Time Picayune Endorses Bobby Jindal

Section: Business

Times Picayune

Even before the levees broke two years ago Louisiana was a troubled state. Our schools were sub par, many of our people couldn't get decent health care, and our neighbors around the South could lure our children away with better jobs.
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita have added a new layer of problems: Road Home red tape, broken promises from every level of government and a recovery that is slow and costly.

These monumental challenges call for an extraordinary leader. We need a governor who transcends conventional politics, is sharply focused on a better future and offers a decisive break from a past mired in underachievement and corruption.

We believe Bobby Jindal is that person.

Mr. Jindal brings keen intelligence, discipline and creativity at a time of great need. By instinct, he is a rare combination of policy analyst, people person and problem solver. He has a record of being inclusive, of attracting talent without regard to party or ideology.

We believe he will project an image that will undo many old myths about Louisiana. Specifically, we have this high expectation for Mr. Jindal's legacy: that our state will become known as not only a great place to live but a magnet for the best and brightest, including our own; a breeding ground of entrepreneurial energy and jobs; and a leader in education and health care.

Mr. Jindal's educational and professional credentials are unmatched. He was a star student at Baton Rouge High School, graduated in 3 1/2 years with honors from one of the country's top universities, Brown, and was chosen as a Rhodes Scholar.

He began his stint in public service in 1995 at age 24, when then-Gov. Mike Foster enlisted him to clean up the state Department of Health and Hospitals. During Mr. Jindal's tenure, the department cracked down on fraud in the Medicaid program and erased a $475 million deficit.

In 1999, he became the head of the University of Louisiana system. While there, he raised admissions standards, captured additional money for research and found ways to attract new students. Those experiences inside state government honed his policy-making and administrative skills. Moreover, they proved that Mr. Jindal is a leader capable of making tough decisions and solving intractable problems.

Left at that, Mr. Jindal's resume would be impressive enough. But this wunderkind of Louisiana politics has grown in skill and stature, and now there is more to recommend him.

In the past three years, he has gained important legislative experience as Louisiana's 1st District representative to Congress. He has forged relationships in Washington that should serve our state well as it rebuilds from tragedy.

Among other important efforts to help his battered home state post-Katrina, Mr. Jindal was instrumental in persuading Congress to give Louisiana a share of federal offshore oil and gas revenues. The importance of that achievement cannot be overstated. The money is essential to the restoration of our coast, which in turn is essential to the safety of hundreds of thousands of Louisianians and to the economic well-being of the entire state.

Mr. Jindal, as is typical of his approach to any job, has a detailed plan as governor for addressing the state's myriad needs.

Notably, he wants to beef up the state's embarrassingly weak ethics code. His plan would require legislators and statewide officials to disclose where they get their income, what they own and whom they owe. He also would push to prohibit elected officials from lobbying government and to forbid lawmakers to get a state contract for a business they own.

The list is too long to fit here, but Mr. Jindal has practical ideas for everything from crime prevention to health care to reining in state spending. For instance, he promises to require every Cabinet secretary to do an audit in the first six months in office to identify waste and inefficiency and find ways to save money. He also wants to close the loophole that allows department heads to leave jobs unfilled and spend those salaries on whatever they want.

His energy and innovative approach to government are refreshing, as is his instinct for efficiency, business- friendly measures and job creation. And his ability to dig into the nitty-gritty work of government is impressive.

But it's Mr. Jindal's intangible qualities that give shape to a leader: a sense of purpose, a strong ethical compass and a passion to make our state a better place.

Bobby Jindal is our unequivocal choice at this crucial moment in Louisiana's history.