BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A third-term state House member from Lafayette has been elected chairman of the Louisiana Legislative Black Caucus.
Rep. Vincent Pierre was elected by fellow caucus members during a retreat Wednesday afternoon, The Advocate reported.
Pierre takes over from a fellow Democrat, state Rep. Ted James of Baton Rouge. James is stepping down to serve as a regional administrator at the federal Small Business Administration.
Pierre defeated state Rep. Jason Hughes, a New Orleans Democrat, for the position.
Pierre was the chairman of the House Transportation Committee. But he was one of two Democrats that House Speaker Clay Schexnayder, a Republican, removed from leadership posts following last summer’s failed attempt to override vetoes by Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards during a veto override session.
Schexnayder told The Advocate he has a “great relationship” with Pierre, adding that they had “one minor issue,” unrelated to the veto override session, that led to his removal. Schexnayder wouldn’t go into details over the rift, only saying that Pierre “knows what he did.”
“I’ve never had any communications with the Speaker as it relates to my removal," Pierre told the newspaper. “At no time has he reached out to me to explain to me exactly why I was removed.”
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