Who is buddy roemer

The state needs to go in that direction. Another thing that we did was talk about campaign disclosure. This is a state that had no campaign disclosure requirements. We put them on the books. We need to do more, but it was a beginning.

There are many examples of that. The third thing, besides [being] new, besides money, was the environment. The land we live on and the air we breathe and the water we drink should be the best on earth. Louisiana had a Department of Environmental Quality that spent not one penny—not one penny of state general fund money on the environment. It was unbelievable. John McKeithen had started it, but Edwards had run it into the ground. We resurrected it.

We made it meaningful. We stopped shell dredging in Lake Pontchartrain. This was very unpopular, but it was the right thing to do. When you first came into office, how did you choose the people who were going to help you direct your legislative agenda? BR: A combination of things. One: personal knowledge.

Some of my staff could move up, I thought. Number two: volunteers. A lot of people heard that I was running and they volunteered to help me, and I watched them, and I knew some of these people could go into government, so I did that.

Third was that we advertised around the country for people and I brought them in from around the country. Now, my opponents criticized me. I thought they were Americans. Louisiana does not have all of the answers. Talk about some lessons learned. BR: Oh, man. They were good — I will say this — they were better than I gave them credit for. I learned a lot from the legislature. They knew Louisiana and all the best parts even better than I did, and I had grown up here and loved it. But they taught me.

I thought I knew it. They taught me a lesson. They were good at what they did, but they were way too political in my opinion. It was good. I was lucky. I got along well with the media. I was endorsed by every paper in Louisiana, except in Lafayette. But I hired Bill Lynch, who was a political reporter, to be my interrogator, investigator.

Buddy was a dedicated public servant, committed to reforming our state for the better. This loss will undoubtedly be felt throughout our state, from his hometown of Shreveport, to Baton Rouge, and every community shaped by his leadership. As we navigate this loss, let us reflect on his service to Louisiana, and the great pride Governor Roemer showed for our state.

Both chambers of the Louisiana Legislature, the House and Senate, held a moment of silence for former Gov. Roemer on Monday. Louisiana Senate President Sen. A man who worked diligently for Louisiana both in Congress and by serving as Governor of our great state.

He pushed for reform in many areas to keep Louisiana ahead of the times and led us into a more prosperous future. His death can serve as a reminder to us all to keep fighting for Louisiana and his legacy.

This is a developing news story. WAFB will update this story when more information is available. Skip to content. Getting Answers. Great Health Divide. A businessman from northwest Louisiana, Roemer served four terms in Congress b…. Roemer swept into office at age 44 and, within a year, won legislative approval to raise teacher pay, enact a teacher evaluation program and establish strict limits on how much big donors could give to political candidates.

He also helped pull Louisiana out of its worst financial crisis in years. And he allowed Paul Templet, his secretary at the Department of Environmental Quality, to crack down on oil and gas polluters — a first in state history — and clean up Lake Pontchartrain by ending shell dredging.

But over time, a quirky, mercurial side of Roemer emerged, one that mystified friends. Edwards and his political allies had a ready explanation. They spread the word to voters that he was arrogant, snide and sanctimonious. Roemer had troubles on the home front, too. His wife, Patti, left him, taking their year-old son, Dakota. The governor went into a shell for weeks. The Roemer Revolution had been derailed. Roemer tried to get it back on track in , when he became the first governor in U.

But voters had tired of his version of reform. The newly-minted Republican finished a humiliating third in the gubernatorial primary behind Edwards and David Duke, a one-term state Republican House member from Metairie who had been a Ku Klux Klan grand wizard in the s.

I pray to God that he takes it. Roemer ran for governor again in as Edwards, wrapping up a fourth term, chose not to seek reelection.

Roemer led during much of the race but faded in the stretch. State Sen. Mike Foster brushed past Roemer and several other better-known candidates, much as Roemer had done eight years earlier. Roemer, who had been a strong supporter of civil rights throughout his career, refused to even meet with Duke. He finished fourth in the primary, only 1. Roemer ran for office only once more in a quixotic campaign in and early to win the Republican nomination for president.

He dropped out after a poor showing in the New Hampshire primary. He founded two thriving banks in Baton Rouge. Roemer is the third former Louisiana governor to die in two years.

Kathleen Blanco, who governed from to , died in August while Mike Foster, who governed from to , died last October. Edwin Edwards, who is 93, and Bobby Jindal, who is 49, are the remaining living former governors. That meant making the right people mad, but he understood that," said U. John Kennedy, who got his start in politics as an aide to Roemer when he was governor.

When Roemer skipped fifth grade, she had him adopt the name Buddy. Visit the Archives View the Collections. How do I Use the Records Center? Delta Music Museum Eddie G. Page Top Content. Charles E.