The War on Corruption in Louisiana Politics: The Legacy of David Treen

David C. Treen, 1928-2009

Louisiana has lost one of its very best. Early Thursday morning former Governor David C. Treen passed away in Metairie's East Jefferson Hospital of complications from a respiratory illness. It is a very sad moment which should give Louisianians an opportunity to pause and ponder the meaning of the public life of one of the finest servants ever to step forward and sacrifice for our state. It is important that we appreciate the invaluable contribution to Louisiana's political culture Dave Treen leaves as his legacy.

Dave Treen waged war on political corruption in Louisiana.

Our great state was changed forever in 1979 when, for the first time since the Age of Reconstruction, Louisiana voters elected a Governor who was not of the Democratic Party and chose then Republican Congressman David Treen over Public Service Commissioner Louis Lambert. The event made the two-party system a reality in Louisiana and we took a significant step to address the inherited burden of corruption run rampant through our state's political life; corruption so profound that it practically had been institutionalized openly in the era of Huey Long. But Dave Treen confronted it squarely and did more than any other man to make that confrontation a political process in and of itself and, it must be mentioned, a process which incorporated well-intentioned Democrats within it. It was a noble achievement.

Treen's start in politics came as a three-time unsuccessful candidate for Congress running against Hale Boggs for Louisiana's second district congressional seat. The Republican Party of Louisiana was still quite tiny at that time, numbering approximately 2% of registered voters in the state, and Treen's near win in 1968 set off a reaction among Republican organizers, many of whom saw vote fraud -- the bane of Louisiana politics for Republicans -- as a determining factor in his defeat and urged a challenge of the results before the Congress. Treen did not contest the election, and in part privately blamed his loss on backers of independent American Party candidate and former Alabama Governor George C. Wallace, whose supporters joined with many local Democratic Party organizations in the district who backed both Wallace and Boggs. But the consequence was that Treen made a name for himself. He was the only Louisiana Republican who ever ran for a significant office as a viable candidate.

There are not many Louisianians who either remember or have learned of the state's political climate in the late 1960's and early 1970's. Political corruption was an extremely sensitive issue that put Louisiana in the national spotlight. It began with a series of articles investigative journalist David Chandler of Life Magazine wrote detailing the influence of the Mafia in Louisiana state government and expanded when then Governor John McKeithen asked for a legislative investigation into Chandler's charges that became an open circus. Chandler had reported that Mafia-sponsored corruption in Louisiana state government was so pervasive that Mafia boss Carlos Marcello practically ruled in Baton Rouge. The investigation accomplished nothing, except for the fact that political corruption was a topic on every concerned citizen's mind in our state.

And then came the 1971-1972 gubernatorial campaign. It was like no other the state has seen before or since and Dave Treen's candidacy put the Republican Party on the map statewide, moving it beyond a few urban centers where voters of a more cosmopolitan background had registered themselves with the GOP. The campaign was in large part helped by the organizing genius of then Republican Party State Chairman Charles DeGravelles, who had been a Louisiana Republican activist since the 1940's, when African-Americans dominated the party. DeGravelles expanded the party's reach into over thirty parishes where no organized Republican leadership had existed previously and many of the activists he brought into the political process arrived with an enthusiasm for Dave Treen, who stood out in their minds as someone who would finally face and stand up to the worst of corruption in Louisiana politics and government.

I was a witness as a teenager to the way in which Treen activated one particular Republican who decided to jump in whole hog in an attempt to help set the state right--my late mother. I was only thirteen living in Eunice when Treen lost to Boggs in the controversial election of 1968 and I remember how my mom called local parish Republican leader P.J. Gomer, who had been trying to get her involved, to ask what had happened. P.J. came over about a week later carrying a stack of newspapers with relevant articles, along with a crate of sweet potatoes and a large pack of boudin, and sat down with my mom to show her what had transpired. My mom signed on and took over the leadership of a Republican Party registration drive in St. Landry Parish immediately and her activism remained constant for the next several years.

My late mother, Jacqueline Stevens Sulzbach, with Dave Treen at a Petroleum Club luncheon in Lafayette in 1971 during the gubernatorial campaign

In January, 1971 our family moved to Lafayette when my father was transferred from Eunice following an oil industry merger. My mother's activism in St. Landry Parish already had brought her to the attention of Charles DeGravelles, who recommended her to then Lafayette Parish Political Action Committee Chairman Jesse Brown for the post of Parish Coordinator for the party, to which he appointed her immediately and our family became transformed politically as the gubernatorial campaign dominated everything in our lives. Most of what my mother did had little to do with Lafayette; she actually worked more closely with Charles DeGravelles in helping to organize the Treen campaign across much of southern Louisiana. And the constant refrain that was spoken by all who joined was "let's clean it up this time!" I myself worked diligently as a teenage activist for Treen, along with many others my own age; stuffing envelopes, passing out literature at campaign events, distributing yard signs, and everything else political.

Treen's loss to Edwin Edwards in February, 1972 was not unexpected among Louisiana Republicans, who were not nearly as demoralized at the outcome as one might expect given the 57.2%-42.8% split in the vote. What was much more important was that the race was competitive statewide. There had even been a full Republican ticket of fellow candidates running in tandem. Treen carried twenty-seven of the state's sixty-four parishes and was quite close in many others. The election also set the stage for the next thirteen years of Louisiana politics, which were dominated by Edwards and Treen, two figures who stood for diametrically-opposed visions of the state and its future, which demonstrates forcefully Treen's significance to the era. And I submit that the judgment of history is not with Edwin Edwards, a point I take great pride in writing today.

Treen's defeat in the gubernatorial election in 1972 nonetheless created real political capital for him. He won the third district congressional seat later that year, becoming the first Republican to be elected to Congress in the twentieth century. His election also alerted the Democratic Party to the changing political landscape in Louisiana and during Edwin Edwards' first term in office they moved within the state legislature to rewrite the political rules so as to prevent a surging Republican Party of Louisiana from moving closer to power. In order to prevent Republicans from getting the guaranteed final face-off with a Democratic Party nominee the state's "Open" or "Jungle" primary system was implemented. The law was aimed at Dave Treen more than anyone else.

As Edwards' second term drew to a close Louisiana once again entered another landmark political season in the 1979 gubernatorial campaign; the first competitive race under the Open Primary law. Edwards had only faced token opposition under the new format in 1975. In contrast to the veritable circus atmosphere of 1971, when eighteen candidates of all flavors competed, the campaign to succeed Edwards attracted some of the state's very best and it was surprising for its issues-oriented focus, a phenomenon we miss greatly these days.

There were real heavyweights in the mix. The highly-competent and business-friendly Lieutenant Governor Jimmy Fitzmorris, legislative geniuses E.L. "Bubba" Henry and Edgar G. Mouton, charismatic Cajun Secretary of State Paul Hardy, and Public Service Commissioner Louis J. Lambert all threw their hats into the ring along with Treen, who was the only Republican. Treen's dominance of his own party turned the Open Primary hypothesis of keeping Republicans out of a final face-off for the Governorship on its head--it was the Democrats who divided themselves and split their numbers. And though the first round voting had Treen leading the field, the real action was in the fight for second place and the runoff spot. In a highly controversial turn of events, Jimmy Fitzmorris led the remaining candidates after Treen on election night only to learn that he was in third place when the votes were "retabulated" days later when the voting machines were opened. Republicans, who were overwhelmingly convinced Fitzmorris had been robbed--we had seen it before--had to stand by on the sidelines this time and watch while another round of electoral improprieties played itself out.

What followed was a turn of events of historic proportions. Fitzmorris lost his suit to overturn the results and, showing a resilience of personal character we Republicans will never forget, he then endorsed Dave Treen. The other three Democrats; Hardy, Henry, and Mouton all followed suit soon afterwards. The "Gang of Four" endorsements, strikingly unusual for their bi-partisanship even in their own day, but even more so from our present perspective, finally brought to fruition a goal Republicans had pursued under Dave Treen's leadership for over a decade; the realization of a common consensus among all Louisianians that political corruption had to be confronted. Yet even with such broad bi-partisan appeal, Treen still only won the runoff narrowly, but history had been made.

Treen's one term as Governor definitely marked a divergence from precedent, but three things worked against him politically: the oil boom ended soon after he took office, bringing a decline in state revenues along with it; Treen had a habit of maintaining hard-nosed policy positions, especially on environmental matters, which made more enemies for him than friends; and Edwin Edwards worked steadily at preparing his own return to office throughout Treen's term, and with great effect. Treen lost to Edwards in a 1983 rematch in which money flowed into Edwards' campaign at unheard-of rates, and Treen pretty much retired from public life afterwards.

But there were real accomplishments during Treen's tenure in office for which he deserves to be remembered. He made a genuine attempt to reach out to African-Americans while Governor, appointing more blacks to state government positions than any chief executive who preceded him. He demonstrated true fiscal integrity when he avoided spending an early budget surplus and dedicated it to lowering taxes on businesses. And perhaps above all else, he had a record on environmental issues that was nothing short of outstanding.

Soon after Treen entered office, Louisiana learned that the Tate Cove chemical waste dumping site near Ville Platte contained buried yet leaking containers with dangerous contents, including dioxin, which threatened the valuable Chicot Aquifer. Treen moved to get it cleaned up quickly and broadened the effort with budgetary support for cleaning up over fifty other sites around the state. He was primarily responsible for the creation of Louisiana's Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). He negotiated a matching funds agreement with the federal government to buy up land in Louisiana's Atchafalaya Basin that never bore the full fruit that was intended owing to the decline in state revenues following the oil collapse. He was the first Governor to address the problem of coastal erosion, dedicating $35 million to a trust fund in an attempt to come up with ideas on how to address the danger. He moved to protect sea turtles who were threatened by the use of small mesh nets in the shrimping industry; an act for which Edwards mocked him in the 1983 campaign with his famous quip "turtles don't vote, shrimpers do."

Taken together Treen's policy positions on environmental matters generated far more enemies than friends for him, but I submit they constitute a worthy record, maybe even better than simply worthy when compared with other governors. And I still view the opposition of many environmentalists to his reelection in 1983 as nothing short of betrayal.

Treen considered political comebacks at various times later in life, but he only actively campaigned again on one occasion, which was the special election to replace Bob Livingston for Louisiana's first district congressional seat in 1999, losing to David Vitter by just over 1,800 votes.

Treen is also to be remembered for returning to the political stage in 1991 to endorse his former rival Edwin Edwards when he faced David Duke in the runoff election for Governor. In fact, the entire Treen family can take pride in themselves for their direct confrontation with and strident opposition to all things Duke. It is a worthy record.

But Dave Treen's greatest and most enduring accomplishment in public life will always be his success in confronting corruption and unethical politics in Louisiana. Given that we have made real progress in these areas over the past forty years, it is a noble legacy.

The war on corruption in Louisiana politics was a cultural struggle for the hearts and minds of Louisianians. It was founded upon a call to reject an antiquated way of doing the people's business. It required years of dedicated effort and the perseverance to endure one setback after another along the way. But Louisiana has in large part adopted the new ideas of civic virtue in the public conduct of its state officials and it was Dave Treen who led the way.

May God keep you close Dave Treen. Louisiana owes you so much.

Jacob Sulzbach