Liz Mangham

Recorded in December 2016, this opening to the third season of the LaPolitics Report (Spotify/Apple) featured Liz Mangham, a founding member of Southern Strategy Group’s Louisiana office.

She discussed the lobbying trade in the Bayou State, her paintings and what it was like working on Kathleen Blanco’ssuccessful run for governor.

A fierce defender of the governmental relations practice, she said she believes “on any given day, each citizen of Louisiana is represented by multiple professionals working on their behalf.”

While she doesn’t gloss over the importance of having a book of business at the Capitol, Mangham explained what’s involved in managing various issues at the local level, including city councils, police juries and school boards.

This episode (Spotify/Apple) also opens up with an audio blast-from-the-past courtesy of retired Chief Justice Kitty Kimball!

Randy Haynie

Recorded in August 2016, this episode (Spotify/Apple) features Randy Haynie, a well-known lobbyist around the Capitol and the former president of the National Association of State Lobbyists.

Haynie took us through the days when lobbyists weren’t even required to register with the state, up through modern reporting requirements.

He spoke about public perceptions, the different kinds of lobbyists you’ll find at the Capitol and some of the most common professional mistakes made in the building.

Haynie discussed the Louisiana Political Hall of Fame, and talked about his own display there.

Plus, he explained how he ended up voting several times— and then hurriedly changing those votes — while working on the Senate floor as a young sergeant-at-arms.

If you’re looking for your usual dose of Louisiana political history, this is the episode for you! In addition to Haynie’s personal collection of stories, which is vast, we kicked off this episode with an audio sampling of Puggy Moity, whose stranger-than-fiction story has partly been lost to history.

If you’ve never heard of Puggy, you’re in for a treat. He was a professional ballot spoiler in the 1960s and 1970s who sometimes ran for more than one office at a time. He purchased 30-minute blocks of late-night TV for what amounted to political infomercials and wild and loose rants.

On Spotify and Apple right now!