Today begins the much delayed trial of Louisiana Agriculture Commissioner Bob Odom. Once more, Louisiana voters will be subjected to the spectacle of one of their statewide elected officials having to answer to prosecutors in a court of law. Odom is charged with a total of six counts, including conspiracy, theft, money laundering and bribery.

Initially, the Agriculture Commissioner faced 21 counts, but the case has been streamlined by the judge and prosecutors. During the trial, the State prosecutors will call over 100 witnesses to try to prove their complex case. Defense lawyers have the advantage of representing a skilled and popular politician who has won statewide elections seven times.

If convicted, Odom could have serious jail time and Louisiana voters would have to deal with another elected official going to jail. Of course, our former Governor and State Senate President, state representatives, judges, councilmen and political cronies are still in jail. The former Mayor of New Orleans, the U.S. Congressman from New Orleans, the Orleans Parish Public School System and many more political entities in the state are still under investigation. This track record makes Senator Mary Landrieu’s charge that Mississippi is the “most corrupt” state completely laughable. Landrieu needs to look into the Louisiana political mirror, as corruption is practiced here so regularly, it has become an art form. Hands down, in the corruption category, Louisiana is the champion by a wide margin, in comparison Mississippi is in the minor league at best.

As Odom goes to trial, most Louisiana voters are unaware of his predicament. The case has dragged on so long, many people have either forgotten about the case or cease to care. Yet, people should take this trial seriously because it outlines more of the shady activities of our top elected officials.

In Louisiana, voters are making the same mistakes over and over by sending the wrong people to political office. Is our problem the voters, the type of people who run for office, our political system or all of the above?

In my view, every facet of Louisiana politics today leads to these problems. The answer can be found in the old maxim, “Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Odom has been in office for seven terms, ruling his department with an iron fist. He is the poster child for term limits. It is ridiculous that in Louisiana, we have term limits on the Governor and legislators, but not on other statewide elected officials.

As Agriculture Commissioner, Odom has expanded the scope and power of his office. In fact, during his tenure, Odom began embarking on construction projects that were very questionable and tried to pass through the State Bond Commission sugar mills that made little to no economic sense. He strongly encouraged his department employees to do manual labor at his various construction sites. These employees had more errors and encountered more injuries than average construction crews because they were engaging in unfamiliar work. However, it did not seem to matter to Bob Odom who was on a mission to expand his department’s empire.

Now, more of Odom’s misdeeds will be exposed to the public. If Odom is convicted, he is going to jail and will have to vacate his office. If acquitted, Odom will go back to his powerful post, but thankfully there are elections this fall. Hopefully, voters will not make the mistake of sending Odom back to office for an eighth term. Odom will be facing serious competition for the first time in decades. St. Tammany Parish State Representative Mike Strain and Baton Rouge Councilman Wayne Carter have announced their interest in running. In fact, Strain has begun to organize his campaign and meet with voters. 

Will this be the year that voters tire of the old politics as usual system and vote for a new leader? We have tried the old way for decades, since the days of Huey Long, and it has placed us at the bottom of every good list and the top of every bad list. We cannot afford to continue down this road for the damage has been too great. Let’s hope 2007 is the year of change in Louisiana politics and that the typical Louisiana politicians like Bob Odom are a thing of the past.

Jeff Crouere is a native of New Orleans, LA and he is the host of a Louisiana based program, “Ringside Politics,” which airs at 8:30 p.m. Fri. and 10:00 p.m. Sun. on WLAE-TV 32, a PBS station, and Noon till 2 p.m. weekdays on several Louisiana radio stations. For more information, visit his web site at www.ringsidepolitics.com. E-mail him at jeff@ringsidepolitics.com.