Mitch Landrieu — Lieutenant Governor
After 20 years of public service experience in both the legislative and executive branches of government, Mitch Landrieu is optimistic about the difference that good policy can make in people’s lives. As the son of a public servant who helped integrate a southern city during the Civil Rights era, Landrieu knows firsthand how important it is for government to be responsive to the challenges of its time.
Landrieu grew up as one of nine children in the diverse Broadmoor neighborhood of New Orleans. It was here that Landrieu learned the values of faith and family that guide his public service. Today, Landrieu and his wife Cheryl are raising five children of their own.
His philosophy is rooted in his Jesuit education, where he learned to be self-disciplined, reflective and committed to service. Always drawn to creative pursuits, as a student at Jesuit High School, Mitch Landrieu was active in the theater program. At Catholic University, he majored in political science and theater. And when his journey brought him home from Washington, D. C., he earned a law degree at Loyola University Law School.
Even in his practice of law for 15 years, Mitch Landrieu gravitated toward creative solutions, specializing in alternative dispute resolution. Always seeking to bring people together to find common ground, Landrieu had extensive training in mediation and owned a firm focused in these services, International Mediation and Arbitration, Ltd. Inc.
Serving at the state capitol in Baton Rouge for 16 years, Representative Landrieu made his mark as a reformer, seeking creative solutions to old problems by pushing legislation to consolidate government, limit debt, and strengthen ethical standards. In describing Landrieu’s legislative record, the New Orleans Gambit wrote:
“Mitch Landrieu’s career is a study in the fight for reform — education reform, fiscal reform, healthcare reform…”
Landrieu led the fight to reform the state’s juvenile justice system and remains at the forefront of this important initiative as the Chair of the Juvenile Justice Implementation Commission. Of this effort, the Times-Picayune wrote:
Mr. Landrieu has the political acumen to make good on his promises. During his tenure in the House, Mr. Landrieu has demonstrated the ability to negotiate compromises. In the past year, that ability has been most evident in his leadership of the drive to overhaul the state’s troubled juvenile justice system. He helped forge a consensus among judges, law enforcement officials, child advocates and other groups with very different interests and managed to navigate a significant reform bill through the Legislature.
Landrieu’s approach to public service is guided by five core governing principles:
- Diversity a strength, not a weakness;
- We must work to expand and diversify our economy;
- We must work regionally to compete globally;
- We must add value to raw material, native talent and intellectual capital; and,
- We must set our goals to international standards, not the southern average.
Mitch Landrieu recognized early that Louisiana’s greatest resource is its diversity of people, regions, neighborhoods and cultures. For his adamant advocacy of the power of diversity, and especially diversity in government, Landrieu was honored by the National Association of Black Journalists.
Now in his second term as Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana, Landrieu serves as the CEO of the Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism, managing a $127 million budget and 800 employees.
To make government work more efficiently, Landrieu sought to transform the way his office did business, implementing a new budgeting process, called Budgeting for Outcomes, which focuses on results. The Alexandria Town Talk wrote:
Louisiana needs a model for good government, and it has one in Mitch Landrieu’s office, the office of the lieutenant governor. Landrieu has been doing for the past four years many of the things in the Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism he runs that we want to see in government statewide: openness and transparency, results-oriented spending with accountability, and competition among his people to meet the department’s performance expectations.
This approach to governing helped Landrieu’s team act quickly and effectively in the aftermath of Katrina, the most difficult time in Louisiana history. Consider the story of Hurricane Recovery Grants for Historic Properties. Landrieu’s team put in place a grant review process that was transparent, fair and fast, and in just 45 days, his team moved a huge volume of 2,000 applications. In record time and without controversy, Landrieu’s team moved money from Washington to the ground where it was needed.
Landrieu has gathered experience in disaster response, emergency preparedness and homeland security on local, state and national levels of government. Landrieu serves as a member of the Unified Command Group in the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness. As an advisor to two governors, Landrieu has served as a key member of this leadership group during four major hurricanes.
During Hurricane Gustav, Landrieu was part of the leadership team that managed the largest evacuation in Louisiana history and the largest medical evacuation in U.S. history. During Hurricane Katrina, Landrieu traveled to impacted regions by boat to communicate with local leadership when all other means of communications had failed, and also joined Wildlife and Fisheries agents on search and rescue missions. During Hurricane Rita, Landrieu worked closely with local leadership to evacuate hospitals and nursing homes in Lake Charles.
To capitalize on the outpouring of support from the international community in the aftermath of the storms, Landrieu has represented the state at international summits and on economic development missions. For example, he led Louisiana’s delegation to the Francophonie Summit in Quebec, the North American Leaders’ Summit, and the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Nothing has ever challenged Louisianans to think anew, to get creative and entrepreneurial, more than what was faced after these natural disasters. The Lieutenant Governor’s daunting task, as the head of Louisiana tourism, was to rebuild the state’s second largest industry, while images of Hurricane Katrina’s devastation played and replayed on television screens all over the world. His creative spirit only emboldened by Katrina, Landrieu called on national experts, rolled up his sleeves and launched Louisiana Rebirth, a strategic plan to rebuild the tourism industry.
Speaking with one voice and guided by Landrieu’s strategic plan, Louisiana’s tourism industry brought home and successfully hosted major events like the Essence Music Festival, Mardi Gras, Jazz Fest, and the NBA All-Star Game. Today, the tourism industry is on track in Louisiana, back to its pre-Katrina economic impact of more than $9 billion.
Cognizant that Louisiana had to explore new economic paths, Landrieu set out to diversify Louisiana’s economy by tapping into the state’s culture and creativity. Landrieu launched the Cultural Economy Initiative to grow jobs through Louisiana film, food, music, the arts and other creative industries. Today, Louisiana’s culture accounts for 144,000 jobs.
Seeking innovative, public-private partnerships, Landrieu has promoted citizen service and social entrepreneurship as powerful tools for community renewal. Landrieu launched the Louisiana Office of Social Entrepreneurship, the first of its kind in the nation, positioning Louisiana as a hospitable place for social innovators. “Social Entrepreneurship” uses cutting-edge business models to find new ways to solve old social problems. Landrieu also manages Louisiana’s national service grants and programs, including Americorps. In the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Ike and Gustav, more than one million people have volunteered in Louisiana.
Landrieu’s love of Louisiana will continue to move him to the places where he can best serve. As always, he will be guided by his strong values, his governing principles and the spirit of innovation that are the hallmarks of his time in public service.
Official bio from the Lieutenant Governor’s office (September 2009)
Office of Lieutenant Governor
1051 N. 3rd Street
Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70802
Phone: 225.342.7009
FAX: 225.342.1949
