Gov. Edwards’ First 6 Months In Office Full Of Difficult Challenges

With a historic budget crisis, torrential flooding in March, three legislative sessions, and now massive protests in the Capital City, Governor John Bel Edwards has certainly had a lot to deal with since taking office. ULM political science professor Dr. John Sutherlin says there likely hasn’t been another governor in office who’s had so much on his plate during the first few months of his term.

“You can look at it as either it gives you an opportunity to show what you’re made of, or it can absolutely crush a gubernatorial administration,” Sutherlin said.

Sutherlin says everyone thinks they can do the governor’s job better, until they become governor. He says it’s very easy for people to be critical, and that’s just a part of American politics.

“As citizens, we have the right to petition, we have a right to file grievance, we have a right to complain, but so far I haven’t heard a whole lot of people saying how they would have done it better and different,” Sutherlin said.

Sutherlin says Edwards has done a fairly good job of managing situations that he did not create, and it’s unlikely that he will get a break anytime soon. He says it still remains to be seen how the governor will handle situations that he can control and what will come of all the work on the budget.