Republican Party. In 1977, he became the campaign coordinator for Republican Robert L. "Bob" Livingston
Bob Livingston
Robert Linlithgow "Bob" Livingston Jr. is a Washington, D.C.-based lobbyist and a former Republican U.S. Representative from Louisiana...
, who for the second time sought to represent the First Congressional District in the U.S. House. Livingston had lost in the 1976 general election to Democrat Richard A. Tonry
Richard Alvin Tonry
Richard Alvin Tonry is a former Louisiana politician affiliated with the Democratic Party and a one-term congressman.Tonry was born in New Orleans. He graduated from Spring Hill College in Mobile, Alabama, in 1962. He earned a law degree from Loyola University of New Orleans in 1967...
. When Tonry was forced to resign because of campaign finance violations in 1977, Livingston won the seat in a special election, with Couhig's backing, and served until 1999.
First run for Congress, 1980
In 1980, Couhig waged a failed challenge to Democratic Congresswoman Corrine Claiborne "Lindy" BoggsLindy Boggs
Marie Corinne Morrison Claiborne Boggs, usually known as Lindy Boggs , is a United States political figure who served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives and later as ambassador to the Vatican. She was the first woman elected to Congress from Louisiana...
, popular widow of former House Majority Leader Thomas Hale Boggs, Sr.
Hale Boggs
Thomas Hale Boggs Sr. , was an American Democratic politician and a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Orleans, Louisiana...
, of New Orleans.
Couhig raised some $200,000 for the race, a large amount at that time for a challenger in a difficult district. Lindy Boggs was the winner; she polled 45,091 votes (63.8 percent) to Couhig's 25,512 (36.2 percent). She was never seriously challenged in all of her congressional races between 1973 and 1988, when she won her last term. Couhig was actually among the stronger opponents that Boggs ever faced.
The Second District did not support a Republican candidate for Congress until the general election
General election
In a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.The term...
held on December 6, 2008, when 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...
refugee, 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...
, unseated the scandal-plagued 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...
, who had succeeded Mrs. Boggs in 1991. Cao, however, was unseated in the 2010 general election.
Not long after his first congressional race, Couhig was the campaign manager for Republican State Representative Garey Forster
Garey Forster
Garey Forster is an American radio host who served in District 98 as a Republican member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1982–1997, when he resigned to become the state secretary of labor under Governor Murphy J...
, who represented the New Orleans 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...
district from 1982-1997.
Second run for Congress, 1999
Couhig ran for Congress again in the May 1, 1999, special election in the First District to choose the successor to Bob LivingstonBob Livingston
Robert Linlithgow "Bob" Livingston Jr. is a Washington, D.C.-based lobbyist and a former Republican U.S. Representative from Louisiana...
, who resigned amid a sex scandal. He finished in fifth place with 5,149 votes (8 percent). Former Republican Governor David C. Treen
David C. Treen
David Conner "Dave" Treen, Sr. , was an American attorney and politician from Mandeville, St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana – the first Republican Governor of the U.S. state of Louisiana since Reconstruction. He was the first Republican in modern times to have served in the U.S...
was forced into a runoff for the seat with state Representative David Bruce Vitter
David Vitter
David Vitter is the junior United States Senator from Louisiana and a member of the Republican Party. Previously, he served in the United States House of Representatives, representing the suburban Louisiana's 1st congressional district. He served as a member of the Louisiana House of...
. Vitter narrowly won the second round of balloting and held the seat from 1999-2005. Vitter then became the state's first Republican U.S. senator since Reconstruction. Couhig was even overshadowed in the House race by the controversial Republican convert David Duke
David Duke
David Ernest Duke is a former Grand Wizard of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan an American activist and writer, and former Republican Louisiana State Representative. He was also a former candidate in the Republican presidential primaries in 1992, and in the Democratic presidential primaries in...
.
Couhig said that he had expected Livingston to support him in 1999 in return for the help that Couhig had rendered to Livingston in the 1977 election. Couhig said that his weak showing may have been a reflection of his inability to convince voters how his vision differed from the other Republican candidates. He noted that he spent $500,000 of his own money on the race despite bleak prospects.
Run for mayor, 2006
In 2005, Greater New Orleans was devastated by 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...
and related Levee failures
Levee failures in Greater New Orleans, 2005
In 29 August 2005 there were over 50 failures of the levees and flood walls protecting New Orleans, Louisiana, and its suburbs following passage of Hurricane Katrina and landfall in Mississippi. The levee and flood wall failures caused flooding in 80% of New Orleans and all of St. Bernard Parish...
(see: Effect of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans
Effect of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans
The effects of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans have been long-lasting. As the center of Katrina passed South-east of New Orleans on August 29, 2005, winds downtown were in the Category 3 range with frequent intense gusts and tidal surge. Hurricane force winds were experienced throughout the...
). The majority of the city was still in ruins and the majority of the population still living elsewhere in early 2006, for what many felt was the most important election in the city's history.
Couhig and former city council member Peggy Wilson were the two Republican candidates for mayor. His campaign started with television ads mocking the perceived leading candidates, Mitch Landrieu
Mitch Landrieu
Mitchell Joseph "Mitch" Landrieu is the Mayor of New Orleans, former Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana, and a member of the Landrieu family. Landrieu is a member of the Democratic Party and a Roman Catholic. He is the son of former New Orleans mayor and Secretary of the United States Department of...
, Ron Forman
Ron Forman
Ron Forman is the head of the Audubon Nature Institute and was one of the leading candidates in the New Orleans mayoral election, 2006....
, and incumbent Mayor Ray Nagin. In televised debates prior to the nonpartisan blanket primary, Couhig's combative style attracted attention. MSNBC pundit Chris Matthews
Chris Matthews
Christopher John "Chris" Matthews is an American news anchor and political commentator, known for his nightly hour-long talk show, Hardball with Chris Matthews, which is televised on the American cable television channel MSNBC...
declared Couhig the "absolute winner" of the pre-primary debate.
Couhig said that New Orleans residents should accent "self-reliance" in the post-Katrina rebuilding, rather than a sense of "entitlement". Couhig criticized Nagin for supposedly "sugar-coating" the city's woes. He claimed that Nagin was "reaping short-term political gains at the expense of the city's long-term best interests." Couhig said that his opponents were promoting a "fantasy" that the city can continue operating on a budget meant for nearly half a million people when fewer than half that many persons remained in New Orleans in the spring of 2006. Couhig said that the city could not sustain basic services in sparsely populated areas. He also chided Nagin for his use of the term "Chocolate City
Chocolate City speech
The Chocolate City speech is the nickname that some people have given to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day speech by Ray Nagin, Mayor of New Orleans, Louisiana, on January 16, 2006. The speech concerned race politics in New Orleans several months after Hurricane Katrina destroyed much of the city...
." He urged Nagin, who had supported the 2003 Republican gubernatorial candidate 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....
along with other Republican candidates, to "stop pandering for political gain."
Couhig finished a distant fourth in the April 22 primary with 10,312 votes (10 percent). He led in seven precincts. A second Republican, former city councilwoman Peggy Wilson received another 773 votes (1 percent). Eighty-nine percent of New Orleans voters supported a Democratic candidate in the primary.
The general election was scheduled between the top two candidates, the incumbent Nagin and Democratic Lieutenant Governor Mitchell Landrieu
Mitch Landrieu
Mitchell Joseph "Mitch" Landrieu is the Mayor of New Orleans, former Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana, and a member of the Landrieu family. Landrieu is a member of the Democratic Party and a Roman Catholic. He is the son of former New Orleans mayor and Secretary of the United States Department of...
. Despite his earlier criticism of Nagin, Couhig enthusiastically endorsed Nagin, made television ads urging his reelection, and helped to mobilize the city's Republicans and conservatives behind the incumbent mayor.
Couhig's support may have been the "swing vote" that was critical to Nagin's reelection. Couhig said that the Landrieu "political dynasty" had failed the city. (This was a reference to Mitch Landrieu's sister Mary Landrieu
Mary Landrieu
Mary Loretta Landrieu is the senior United States Senator from the State of Louisiana and a member of the Democratic Party.Born in Arlington, Virginia, Landrieu was raised in New Orleans, Louisiana...
and his father, former Mayor Moon Landrieu
Moon Landrieu
Maurice Edwin "Moon" Landrieu is a Democratic politician from Louisiana who served as Mayor of New Orleans from 1970–1978. He also is a former judge...
.) Couhig noted that the New Orleans population peaked in 1960, even before the rise of the Landrieu family to political dominance.
After the 2006 election
Couhig volunteered to work unpaid for 100 days in the second Nagin administration. He co-chaired the mayor's 100-Day Initiative Plan with business owner Judith Williams.Couhig then co-hosted "The Rob and Bo Show", a weekly talk radio show on WRNO-FM
WRNO-FM
WRNO-FM is an Interactive Talk formatted radio station serving New Orleans, Louisiana. The Clear Channel Communications station broadcasts at 99.5 MHz with an effective radiated power of 100 kilowatts.-History:...
with radio personality Bo Walker, until it was canceled at the end of January 2008. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4200/is_20080130/ai_n21217341/
2010 mayoral race
In December 2009, Couhig announced his candidacy in the 2010 New Orleans mayoral electionNew Orleans mayoral election, 2010
The New Orleans mayoral election of 2010 is an election for Mayor of New Orleans, Louisiana. The first round of voting took place on December 9 through December 11, 2009, and the election occurred on February 6, 2010...
http://www.fox8live.com/news/local/story/Couhig-enters-mayors-race-through-cyber-gateway/-7dk4dVf7Emyw6NFkgq1WQ.cspx. He finished fourth, with 5 percent of vote. The race was won by the Democrat Mitch Landrieu
Mitch Landrieu
Mitchell Joseph "Mitch" Landrieu is the Mayor of New Orleans, former Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana, and a member of the Landrieu family. Landrieu is a member of the Democratic Party and a Roman Catholic. He is the son of former New Orleans mayor and Secretary of the United States Department of...
, who received 65 percent.