Pay raise driving request for recalls

• By MARSHA SHULER
• Advocate Capitol News Bureau
• Published: Jun 19, 2008 - Page: 4A - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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Requests for recall petitions are up at the Louisiana Secretary of State’s Office in the wake of public furor over legislative pay raises.
“It is well above average,” Secretary of State spokesman Jacques Berry said Wednesday.

Since Monday, the office has mailed out 10 or so packages to those seeking information on how to go about recalling officials, Berry said.

“We expect them to be legislators because of the timing,” said Berry. “It’s pretty clear what is driving it.”

Monday was the day the Legislature gave final approval to legislation that would boost lawmakers’ base pay by $20,700 a year — from $16,800 to $37,500.

The bill is on its way to Gov. Bobby Jindal’s desk. He said he won’t veto it.

Angry residents have criticized the move on radio call-in shows, political blogs, and in e-mails in response to published and on-air reports. Legislators offices at home and in Baton Rouge have been bombarded with phone calls from unhappy constituents.

Some have said they plan to start petition drives to lead to recall elections for those legislators who voted for the raise.

Recall organizers must get the names of about one-third of the district’s registered voters to sign a petition within a 180-day period. The clock starts once the first signature is obtained.

There are about 42,500 people in a House district and 115,000 in a Senate district. Only registered voters’ signatures are counted on recall petitions. For instance, there are 21,000 to 32,000 voters within House districts totally in East Baton Rouge, according to the secretary of state’s elections data base.

Most recall petition drives are organized against local officials such as school board members, aldermen, chiefs of police and mayors, according to Secretary of State’s Office records.

The last successful drives led to the ouster of three aldermen in Folsum and one in Spearsville in July 2007 recall elections.

Those seeking to oust officials must first get a specified number of voters to sign a petition within a given time period.

A copy of the recall petition is submitted to the Secretary of State’s Office and the completed petition goes to the parish registrars of voters in the district from which the official is serving.