Update: BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - Louisiana House Speaker Jim Tucker said
Wednesday some lawmakers likely will lose their current committee
assignments or face other punishment because of their votes against
Tucker's choice for the House's No. 2 leader.
Tucker's chosen candidate, Lafayette Rep. Joel Robideaux, won
the bid to become House speaker pro tem in a close and unusually
public dispute over the job. Tucker said lawmakers wouldn't lose
committee seats because they voted against him, but rather because
they broke promises of who they would support.
"You just can't pat somebody on the back and say, 'I'm with
you' unless you mean it," Tucker said in a wide-ranging discussion
with reporters. Later he said, "People have to learn that there's
a penalty when you break your word in this process. That's all
we've got to make the process work."
Tucker wouldn't identify the lawmakers who should expect
retaliation. As speaker, Tucker makes committee assignments,
chooses committee chairmen and assigns a block of apartments set
aside for lawmakers near the Capitol.
He said committee assignment shuffling would be announced within
a week, but it will be difficult to determine who might have been
punished for the pro tem vote. Several committee seats already
needed to be reworked because of membership changes in the House.
"You won't be able to tell," Tucker said.
The House earlier this week voted 53-48 for Robideaux, an
independent, over Rep. Noble Ellington, D-Winnsboro, to be the
speaker pro tem. It was a narrow margin of victory for a title that
for decades was decided behind-the-scenes.
The selection of the speaker pro tem usually is worked out in
back-room negotiations, with only one member nominated on the House
floor and then approved unanimously. But this time, neither
Robideaux nor Ellington would drop out of the race, forcing a
public roll call vote Monday to decide between them.
The Republican, Democratic and black caucuses all split in the
vote, with members supporting both men. The last time House members
publicly chose between two nominees for the pro tem job was in
1984, said House Clerk Alfred "Butch" Speer.
The position was left vacant when Karen Carter Peterson was
elected to the state Senate. The pro tem often presides over House
debates when the speaker is absent and is included in House
leadership discussions.
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One of Lafayette's very own wins the second best spot in the state house. State Representative, Joel Robideaux is the new speaker pro tem in the House of Representatives. He won the position Monday at the start of session.
This is the first time in Louisiana history that an independent has won the position of speaker pro tem. Robideaux's job will be to assist the speaker and try to get the minimum amount of votes to pass. Robideaux says his win proves that the legislative party is doing their job. ""It's not about party politics, they look at the individuals and vote their conscience and I think that's the way it should be," said Robideaux.
Winning wasn't easy, this is the second time in state history there's been an election for this position, forcing a public roll call vote. 48 of the legislator's votes went to State Representative Noble Ellington and 53 of them went to Robideaux.
Robeideaux will serve as the speakers' right hand person and fill in when he's not there. Political expert, Pearson Cross agrees, "Robideaux is known as a very acute vote counter, so from that stand point and in this particular legislature he's going to be a person that will help Jim Tucker get his mission accomplished."
Cross says Robideaux's party affiliation will help him appeal to both sides. He says it could also serve as an indication to how the session will be. "It could be a struggle. You're not going to have much in the way of party line votes; you're going to have things hammered out on an issue by issue basis, so it's going to be very interesting."
In addition to being speaker pro tem, Robideaux still represents Acadiana, specifically Lafayette because he is still a state representative. Robideaux will serve as speaker pro tem for the next two years. As far as session goes, he says his major concern is the budget.


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