John Bel Edwards selects Jay Dardenne to lead state government [View all]

Gov.-elect John Bel Edwards is expected to name Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne as his top state government administrator and chief budget officer Monday afternoon (Dec. 7), according to three sources -- two who are close to Dardenne and another who is a leader in state government. The move could be interpreted as Edwards' first substantial commitment to a bipartisan cabinet.

Edwards, a Democrat, has picked Dardenne, a Republican who ran against him in the gubernatorial primary, for arguably the most important and high-profile job in the state government next to his own. As Louisiana's commissioner of administration, Dardenne will be in charge of running day-to-day operations of government and putting together solutions to the state budget problems for Edwards.

The Edwards transition team and Dardenne wouldn't confirm that the lieutenant governor has been selected as Edwards' chief administrator, but a source said Dardenne accepted the job last week. Dardenne indicated before Thanksgiving that Edwards had offered him a position in the administration, though he wouldn't say which job was on the table.

After failing to make the gubernatorial runoff, Dardenne crossed party lines to endorse Edwards over fellow Republican David Vitter. At the time, conservatives upset with Dardenne's decision accused the lieutenant governor of trading the endorsement for a top job in the Edwards' administration.

Read more: http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2015/12/jay_dardenne_commissioner_admi.html#incart_river_home_pop