Edwards legacy discussed by panel

It probably isn’t hard to believe that a man as colorful as Edwin Edwards has many vivid stories that could be told about him.
But, through discussions of his politics, his legacy and the road to the State Capitol, six panelists offered deep insight into the former governor.
Under the moderation of Beth Courtney, president and CEO of Louisiana Public Broadcasting, the second installment of The Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities’ “Governors Project” focused on Edwards’ four terms and the world it left behind.
The Governors Project 2015, facilitated through KnowLouisiana.org has created seven panel discussions to weave through Louisiana’s recent history and its last seven governors ahead of the 2015 election.
Courtney had her own reflections of Edwards, as she was a reporter during his governorship.
“I remember being so excited, it was an exciting time,” she said. “[Edwards] served an unprecedented four terms as governor of the state, and I have to say to you, it couldn’t have been more interesting, more colorful. It was the most amazing time to be a reporter in the state of Louisiana.”
She then turned to the night’s panelists to weave through those years leading up to Edwards’ time in Louisiana’s highest political office.
First up was William “Billy” Broadhurst, who worked with Edwards in the law office of Edwards & Edwards in 1963, later named Edwards, Edwards and Broadhurst.
“When I went to work there, I worked with him as his assistant – preparing cases, going to court,” said Broadhurst. “He was a real Perry Mason. I never saw him lose a case. He was always at least five or six steps ahead of the opposing lawyers.
“I promise you that had he not selected public service, he would have been a preeminent lawyer in the nation.”
From his lawyer days to the State Capitol, the road was seemingly paved by common sense.
After becoming senator, Edwards was approached to run against Congressman T.A. (Theo Ashton) Thompson. Edwards was interested but not in that pathway.
Broadhurst reflected on a phone call and visit that he says played a lot into Edwards’ future election.
“We went to T.A. Thompson’s house where Mrs. Thompson was and he said to Congressman Thompson, ‘You know that they’ve been trying to get me to run against you, but I’m not going to run, I’m going to endorse you’.”
On the day Thompson died in an automobile accident, it was Broadhurst who was tasked with interrupting Edwards’ meeting to break the news. Broadhurst was put in charge of the meeting and said it was the last day Edwards practiced law. Edwards would run for Thompson’s unexpired term and gain Mrs. Thompson’s endorsement over Thompson’s own brother as she remembered Edwards’ loyalty and personal touch to politics the year prior.
Broadhurst explained that that approach – the personal politics Edwards brought to the table – was key to his success.
Courtney then turned to Gus Weill, who is generally recognized as the father of modern political public relations in the state. Edwards was one of his clients, though he did not serve as Edwards’ public relations guy for his first campaign.
“[Edwards said,] ‘I’m running for governor and I want you to handle public relations for my campaign’,” said Weill. “I said I would be honored and we all shook hands. The next day I get a call from Judge Reggie and he said, ‘You have to quit the Edwards’ campaign’. He and the Edwards family had some sort of falling out and he pulled me from the campaign.
“I’m the guy who shot Santa Claus in the foot.”
But, true to Edwards’ form, he didn’t hold a grudge and Weill would later be employed to head up the governor’s public relations in the second campaign.
Weill had stories to tell of Edwards all night, complimenting the four-term governor’s brilliance multiple times and speaking of him as a character straight from William Shakespeare.
Edwards’ Cajun heritage brought Michael Martin into the panel discussion. The director of the Center for Louisiana Studies, Martin is also the Cheryl Courrégé Burguières/Board of Regents Professor in history at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
Martin brought forth the notion that Edwards opened many doors for Cajuns.
The Constitutional Convention of 1973 brought all panelists into the discussion – arguably one of the biggest political moments in the 20th century. It was then that 134 men and women gathered to re-write Louisiana’s Constitution, the first time since 1921.
The work would take a year and many offices would end up being consolidated. It would also mean many egos would have to be put aside.
“Only someone like Edwin could have convinced them that that was a good thing not only for the state, but for them also” said Broadhurst.
Martin concurred saying Edwards was the right person at the right time to get what needed to be done, completed.
It was one of Edwards’ highlights from his first term in office, the other was Louisiana fighting for a larger share in oil profits.
Leo Honeycutt, an author, reporter and award-winning television journalist of 28 years, was selected by Edwards as his official biographer. Honeycutt’s book, “Edwin Edwards: Governor of Louisiana, An Authorized Biography” was published in December 2009.
Honeycutt had his own remembrances of those times before Raymond A. Jetson jumped into the conversation.
Jetson is the president and CEO of MetroMorhosis as well as the pastor of Star Hill Church in Baton Rouge. He also served as representative of District 61 for 15 years, which is what led to his connection with Edwards.
“Going back to what Billy said about [Edwards] in the courtroom, he was always steps ahead,” said Jetson. “And, he understood who he was talking to.”
Legislative talks, according to Jetson, and others, with Edwards was a game of chess that the governor had already figured out, and rarely did those talks go anyway different than Edwards had planned.
Isabella delaHoussaye spoke up as well, carrying on the themes of Edwards’ personality and mental chess play seemingly winning people over left and right. She explained that she knew people that did not want to like the governor who met him and subsequently loved him.
His characteristics of governor mirrored the man himself, according to Courtney, as he was always open to the media, letting media members wander around the governor’s mansion. He also was a hands-on governor that also let people do the jobs they were appointed to do.
As the conversation started coming to a close, Courtney proposed the legacy question to the panelists, which drew interesting responses.
• Weill: “He’ll be thought of as one of our brightest governors. Not our best, but our brightest. And also his heart beat for the common man.”
• Honeycutt: “There is always one thing he told me that always stuck with me, he said, ‘You wanna live a long time?’ And I said, ‘I guess.’ He said, ‘Never hold a grudge’.”
• Broadhurst: “He had a philosophy of inclusion, not exclusion, addition not subtraction, which I think played a great part in his success.”
• Jetson: “I think [it] will be, ultimately, who he is, which is, a very, very, very brilliant, compassionate person, who had flaws.”
• Martin: “I think it’s difficult to say there’s a single legacy. It seems to me there’s two or three legacies. One of them is the style of politics he clearly espoused and that’s a politics of possibility ... Secondly, he will be remembered, mainly because of the four terms, that his career transcended these big shifts in politics ... Third, I think it’s clear to me that his political and personal legacy are very contradictory.”