Broussard Mayor Charles Langlinais wants his money back.
Langlinais has pulled his city out of the Greater Lafayette Chamber of Commerce, saying the Chamber was wrong to give state Sen. Mike Michot, RLafayette, a failing grade on its latest legislative report card. Langlinais argues that Michot, who chairs the Senate Finance Committee, has worked long and hard in the Legislature on Lafayette's behalf. Michot, Langlinais said, deserves better.
Discounting the possibility that some other motives might be involved, this dispute comes down to what the proper role of the chamber is. The Lafayette chamber often has gone beyond the traditional focus on issues affecting the business community to a broader range of topics involving a broader public interest. We think Lafayette has seen the benefits. It's a good time for a discussion among chamber members to determine what the role should be.
The report card that drew Laglinais' ire is a mixture of purely business-related items as well as the broader kind, like whether the law should force school boards to do less micromanaging and more policy-setting. Michot got cross-ways with the chamber not by voting against its positions but by missing votes. It could be that Langlinais is right, that a lawmaker with Michot's responsibilities and commitments shouldn't be penalized for missing a few votes.
On the other hand, the chamber has every right to identify the issues it cares about and to grade lawmakers on how they voted on those measures. It's up to the rest of us whether to care what the chamber thinks.
Generally, we think the chamber's views have, at the least, been worth consideration. Its influence may have been felt most in education.
In the early 1990s, a time when Lafayette residents were deeply concerned about the management of the parish public schools, chamber members were key in turning back an ill-considered sales tax hike. A decade later, the chamber endorsed a tax proposal meant to raise teacher pay with the understanding that the system would improve the parish's standing among Louisiana districts. When that improvement didn't materialize, the chamber blew the whistle.
The chamber had a big impact on consolidation, too. The renewed drive that resulted in the merger of the Lafayette city and parish governments started in the chamber. Now there's considerable dissatisfaction with consolidation. But after years of stagnation, consolidation kicked off nearly a decade of public improvements ranging from the Camellia Boulevard extension and bridge to the Chenier Center to the Downtown Parks Complex.
We hope the chamber's positive role in Lafayette's progress will continue.
