Francis Heitmeier is a Democratic senator running for Louisiana Secretary of State this November.

At a glance, Senator Heitmeier seems ordinary: moderate lawmaker with long-term experience serving in the state legislature. Move along, nothing to see here, right?

Wrong.

There are more than a few things the average voter might be interested in knowing about this candidate before they make their decision at the ballot box next month.

Levee boards are known to be rather inefficient governing bodies here in Louisiana. That is, without oversight they tend to serve the interests of the board members instead of the interests of their district. Many point fingers at the ineffectual levee boards when dealing with the response failure after Hurricane Katrina.

That’s how Sen. Walter Boasso (R-Arabi) succeeded in putting forth a bill late last year that would consolidate the state’s many levee boards into a single statewide board with authority over flood control in all parishes.

Why is it that Sen. Heitmeyer opposed the legislation, insisting that the Orleans and West Jefferson districts remain autonomous? The answer has its roots in the longstanding corrupt political culture of Louisiana.

Heitmeier was largely responsible for the removal of the late Billy Nungesser from the Orleans Levee Board. Billy Nungesser is a man of legend in Louisiana politics and is a central figure in the history of the rise of the Republican Party in Louisiana.

Much of his work was done pro-bono, and while serving as David Treen’s Chief of Staff in the early 80’s, Nungesser donated his entire salary to children’s charities. Nungesser was appointed as the president of the Orleans Levee District by Mike Foster in an effort to clean up the board which had become widely known for its dirty dealings. He quickly ripped into the corrupt institution, uncovering millions of dollars of unnecessary spending, and was even reported to have demanded a study of the stability of the levees using sonar to detect weaknesses.

The analysis was rejected as unnecessary and overly expensive. Some experts argue that had the study been made, it would have found the weaknesses responsible for the collapse of the 17th Street Canal floodwalls. After causing so much trouble for those in power, Nungesser’s confirmation was rejected by several legislators including Senator Heitmeier, forcing him off the board.

Several years later, Peggy Wilson was given the same task of cleaning up the board. Battle after battle, Wilson encountered the same resistance felt by her predecessors. She was ejected after holding office for eight months. Peggy told Jeff Johnson of CNSNews “…the governor [Foster] called me to his office and said, ‘We don’t want all those questions. We don’t want to be on the front page of the paper. I know the place is corrupt, but I need Francis Heitmeier’s four votes or five votes that he controls. I said, ‘Thank you, very much. I’ll see you later.’”

Heitmeier counters that perhaps the purpose of the levee board is misunderstood. He says, “The levee board does not build the levees down here. The Corps of Engineers builds the levees. The Corps of Engineers inspects the levees. The levee board cuts the grass, that’s what they do. They cut the grass.” This begs the question: how does an organization whose sole purpose is to “cut grass” accumulate approximately $1.2 million dollars a year in legal fees?

Heitmeier indeed has a long history of protecting his personal interests through the Orleans levee board. With Heitmeier’s strong support, the now-resigned Jim Huey was able to sit on the board for 9 years. Huey gave up his position after attempting to give himself $100,000 of taxpayer’s money in back pay, for which he was ineligible. With his friend unable to obtain the money that he was by no means entitled to, Heitmeier proceeds to insert a new pay provision into legislation that would make Huey eligible for $60,000 annually. The provision was placed into unrelated legislation at the very end of the 2005 legislative session, and was thankfully rejected. As stated by Wilson, the board gave Heitmeier’s brother, an optometrist, a no-bid $2 million eyeglasses contract for the 400 or so Orleans levee District employees.

One can see the pattern of typical corrupt Louisiana politics emerging: have friends in high places and then exchange favors until you and your family are both exceedingly wealthy.

The next time you are making your way down Lee Drive, past those ever-present political yard signs, just remember that there is always a story to every candidate, not just a face and their favorite colors.