‘Prince of a Man’ remembered for service, love of family
March 25, 2015
Ivy Leaguer joins effort to clean the bayou
March 25, 2015
Houma businessman J.J. Buquet sees a lot that’s been done right in Baton Rouge.
He also sees a lot that needs to change.
That’s why the lifelong Terrebonne Parish resident has decided to take a plunge from the private sector into politics.
He wants to represent District 52 in the Louisiana House, the seat currently occupied and soon to be vacated by Rep. Gordon Dove (R-Houma).
The work of Dove and other members of the Bayou Region delegation – in particular their focus on coastal restoration – is a lot of what Buquet has seen as good.
Dove term limits out in 2016. The primary election is scheduled for Oct. 24.
Buquet said the next step is monitoring how the money local lawmakers have won is properly distributed.
“They have been able to bring down to Terrebonne Parish a lot of capital outlay money for Morganza to the Gulf and other projects,” Buquet said. But now he is concerned that money bound for this region could be hijacked elsewhere in the state because of lean economic times.
Seeing to it that money from federal oil and gas-related payments and BP fine money is properly dealt with, Buquet said, will be a priority if he is elected.
In addition to hurricane protection and coastal restoration, Buquet has a desire to focus on higher education, workforce development and removing roadblocks built into Louisiana’s constitution.
“We need to have a constitutional convention,” said Buquet, noting that higher education has been left too vulnerable, due to constitutional restrictions on where lawmakers can cut money provided by the state.
“We have constitutionally locked the hands of the legislature,” Buquet said. “We have continually cut higher education. How much blood can you bleed before you kill it?”
Buquet joined the family business, Houma-based Buquet Distributing Company, which Anheuser-Busch beer and other beverage products. He became president of the company in 1997.
Lessons learned in business, Buquet said, can be translated into government. That, coupled with love of the region, will help him do a good job in Baton Rouge, he said.
“This District is too important to the health of Louisiana not to have a strong voice in Baton Rouge,” Buquet said.
Buquet, whose “J.J.” moniker is the result of his first and middle names, James Joseph, graduated with honors from Vandebilt High School and then attended Washington and Lee University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree. He then went on to Tulane University where he was awarded a master’s in business administration.
While he has had minimal political experience, Buquet said, he is no stranger to civic involvement and leadership.
Buquet is a past chairman of the Houma-Terrebonne Chamber of Commerce, current chairman of the Bayou Community Foundation, chairman of the South Louisiana Economic Council, board member of the James J. Buquet Jr. Family Foundation and the Greater New Orleans Foundation. He is also a past Chairman of the Terrebonne Foundation For Academic Excellence.
In addition to serving as president of the family business, Buquet is chairman of Coastal Commerce Bank and vice chairman of Louisiana Community Bancorp.
He and his wife, Sinclair Mercer, have two children, James and Mary Mercer.
The transition to public life and its added scrutiny if elected is one for which Buquet said he is prepared.
“In business you are putting yourself out there for criticism if you make decisions people don’t like,” he said. “In the world of politics you are going to upset somebody with something.”
