Houma politico on Ashley Madison list

A Houma lawyer and former state legislator’s e-mail address is among the 36 million or more revealed in a hacking site’s data dump of an online dating service that specializes in hooking up people who are already married.

Damon Baldone – who is not currently married – acknowledged Friday night in a telephone interview that he has maintained an account on the Ashley Madison site, but that when he opened he did not know that it was a haven for cheaters.

“It’s no secret that I’ve been single for years,” Baldone said. “A few years ago I signed up for many singles websites to try and meet single women. After signing up for this particular site, I was confronted with the reality of what the site was and I left and never returned.”

Baldone, who plans to run for a House seat again, said sites with his electronic profile include Match.com, eHarmony, OKCupid, ItsJustLunch.com, Plenty of Fish, and “unfortunately, Ashley Madison was one. “

His online interests, he insists, are focused on single women.

After learning that Baldone’s name was on the site, The Times entered his e-mail address into two online databases of people exposed by the hack. When Baldone’s e-mail address came up positive, e-mail addresses of other people were entered to make certain that the databases were genuine. Those addresses did not come up as being on the list.

Though he did not return to the Ashley Madison site, Baldone said, his profiles on others have resulted in some success.

“They were dinner dates,” he said. “All very nice women.”

Global news outlets were reporting this week that hackers released detailed records of millions of people registered at the site, a month after a break-in at Ashley Madison’s parent company, Avid Life Media in Toronto.

The site’s slogan is “life is short have an affair,” and states that extramarital affairs are its mainstay.

Baldone said he is not sympathetic to the philosophy.

“My heart goes out to anyone who has been betrayed or hurt in this way by their spouse,” Baldone said. “As an attorney who handles divorce cases I understand the pain and strife this can cause men, women, and especially to children. We can’t lose this truth in all this. When I got the initial call from the press, I didn’t deny being on a singles websites and confirmed I had joined many. Once I was told which site this actually was, it goes without saying I am disappointed my name was found associated with it in any way.”

In the telephone interview Baldone acknowledged being “embarrassed.”

Baldone made headlines of a different sort last week, when he appeared before District Judge David Arcreneaux in Houma, seeking to compel the Terrebonne Parish Registrar of Voters to allow him to register as both a Republican and a Democrat in anticipation of his House candidacy. Arceneaux ruled against Baldone, who is appealing to the Louisiana Supreme Court.

He said, when asked, that he did not list his political affiliations in the profile.

Baldone noted that he used his standard e-mail address on the site.

“I had no reason to hide anything,” he said.

Damon Baldone