Republican Gov. Jeff Landry continues to copy the tactics of President Donald Trump, his mentor, by changing rules and laws to fit his purposes. The governor’s administration, for example, tried to remove civil service protection that is enjoyed by 900 state employees.

The Advocate in its report of Landry’s actions reminded its readers that Louisiana’s civil service system gives government employees extra protection against being fired and is meant to limit patronage and political retaliation.

The late-Gov. Sam H. Jones, the only chief executive from Lake Charles, in the early 1940s formed a civil service reform committee headed by Charles E. Dunbar Jr., who is considered to be the “father” of civil service in Louisiana.

Jones was governor from 1940 to 1944 and he talked about civil service in his “Report to the People” that was delivered on statewide radio from Dec. 10 to Dec. 23, 1943, and that was also published.

In a section titled “Abuses Corrected,” Jones said civil service was in and dual officeholding was gone. There were voting machines in New Orleans, poll taxes were gone, public records were open, and there was competitive bidding, centralized purchasing, auditing and budget control.

Jones said, “Today this horrible nightmare is gone. Our rights have been restored … We have thrown out tyranny and installed democracy. For four years we have lived as free men and free women.”

The civil service system that Jones and Dunbar put in place has served this state well, but there have always been devious efforts to undue the protection enjoyed by Louisiana’s public employees.

The citizens of this state may not realize how close we came to losing civil service protection during the Legislature’s 2024 regular session. State Sen. John C. “Jay” Morris, a Republican from West Monroe, sponsored a proposed constitutional amendment that came within two votes of passing the Legislature.

Voters would have had the last word, but they have been quick in recent years to approve most amendments on their ballots. They approved all four last December.

Here is the key paragraph about Morris’ amendment that was explained by The Louisiana Illuminator on May 29, 2024: “The legislation would also allow the governor and state lawmakers to transform classified public positions into unclassified jobs, from which workers could be fired more easily.”

Morris said he thinks the civil service process makes it too difficult to fire public sector workers. In fact, he said his preference would be to do away with civil service entirely, even though his proposed amendment stopped short of doing that.

The Illuminator reported that government employees, including a handful of firefighters, and state civil service commissioners disagreed with Morris, saying the current system shields government employees from political pressure.

A member of the current state Civil Service Commission said, “We moved to a civil service system to end a system of ward politics and political favoritism.”

Landry wanted to change 394 attorney jobs and 506 engineering jobs from classified status to unclassified appointments, which makes it easier to fire employees.

The Legislature has already given Landry too much appointive power and he likes to name his friends and supporters to key government positions. The Advocate, for example, said Steve Orlando, a member of a state group meeting in secret, is a neighbor and fishing buddy of the governor.

Fortunately, the Civil Service Commission rejected Landry’s plans with a 4-2 vote. One of the four commissioners said she had heard from employees who feared Landry’s action would introduce political influence and instability in state employment.

Legislators gave Landry control of the state Board of Ethics last year where he has a pending case. The odds are that case and others may never be heard.

We can be sure that Morris or someone else will be back as early as possible to sponsor that bill again that makes dangerous changes to civil service. Some civil service changes may be necessary, but the state Civil Service Commission can improve the system’s operations.

Southwest Louisiana has four state senators and nine representatives and Rep. Wilford Carter, D-Lake Charles, cast the only vote against the Morris bill. Sen. Heather Cloud, R-Turkey Creek, was recorded as absent. The other 11 lawmakers, all Republicans, voted for the Morris amendment.

Let’s hope our area legislators don’t politicize state employees’ jobs again when Morris’ legislation resurfaces.

Jim Beam, the retired editor of the American Press, has covered people and politics for more than six decades. Contact him at 337-515-8871 or jim.beam.press@gmail.com.

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