There is more intrigue taking place in Baton Rouge regarding redistricting legislation over the past several days. The Advocate put out this piece yesterday concerning what appears to be collusion in the process to create a seat for a fellow lawmaker by Senator Page Cortez:
Senate President Page Cortez and state Rep. Stuart Bishop are facing accusations that they engineered a last-minute change to remap Senate boundaries in Acadiana to create a potentially winnable Senate seat for Bishop.
Under a Cortez amendment approved by the Senate on Monday, Bishop would reside in the new Senate District 22, which will have an open seat in next year’s legislative elections because the current senator, Fred Mills, is facing term limits and cannot run.
Most of the new Senate District 22 would continue to include St. Martin and Iberia parishes, which Mills has represented, but 25% of the district would contain a portion of Lafayette Parish, including the piece in south Lafayette where Bishop resides.
Until Cortez’s change on Monday, Bishop’s home was going to be in Senate District 21, which Cortez represents. He is term-limited, and Rep. Jean-Paul Coussan, who is close to both Cortez and Bishop, is eyeing that seat. Putting Bishop in the new Senate District 22 could allow Bishop to run for the Senate without pitting him against Coussan.
Read more: Is Senate President Page Cortez trying to create a seat for lawmaker friend? Both deny it.
Yesterday, Bishop went on Carol Ross’ program, The Ross Report, to personally deny the accusations and to give his take on the redistricting process taking place in Baton Rouge. Audio of that program can be found below:
The redistricting session is scheduled to finish up this weekend. Stay tuned for what is sure to be more shenanigans.
