Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!americast-post Newsgroups: americast.twt.news From: americast-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: americast-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: Louisiana's Edwards faces second recall drive Date: Mon, 9 Nov 92 14:59:57 EST Message-ID: \SE A;NATION \SS (WS) \HD Louisiana's Edwards faces second recall drive \BY ASSOCIATED PRESS \DT NEW ORLEANS NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Gov. Edwin Edwards, who claimed the governor's mansion for an unprecedented fourth time last year when the choice was between him and David Duke, is facing the second recall drive of his scandal-plagued career. "Elect the Crook - It's Important" urged bumper stickers displayed during the 1991 campaign by people who found the prospect of Mr. Duke as Louisiana's governor repellent. Mr. Duke is a former Ku Klux Klan leader. Now the state is dotted with bumper stickers urging "Recall the Crook - It's Important." "We were faced with a nonchoice," Steve J. Lindsley, state coordinator for the recall drive. "Neither of those guys should be in office, so we said, 'Why don't we recall the one who wins?' " Mr. Edwards, once renowned for his wheeling, dealing, womanizing, gambling and colorful quips, vowed that he was a changed man after his landslide victory over Mr. Duke. But his critics say it's the same old Mr. Edwards. "After Edwards won, some people wanted to wait and give him a chance," Mr. Lindsley said. "Well, he hadn't changed. So here we are." Leaders of Recall-92, angered in part by Mr. Edwards' support of casino gambling, have until Dec. 14 to submit 740,000 signatures, or those of one-third of the state's 2.1 million voters, to force an election. They say they already have more than 400,000 signatures. Ted Schirmer, a Baton Rouge lawyer, launched the recall drive in June, soon after the Legislature approved a bill - backed by Mr. Edwards - to allow casino gambling in New Orleans. Critics say Mr. Edwards rammed the bill through and accepted a vacation from Christopher Hemmeter, a developer who won the right to build a $415 million casino. State ethics officials said Mr. Edwards and other officials who took trips did nothing illegal since they reimbursed Mr. Hemmeter. Mr. Edwards says the recall drive doesn't worry him. Asked if he thought it would be successful, he said, with a laugh, "I think not." A French-speaking Cajun and the son of sharecroppers, Mr. Edwards, 65, built his political career with the support of blacks, labor and New Deal Democrats. During his first two terms, from 1972 to 1980, Mr. Edwards was investigated by at least five federal and state grand juries as well as the Internal Revenue Service. No charges were filed. One of his top aides did go to prison. The state constitution, rewritten under Mr. Edwards, prevented him from serving more than two consecutive terms. But he was back in 1984 for a third term. Then came his indictment on charges that he accepted bribes from companies trying to win state approval for new hospitals. His first racketeering trial ended in a hung jury in 1985. The next year, he was acquitted. A recall effort during his third term failed, but it did enough political damage to lead to his 1987 primary defeat by reformer Buddy Roemer. Mr. Edwards' career appeared over before he staged his stunning comeback last year, when he and Mr. Duke edged out Mr. Roemer. Mr. Edwards went on to defeat Mr. Duke with 61 percent of the vote in a runoff. "I hope this time people will look at me less with a jaundiced eye and recognize from time to time I may have a good thought," Mr. Edwards said after his victory. If the recall issue makes it to the ballot and a majority votes Mr. Edwards out, Lt. Gov. Melinda Schwegmann would fill out his term. Silas Lee, a political science professor at Xavier University, said the number of signatures needed for a recall is daunting. "It's never easy to oust someone outside an election," Mr. Lee said, adding "I think the fact that it's happening reaffirms the frustration that people have in our political institutions." This article is copyright 1992 The Washington Times. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM