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24-Jun-09
Legislative Review 2009
The current Legislative session adjourns near the end of June. What cuts were ultimately made to cover Louisiana’s $1.3 billion shortfall and how will they affect you and the state? Watch “Legislative Review 2009” on Louisiana Public Square, Wednesday, June 24th at 7 pm.
Mark Ballard has been the editor in charge of The Advocate's Capitol news bureau since 2007. The Capitol news bureau is among the largest desks covering state government in the country. The CNB has six reporters in the State Capitol and a reporter stationed in the U.S. Capitol in Washington.
Mr. Ballard attended LSU as an undergraduate and received his Master’s degree from Columbia. He has covered the legislature in Texas and the state assembly in New York. He has also worked for American Lawyer's magazines in Texas and Newark and The National Law Journal newspaper. Mr. Ballard has received a National Investigative Reporters and Editors award and a National Headliner award. He rejoined The Advocate during the 2004 regular legislative session and is also the editor of the Sunday column, Political Horizons.
State Representative Joseph Kevin Pearson (R), Slidell, represents House District 76. Rep. Pearson was born in 1959 and has spent his entire life living and working in the Slidell and Pearl River areas. He married Nancy Guillot more than 25 years ago. Nancy is an Honors English teacher at Salmen High School. Their son Adam is a student at the University of New Orleans, and daughter Rebecca is enrolled at LSU and lives in Baton Rouge.
After working in the financial services sector, Mr. Pearson opened his own company, based in Slidell. Wealth Management Group, Inc. was started in 2002 by Mr. Pearson, who holds licenses and certifications to serve as a broker and financial adviser. In 2007, he was appointed by Slidell City Court Judge Jim Lamz to a four-year term on the Board of the Florida Parishes Juvenile Detention Center. He is the 2008 Chairman of the Slidell Heritage Festival, a role he also held in 2007. A past president of the Slidell Rotary Club, Mr. Pearson was co-founder of Rotary Rebuilds Slidell after Hurricane Katrina. He also serves on the Board of the East St. Tammany Chamber of Commerce and on the Board of Leadership North Shore, of which he is a graduate.
Mr. Pearson entered the race for Representative from District 76 in August 2007, and won a spot in the runoff election in the Oct. 20, 2007 Primary. He prevailed in the Nov. 17 runoff, having earned the support of the third- and fourth-place finishers in the primary, Parish President Kevin Davis, and numerous other local leaders.
Robert Kirby Goidel joined the faculty of the Manship School in August 2002 as the Director of Public Policy Research. Earlier this month the Public Policy Research Lab released the Louisiana Survey which serves as a barometer of statewide public opinion. The survey includes views of Louisiana citizens on several issues including the upcoming legislative session. Kirby earned his doctorate at the University of Kentucky in 1993 and has taught previously at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and Indiana State University, where he also served as Chair of the Department of Political Science and worked as an editorial columnist for the Terre Haute Tribune-Star. His research interests include political participation, elections and campaign finance, public opinion, and the media and politics. He is a regular contributor to the Christian Science Monitor’s “Patchwork Nation” blog.
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