Jay Dardenne
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Education
- Graduated from Baton Rouge High School
- Bachelor's degree, Louisiana State University (1976) in journalism
- Juris Doctorate degree, Louisiana State University (1979)
Professional experience
Jay Dardenne served as United States Magistrate for a year in 1979. That same year, he took a job as Law Clerk for the Honorable Frank J. Polozola until 1981. In 1980, he was a United States District Judge. He began his own law practice - Kennon, Odom, and Dardenne, LLC - the next year.
Political career
Early offices
Dardenne narrowly lost his first political race for the State Senate to incumbent Democrat Larry Bankston in 1987. He was, however, able to recoup from the defeat and earn a seat on the East Baton Rouge Metropolitan Council, a position he held until 1992. He ran once more for the State Senate and won in 1991. He initially trailed fellow Republican Lynda Imes in the primary, but went on to stage a comeback that garnered his the seat in the general election. During his tenure, he quickly gained a reputation as a champion of reform and a thorn in the side of Democratic Governor Edwin Washington Edwards, though few of his reform proposals were passed.[2] In the wake of the election of Republican Murphy J. Foster as governor in 1995, Dardenne became floor leader. It was in this span of time he was able to state constitutional amendments on term limits, coastal erosion and victims' rights, the creation of a single State Board of Ethics, spearheading reform of the river pilots' system, and working to reduce government waste as the chairman of the Louisiana Senate Finance Committee.
Secretary of State
Dardenne ran in the September 30 special election to complete the term vacated by the death of former Secretary of State W. Fox McKeithen, a fellow Republican who died in the summer of 2005. McKeithen had been temporarily succeeded by his friend, former Democratic State Representative Alan Ray Ater (born 1953) of Ferriday in Concordia Parish, at the time an assistant secretary of state under McKeithen, who chose not to run for the post in the special election.[3]
Former Republican State Chairman Mike Francis from Lafayette, taking a pro-life position, attacked Dardenne for a vote he cast in the 1990s for language in the federal Hyde Amendment which allows for federally-funded abortions in the case of rape or incest. These exceptions have been included since 1977 in response to an outcry by women's rights advocates, while abortion opponents argue that they punish the unborn for the crimes of the fathers. Dardenne maintained that his vote was required to allow the flow of Medicaid funds into Louisiana. [4] In spite of these assertions, Dardenne was able to project himself to voters as the candidate of reform and gain the majority of votes in the initially election. Since no candidate was able to garner over fifty percent of the votes, a special election runoff was to be held two weeks. Ultimately, however, Dardenne won by default. His opponent, Heitmeier withdrew, citing the fact that his New Orleans black voter base had been decimated because of Hurricane Katrina. He said that without help from national Democrats, victory over Dardenne would be impossible. Perhaps, his action was premature in light of the national Democratic sweep in the 2006 midterm elections.[5]
Other roles
- Board of Supervisors, Louisiana State University (1977-1978)
- Chair, Local Organizing Committee, National Senior Olympics (1993-2001)
- President, Baton Rouge Kids' Baseball Clinic
- CYO Basketball Coach
- President, Cerebral Palsy Association
- Chair, Coordinating Council on Domestic Violence
- Master of Ceremonies, Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon
- President, Leadership Greater Baton Rouge Alumni, Incorporated
- President, Louisiana State University Alumni Association
- National Board of Directors, President, Muscular Dystrophy Association
- President, River City Festivals Association
Car crash
Dardenne was hospitalized on August 6, 2007, for a spinal injury and broken ribs following a two-car collision on Interstate 12 in Baton Rouge. The collision occurred near the Essen Lane exit ramp after the secretary of state had left a downtown breakfast meeting. He was transported to Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center where he was in the neurological intensive care unit. He sustained rib fractures, chest bruises, and pelvic and back injuries to the L-2 vertebra, near the base of the spine. Dardenne was reportedly awake and alert. The crash was the result of him simply overcorrecting for his drifting into another lane, which resulted in him running off the interstate and into the median where he sustained the injuries.[6] His surgery was completed on August 14. Dardenne never received a ticket for the incident and Baton Rouge Police consider the matter closed.[7]
Electoral history
| 2006 Race for Secretary of State - Special Election[8] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Percentage | |||
 Jay Dardenne (R)
| 30% | |||
| Francis C. Heitmeier (D) | 28% | |||
| Mike Francis (R) | 26% | |||
| Mary Chehardy (R) | 9% | |||
| James Crowley, III (Non-Partisan) | 4% | |||
| Rayburn Clipper (Libertarian) | 2% | |||
| Allen Leone (R) | 2% | |||
| Total votes | 100% | |||
| 2007 Race for Secretary of State - General Election[9] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Percentage | |||
| Jay Dardenne (R)
| 63% | |||
| R. Wooley (D) | 31% | |||
| Scott Lewis (Non-Partisan) | 5% | |||
| Total votes | 100% | |||
Family life
Jay Dardenne is the son of Janet Abramson Dardenne and the late-John Leigh Dardenne, Sr. He currently resides in Baton Rouge, Louisiana with his wife, Catherine McDonald, and his two sons - John L. Dardenne, III and Matthew. He is a practicing member of Judaism.
Awards
- National Republican Legislator of the Year Award (2003)
Contact Information
Executive - Secretary of State
8585 Archives Ave.
Secretary of State Jay Dardenne
922-2880
922-2003 Fax
admin@sos.louisiana.gov
External links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
References
- ↑ Jewish Virtual Library - Benjamin Franklin Jonas
- ↑ Baton Rouge Morning Advocate "Jay Dardenne: Served as outsider, insider"
- ↑ New Orleans Times-Picayune "Ater won't run for secretary of state"
- ↑ The Dead Pelican News Alert
- ↑ Louisiana Political Report, Heitmeier Surrenders Secretary of State, http://www.newshorn.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1370&Itemid=121
- ↑ NOLA.com "Secretary of state injured in auto accident" 6 Aug. 2007
- ↑ WBRZ News 2 "Dardenne not ticketed in accident" 8 Aug. 2007
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State - Sept. 30, 2006 Special Election Results
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State - Oct. 2007 General Election Results
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