John Georges

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John Georges (born 1960) is a wealthy New Orleans businessman who was a defeated independent candidate in the 2007 Louisiana gubernatorial election. A former Republican, Georges finished third in the balloting with 186,800 votes (14 percent). Republican Bobby Jindal, making his second bid for governor, won outright in the primary with 54 percent of the vote. Democrats Walter Boasso, a departing state senator from St. Bernard Parish near New Orleans, and Foster Campbell, a Louisiana Public Service Commissioner from Bossier Parish, finished second and fourth, respectively. Jindal prevailed in sixty parishes.[1] Georges won 36 percent of the vote in Orleans Parish, site of New Orleans; that was his only plurality showing among the state's sixty-four parishes.[2]

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[edit] Early life

John Georges was born in New Orleans and is a lifelong Louisiana resident.[3] He spent summers in Greece with his father's family and speaks fluent Greek. He graduated from the private Sam Barthe High School in Metairie in Jefferson Parish, where he was class president and editor of the newspaper. At Tulane University in New Orleans, he majored in accounting and served as president of his fraternity, Delta Kappa Epsilon. In 1991, he married his wife Dathel.[4]

[edit] Career

Georges is the Chief Executive Officer for Imperial Trading Company, the largest wholesale food distributor in Louisiana. He also owns Dolphin Marine and Towing, an offshore oil services company, and an amusement game supply company, which promotes gambling via video poker thrughout Louisiana and beyond. He owned the New Orleans Brass minor league hockey team as well. He has served for six years on the Louisiana Board of Regents, which governs higher education in Louisiana, and as a trustee for a number for organizations and charities including Crimestoppers and Holy Trinity Cathedral. He is a member of the New Orleans Business Council and served as President of YPO (Young Presidents Organization) Louisiana. He also has financial interests in the video poker industry, as an equipment distributor according to The Baton Rouge Advocate.[5]

[edit] 2007 campaign for Governor

[edit] Political positions

Georges political position statements center on concerns to the New Orleans area.

Education
Georges favors using government funds to assist private and religious school rebuild from the hurricanes of 2005. He supports charter schools and the availability of single-gender education in some public schools.[6]
Crime
Georges supports increased funding for fighting crime, including a central database to track career criminals. He would also expand the public defenders offices to reduce the need for appeals.[7]
Healthcare
Georges proposes a public-private partnership to provide healthcare to all Louisianians.[8]
The Insurance Crisis
Georges would address the increasing cost of homeowners and business insurance by following Florida model of a state disaster fund and a federal disaster fund to subsidize the risk of locating in New Orleans or other flood-prone areas.[9]
Hurricane Readiness
Georges calls better disaster preparation and for the release of funds given to the state by the federal government for rebuilding. He proposes increased lobbying in Washington, D.C. for more federal dollars. [10]

Georges was hoping for the Republican nomination for Governor. Lacking that, when he perceived Jindal to be far ahead of him in the Governor's race, he attempted to have Jindal support him for lieutenant governor against incumbent Democrat Mitch Landrieu of New Orleans. When that failed, Georges switched from Republican to Independent and remained in the race against Bobby Jindal.

[edit] Attention from the press

Georges began running television ads for his campaign the last week in July.[11] Georges candidacy has attracted the attention of the Greek press in the United States.[12][13] The Baton Rouge Advocate reported that Georges will start his statewide television advertisements in late July, touting himself as a political outsider and newcomer to state politics.[14]

[edit] Criticism of Bobby Jindal on the David Vitter Scandal

Bayou Buzz reported that Georges publicly criticized his opponent, Bobby Jindal, for having failed to support U.S. Senator David Vitter, a Catholic Christian who admitted to having committed a "serious sin" when his phone number was found on the phone records of a Washington, D.C. escort service.

[edit] Campaign finance

Georges contributed around $5 million of his own money into his campaign account.[15] Georges reports that he has over $7 million as of late July. About $120,000 came from donations from others to his campaign. Jindal, by comparison, reports around $7.5 million. However, Jindal has raised money from a greater number of donors.[16] Georges however, unlike Jindal, was brought up in a wealthy family, so this may explain at least some of Georges' disposable personal income.

Veteran Louisiana political reporter John Hill notes that Georges has made the largest known buy of television ads in the 2007 election. He purchases $2 million in advertising in August. The next largest known expenditure in this election was Walter Boasso's $1.3 million purchase for June. Jindal's campaign did not disclose its media expenditures.[17]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Louisiana Secretary of State-Multi-Parish Elections Inquiry
  2. ^ Louisiana Secretary of State-Parish Elections Inquiry
  3. ^ Georges, John. "Meet John Georges", Georges for Governor. Retrieved on 2007-07-23. 
  4. ^ Georges, John. "Growing Up Georges", Georges for Governor. Retrieved on 2007-07-23. 
  5. ^ Millhollon, Michelle. "Georges 'applying for a job' as governor, new ad says", The Baton Rouge Advocate, 2007-07-26. Retrieved on 2007-07-26. 
  6. ^ Georges, John. "John Georges on Education", Georges for Governor. Retrieved on 2007-07-23. 
  7. ^ Georges, John. "John Georges on Crime", Georges for Governor. Retrieved on 2007-07-23. 
  8. ^ Georges, John. "Healing our Healthcare System", Georges for Governor. Retrieved on 2007-07-23. 
  9. ^ Georges, John. "Focus on the Insurance Crisis", Georges for Governor. Retrieved on 2007-07-23. 
  10. ^ Georges, John. "Hurricane Readiness and Recovery", Georges for Governor. Retrieved on 2007-07-23. 
  11. ^ Sabludowsky, Stephen. "Louisiana Election Buzz: Rain On Jindal Parade; Boasso Poll", Bayou Buzz, 2007-07-17. Retrieved on 2007-07-23. 
  12. ^ Sabludowsky, Stephen. "Louisiana Politics: Jindal As Ahmadinejad? Georges, Boasso, Campbell and Fred Thompson", Bayou Buzz, 2007-07-06. Retrieved on 2007-07-23. 
  13. ^ "JOHN GEORGES RUNNING FOR GOVERNOR OF LOUISIANA", Hellenic News of America, 2007-07-05. Retrieved on 2007-07-23. 
  14. ^ Millhollon, Michelle. "Georges 'applying for a job' as governor, new ad says", The Baton Rouge Advocate, 2007-07-26. Retrieved on 2007-07-26. 
  15. ^ Barrow, Bill. "3 months out, gubernatorial campaigns remain bland", The Times-Picayune, 2007-07-21. Retrieved on 2007-07-23. 
  16. ^ Barrow, Bill. "Jindal raises more, but Georges has most to spend in governor's race", The Times-Picayune, 2007-07-23. Retrieved on 2007-07-26. 
  17. ^ Hill, John. "Gubernatorial candidates launch TV battle", The Shreveport Times, 2007-07-24. Retrieved on 2007-07-26. 

[edit] External links