Orleans Parish Criminal Clerk of Court-elect Calvin Duncan took his oath of office on Tuesday, two weeks before the date on which he's scheduled to assume his new role.
It's an effort to push back against the legislature's attempt to eliminate that office before May 4, the day Duncan's commission begins. A bill to do just that is awaiting a vote on the House floor, and Governor Jeff Landry has vowed to sign it if it receives legislative approval.
One analyst says the fight over the clerk's position and the attempt to consolidate the Orleans court system is a sign that New Orleans's clout at the Capitol has greatly diminished.
JMC analytics pollster John Couvillon says two factors have led to New Orleans's loss of clout at the Capitol: population loss following Hurricane Katrina and the loss of "political cover" from Democrats who once dominated state government.
"Orleans Parish steadily losing population, and with its political preferences (having) such significant variance to the rest of the state, combine that with a Republican governor and substantial Republican majorities that are not inclined to do any favors for the city of New Orleans, that's kind of why you're seeing what you’re seeing. It's a function of the loss of influence," Couvillon said.
Now that Republicans control state government, Couvillon says lawmakers from the rest of the state can exert their will over New Orleans.
"Those kinds of conditions are why you would see bills that would not necessarily be favorable to New Orleans whereas in the past, you may not have seen these kinds of bills--or even these bills would have likely not made it out of committee back then."
