Remy Melancon 

Jour 2700-O001 

Dr. Katie Franklin 

4/20/2025 

                                      “Jeff Landry- was he a good choice for office?” 

Since he was elected back on October 14, 2023, Jeff Landry has certainly been a controversial choice for office, to say the least. However, despite a lot of his detractors, he still managed to gain 52% of the popular vote during that specific election. Because of that fact, it makes sense that there had to be some reasons why people wanted him in office. To get to the root of why, I will have to explore Landry’s entire term in office all the way to where we are today. This includes comparing him to previous Governors of Louisiana, such as John Bel Edwards, and Piyush “Bobby” Jindal. Additionally, this article will be pulled from three sources, including an interview with Andrew Kilshaw. For context, Kilshaw is the policy advisor for Landry’s administration. There are several key controversial topics I will discuss regarding Landry, first beginning with his extreme stances on several political points.

With that being the primary topic, it makes perfect sense to start at Criminal Justice Reform. Landry has an extraordinarily strong stance on criminal justice, which he demonstrated by removing the reform laws that Edwards had locked in back in 2017. These reform laws focused heavily on reducing incarceration, which contrasts heavily with Landry’s approach to things. This includes ending parole for many, as well as expanding methods of execution. I do think Landy’s stance here is very extreme, Jindal was tough on crime, but not this tough. This will absolutely have consequences of individuals claiming for him to have too much power and control over citizens. On top of that, it looks bad with his consolidation of power, which will be discussed later. 

On top of the Criminal Justice Reform, there is another type of reform that Landry has been negatively associated with throughout his term. Landry’s attempts to completely restructure the state constitution. This is a step that Edwards and Jindal never took, continuing to show that Landry does not really care about how the people running in office did things before he arrived.  Thankfully, all four of his amendments were turned down by voters. If they had not made this vote, Landry would be able to change the constitution to fit his own biases. This would have been a level of control and power that has never been seen in Louisiana. This truly feels like a bullet-dodging moment for the entire state. This has a great deal of negative impact when it comes top the overall public perception of Jeff Landry. Because every single amendment was turned down, it paints a picture of state voters who could care less about what the governor seeks to achieve. This, of course, is absolutely out of balance. A proper system would entaila perfect synchronous blend of voters and the one putting these policies out there. There is clearl 

This divide can be traced to where Landry’s main political stances lie. In the past, both Edwards and Jindal made sure to never fully take one side on a situation. Both men made it a point to keep themselves professional and therefore made for a system that worked much more smoothly. When it comes to Landry’s strong right-leaning alliance, it leaves no room for any other kind of political alignment. While it is good he has strong Republican support, it is concerning that he does not try to appeal to both sides. This strong Republican connection has ripple effects across all of Landry’s policies, as it is clear he is trying his absolute best to please every single member of the party. This means if one is not fully on that side, their opinion does not really matter in the grand scheme of things. This is a very cutthroat approach to politics and definitely will put him in a good light with a lot of people. 

The next controversial topic is that of climate change. It is no secret that Landry is a denier of climate change, as he believes that it conflicts with his interests in the fossil fuel industry. This mindset can have very reckless consequences as climate change is not a topic one should take lightly. This presents Landry very clearly as man who is far more concerned with profits than the overall environmental safety. This topic, as well as the next, perfectly trail back to this strong devotion to one specific side of viewing things. 

When talking in-depth about Landry’s controversial policies, it is quite hard to ignore his extreme anti-gay stance. I am not sure if it is fair to label Landry as a homophobe, but he does align with those interests primarily since it is the main point of perspective regarding those individuals within the Republican Party. It is ironic, since his own brother is gay, yet he still chooses to die on that hill. Other controversial aspects regarding Landry’s administration via this article include his staunch support of censorship within public libraries, as well as his extreme viewpoint believing that the ten commandments should be displayed within every public-school classroom. What these two actions show about Landry is his disregard for most people living within Louisiana, by prioritizing one viewpoint and thus shunning any other viewpoint in comparison. It is not healthy for the state of overall populace, as the best parts of Louisiana are highlighted by the blending of multiple cultures into one giant metaphorical melting pot. But, it does seem to me that Landry is not concerned with that aspect of Louisiana, as he is far more concerned with making it “presentable” to the larger “regular” populace. 

With everything in mind, I thought about what the best questions would be to ask Mr. Kilshaw. The following is what I landed on regarding my specific questions. I began the interview by asking Mr. Kilshaw about the overall priorities and goals that Landry’s administration has set out to achieve. With his response, Kilshaw made it very clear the overall focus on pragmatic solutions to solve problems. The various problems he listed that can be solved through these solutions include the following: empowering the families of Louisiana, protecting the freedoms of the individuals living within the state, as well as restoring the order of the state.  

The next question I asked about Landry’s administration is its approach to the environment. I was hoping to get a response out of him regarding the topic of climate change, but that seemed to be a topic he did not want to touch on given its controversial nature. He instead chose to focus on a balance between helping the environment and well as the sustainability of the economy. As well, he made some strong arguments defending the appointments of several professionals inside of the industry as a means to bring more of sense of “real-world expertise” into the world of creating these policies.  

Next was another topic I was quite interested in asking Mr. Kilshaw, given its inherently controversial nature. This was the Landry administration’s stance on criminal justice reform. Mr. Kilshaw was delighted to share a necessary viewpoint regarding the anti-crime policies, stating that these make for an overall safer city. Overall, he showed a very strong understanding of the importance of accountability within this context. 

I then asked Mr. Kilshaw very directly about the policies regarding LGBTQ+ individuals, as well as policies which some consider to be harmful to specific African American communities. Kilshaw tried to frame these policies as reflecting the overall values of the common Louisiana citizen. Therefore, making them about to not be about exclusion, which I find to be very ironic given their nature, but alright. He then used this as an opportunity to highlight public religious displays, giving them a higher sense of importance than the rights of other individuals.  

The last question I asked Mr. Kilshaw before departing was about people’s concerns regarding Landry making any and all efforts to consolidate as much power as he possibly can. Kilshaw pushed back against this assertion, instead made it more about efficiency and cohesion across various agencies. I can understand this perspective looking at the situation through a very specific lens. Overall, my conversation with Mr. Kilshaw was very helpful in understanding the viewpoint from within the administration itself of their various policies. 

This leads me to my final thoughts on all of my findings regarding Landry’s administration. You cannot deny that Landry is making large efforts to make the various agencies work together more cohesively, as well as genuinely trying to make the city safer. However, it is pretty clear he is taking certain things to far with his agendas, pushing things far only in one specific direction. Based on everything observed within this paper, Edwards and Jindal did a much better job at striking more of a bipartisan stance. I do not think Landry is capable of that. Instead, I think Landry will continue to double down on his tough policies that continue to alienate others. This is because someone like him is really only concerned with how he and his buddies are being benefited, not the individuals he serves. 

Works Cited:  

Ryan, Molly “Jeff Landry's first 100 days in office: Here's what the governor and lawmakers https://www.wwno.org/2024-04-16/jeff-landrys-first-100-days-in-office- heres-what-the-governor-and-lawmakers-have-prioritized?=source 

Skopic, Alex “Is Jeff Landry The Worst Governor in America” Current Affairs, 3 June 2024 https://www.currentaffairs.org/news/2024/06/is-jeff-landry-the-worst- governor-in-america?utm_source.