Kathleen Blanco
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Kathleen Babineaux Blanco (born December 15, 1942 in Iberia Parish, Louisiana) is an American politician. On November 15, 2003, she was elected Governor of Louisiana, defeating Republican opponent Bobby Jindal in a run-off election and becoming the first woman to gain that office, by a margin of 52% to 48%.
Kathleen Blanco is a conservative member of the Democratic Party. She was formerly Louisiana's lieutenant governor, having served two terms in that office, starting 1996. Prior to that, she was on the Public Service Commission and was a state legislator.
She graduated from University of Louisiana at Lafayette in 1964.
On 11 January of 2004 she took the oath of office in both English and French, succeeding Murphy J. Foster, Jr. as Governor of Louisiana.
A major focus of Governor Blanco's time in office has been the future of the New Orleans Saints, one of two major sports franchises in the state of Louisiana. At one time or another, Governor Blanco has proposed the construction of a new stadium for the team, a renovation of the Louisiana Superdome, and has implied that the state cannot afford to retain the team. This has led to an ongoing impasse between Governor Blanco and Saints owner Tom Benson. In the spring of 2005, Benson halted negotiations between the team and the state until after the 2005 NFL season is over. While Governor Blanco would certainly like to resolve this issue and remain focused on issues such as education, there is little doubt that the outcome of this debate will play a major role in Louisiana's future economic development. It will also affect Blanco's chances for re-election in 2007. Template:US-politician-stub
External links
- Governor's Office Biography (http://www.gov.state.la.us/biography.asp)
| Preceded by: Mike Foster, Jr. | Governor of Louisiana 2004—present | Succeeded by: Incumbent |