Dartez backs Kershaw camp

She’s back in politics, but not running for office.

So, is it politically correct to say, “Welcome Back?”

Former two-term state Rep. Carla Dartez, a Democrat from Morgan City, is crossing party lines, to endorse country crooner and Republican Sammy Kershaw in his bid to become Louisiana’s 49th lieutenant governor.

The field for the state’s number two office includes real estate broker James Crowley, Secretary of State Jay Dardenne, St. Tammany Parish President Kevin Davis, attorney Caroline Fayard, state Rep. Butch Gautreaux, Kershaw, physician Melanie J. McKnight and Louisiana Republican Chairman Roger Villere.

“Primarily, I am supporting Sammy Kershaw because I believe he is ultimately the best person to represent Louisiana’s tourism,” Dartez said.

“The main goal of the lieutenant governor’s office is to increase and promote tourism, to monitor the state’s arts and cultural programs and to increase and promote the state’s sporting and hunting opportunities,” she said. “Sammy can hit the ground running, because he represents all of these areas.”

Dartez has accepted a job as regional director for the campaign, which includes her old stomping grounds: District 51, where she served as state representative for eight years.

“It’s not a political thing, either. Partisan politics is what’s ruining this state and this country right now, and I’m not pushing either side. I’m for an individual. I’m for the right person for the job or, more importantly, who is going to make Louisiana work,” Dartez said.

Questioned why she did not endorse her former colleague and fellow Democrat, Gautreaux, Dartez said she did not know until the closing of qualifying that he intended to seek the job.

“Frankly, I’ve only known Sammy for about a month,” Dartez admitted. “He qualified to run, and then he called me three days later and asked for a meeting. He learned about me through a mutual friend. That was it.”

Gautreaux refused to comment on Dartez’s decision to lend her support to Kershaw’s camp.

For his part, however, Kershaw said he is ecstatic to have Dartez.

“First of all, I’m running to represent everyone in Louisiana – Republicans, Democrats and whoever else is out there,” Kershaw said.

“Secondly, to have someone like Carla is an honor. She is humble, and she loves to unify people,” he said. “I am thrilled to have her support and certainly know that she will do a great job in communicating our message.”

Dartez lost a third term bid for her job in the state House in 2007 to current state Rep. Joe Harrison, a Napoleonville insurance broker.

The campaign captured the national spotlight when Dartez reportedly used an ill-advised term during a telephone conversation with Hazel Boykin, the mother of Jerome Boykin, the president of Terrebonne Parish’s chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

Dartez said she was making campaign plans with Mrs. Boykin and, as they were ending their call, she said, “OK, Buckwheat,” the phrase made famous by comedian Eddie Murphy during his tenure on “Saturday Night Live.”

Dartez later apologized publicly for using the phrase, saying she meant it as a term of endearment.

However, the NAACP joined the firestorm, with Boykin leading the fray. He blasted Dartez for disrespecting his mother.

A postcard mailed to Dartez’s constituents soon followed, bearing the message, “NAACP calls on African-American voters to withdraw their support for Carla Dartez, and the NAACP state and local leaders stand united against racial slurs made by Dartez.”

Boykin later blamed the postcard on Harrison’s camp, saying it had taken remarks made at the public press conference and applied them to the mailing.

“There was nothing anyone could do about people who chose to take the contents and advertise them,” Boykin later said.

Dartez said that she has learned much since that campaign.

“I tried to do everything for everybody then. I could not bring myself to say no, to anyone then,” she said. “Now, I’ve learned how to created boundaries. I had to … and I have to now.”

“It’s God’s will for me to do this for Sammy, and we going to give it all we’ve got,” Dartez said.

Baton Rouge pollster Jim Couvillon said Dartez’s influence on the Kerhaw campaign will be limited because most of her former constituents are Democrat and are not likely to cross party lines.

“If I remember correctly, Mitch Landrieu won that area hands down in his bid for lieutenant governor,” Couvillon said. “There is going to be a limit as to how far Carla’s influence will go, particularly since her (2007) campaign went down in electoral flames. I just don’t see her influence as a plus for Kershaw.”

New Orleans-based campaign manager Cheron Brylski, who has handled more than 140 campaigns in Louisiana, said in general, individual endorsements rarely help a candidate.

“A candidate must prove they are capable of leading a well-funded, well-organized effort, which motivates voters to go to the polls … period,” she said.

Brylski was more hopeful when asked about Dartez’s return to the political arena.

“There is rarely a public official who has not made a mistake while serving in office,” she said. “Those who seek forgiveness from the electorate usually find it if they are sincere and demonstrative. There is no better example than former President Bill Clinton.

Brylski predicts Dartez’s endorsement will help those already inclined to consider Kershaw, especially among Democrats thinking of making a switch.

“But in the end, Mr. Kershaw will have to deserve that attention from voters all on his own,” she said.

LeAnne Weill, another veteran campaign strategist with the Baton Rouge-based Weill Agency, said Dartez’s relationship with her old constituents will likely be the deciding factor as to whether she is able to attract votes.

“As far as [Dartez’s] party crossing, with the current climate in the state, this should have either no affect or a positive one,” she said. “Louisiana is a forgiving state when it comes to personal shortcomings.

“U.S. Sen. David Vitter is the penultimate example of this,” Weill added. “Consorting with prostitutes on both the Gulf Coast and the East Coast and retaining a staffer with a known background of drugs and violence against women have all been apparently forgiven.”

Weill said there are also worst violations than Dartez’s “slip of the lip” with the Buckwheat comment. “Unless the NAACP made an issue and resurrected this, I would doubt anyone else would care,” she said.

Whether the endorsement post marks Dartez’s official return to Louisiana politics, the former representative said anything is possible.

“I’m right where God wants me right now and I’m loving it,” she said. “And as for my career later on, I’m certainly not closing any doors. Everyone needs to know I’m still here, and I’m here to help, and to help people.”