It’s been two weeks since the launch of Dead People, Crazy People, Drugs and Politicians and what a crazy ride it has been. I’ve had a couple radio shows and made a presentation at the Rotary Club of Slidell, where it all began. I’ve also scheduled some more presentations and we’re scheduling some more media coverage so things are going well with publicity. It was very uplifting.
I’m very excited about out upcoming delivery to the legislature in Baton Rouge. The primary driver of this book was to document the corruption in St Tammany Parish and provide an impetus for change. The current structure of Article V of the Louisiana Constitution has virtually no oversight provisions for the justice branch, except for the Judicial Review Board which keeps all of their information confidential. We need to change that and the only way to change it is to get permission from the legislature to allow parishes to create an office of inspector general if they wish or create state agencies to provide oversight similar to the Legislative Auditor’s Office or the Louisiana Office of Inspector General.
We plan to send a letter with a copy of the book to every legislator and other key people. The letter isn’t critical of anyone. It is a simple request asking for permission for the citizens of St Tammany Parish to have the opportunity to police their own, following the old adage “Inspect what you Expect!”
We were very fortunate in the district attorney race that people chose to embrace the new path that was started by Warren Montgomery. His death left a huge hole in the justice system in St Tammany and he will be greatly missed for many reasons.
Collin Sims will have his hands full as he takes the reins and moves forward with his agenda, but he is quite competent as he has demonstrated. I’m sure that he learned just how dark some of the forces are that were aligned against him. They won’t be going away so it is important to remain vigilant.
There has also been a resurgence of interest in the St Tammany Parish Coroner’s Office. Unfortunately, there was very little interest in the job and the only person who qualified to run has some questionable baggage, but he was found not guilty and it appears that he is willing to make many substantive changes to improve the agency. Had he been allowed to have a normal transition, things may have been less acrimonious. It’s going to be interesting to see how this plays out.
I hope that all of you have a blessed Easter!
Terry King
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