Dardenne to take office Nov. 22

Republican Jay Dardenne said last Wednesday that he’ll take over the lieutenant governor’s office on Nov. 22, waiting long enough to avoid holding a special election for the secretary of state’s job that he’s leaving behind.

“Consistent with my long-standing belief that we need to minimize special elections in Louisiana, I’m going to certainly be consistent with that notion and make certain that we don’t cost the state $6 million because of my election,” Dardenne said, announcing transition plans.

He could have taken office as early as Nov. 12.

Republican Tom Schedler, Dardenne’s first assistant, will become secretary of state until the fall 2011 elections once Dardenne becomes lieutenant governor. Schedler, a former state senator from St. Tammany Parish, has been Dardenne’s top aide for three years and said he’ll run for secretary of state next year.

“Tom is very well prepared to step in as secretary of state,” Dardenne said. “The transition here will be very smooth.”

Dardenne won the lieutenant governor’s job last Tuesday with 57 percent of the vote, defeating Democratic newcomer Caroline Fayard in the race to fill the remaining year of Mitch Landrieu’s term after Landrieu left to become mayor of New Orleans.

Besides being second-in-line to the governor, the lieutenant governor oversees the Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism and manages parks, museums, the state library and statewide tourism efforts.

To keep the job, Dardenne will have to run for re-election next year, and he’s said he intends to do so.

Between Landrieu’s leaving the post and Dardenne’s takeover, Gov. Bobby Jindal appointed his natural resources secretary, Scott Angelle, to work as lieutenant governor.

Angelle will return to the Department of Natural Resources when Dardenne officially becomes lieutenant governor.

Angelle took a hands-on approach during his tenure as lieutenant governor, starting several new tourism initiatives and fighting for tourism marketing money from BP PLC to combat negative images of Louisiana and its seafood after the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

Angelle started a foundation to receive private donations to help pay for some expenses at Louisiana’s state parks, began a nature-based tourism program around the state and pushed coastal tourism initiatives.

Dardenne said he’ll review each of the initiatives to determine which ones he’ll continue. But he also said he expects to restructure the lieutenant governor’s office to cut some positions and deal with budget cuts that have hit the office and are expected to strip further funding from the agency next year.

In a quirk, Dardenne’s early exit from the secretary of state’s office means the fall 2011 ballot may contain two races for secretary of state, one to fill the remaining two-month term from November to January and the regular election for the four-year term that begins in January.

If the same candidates sign up for both races, then it will only be listed on the ballot once – as a race to fill the remaining two-month term and the full four-year term, a spokesman for the secretary of state’s office said.