Some puzzled why their names dropped

• By JORDAN BLUM
• Advocate Capitol News Bureau
• Published: Jul 2, 2008 - Page: 1A - UPDATED: 12:15 a.m.

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The only Republican on the state Lottery Corp. board of directors, Sam Caruso was elected chairman for the second straight time in early June.

But Caruso was part of one-third of the board removed from office on June 23.

He and two other members — including the vice chairwoman — were not put forward for confirmation by the end of the legislative session by the Jindal administration.

“The bottom line is I don’t know why,” Caruso said. “I still wish the governor well, but damn if I can make any sense of this.”

Caruso, a longtime Slidell mayor, was among more than 60 members of boards and commissions statewide removed from office who were either appointed or re-appointed by former Gov. Kathleen Blanco between June 29, 2007, and Jan. 13.

Some state gaming and higher education boards were among the hardest hit by Gov. Bobby Jindal removing board members. All new appointments had to be confirmed by the state Senate during the legislative session, which ended June 23.

Blanco made 117 appointments after June. Jindal was able to indirectly remove many simply by not putting their names forward for Senate confirmation during the legislative session.

How people were vetted is an unknown, and Jindal is not talking. He refused three requests for comment. Also keeping mum is James Quinn, Jindal’s director of boards and commissions.

Jindal’s spokeswoman, Melissa Sellers, said in an e-mail, “As the Governor said after the election, every position was to be treated as an open position and we would work to find the best, most qualified individuals to serve our state.”

She did not discuss a timeline for naming replacements.

This bevy of board voids is greatly affected by many others resigning because of new financial disclosure laws.

Impacted boards and commissions range from the Louisiana Community and Technical College Board of Supervisors to the Louisiana Commission for the Deaf, which both lost multiple members.

The Southern University Board of Supervisors was the only statewide body to lose four board members. All four were newly appointed in October by Blanco.