Louisiana Voice

How can you argue with sound logic like that?

Things appear to be looking up for Louisiana, what with all the announcements of new jobs coming to the state. There’re the giant data centers in at least three parishes—two in north Louisiana one in south Louisiana—the humongous Space X facility in Vermilion Parish and the $5.8 billion steel mill in Ascension Parish.

But a word of caution: perhaps we shouldn’t get too excited just yet, at least not until workers are getting their time cards punched as they check into the work at these facilities.

Because they haven’t happened yet.

After all, a pretty strong rumor has it Walt Disney wanted the New Orleans area for his second theme park and even began buying up land in St. Tammany. But when state and New Orleans politicos began leaning on Disney for “their share” of the pie, he found that the city of Orlando was willing to sell him the land with no strings (read: kickbacks) attached, he moved eastward and a great opportunity for Louisiana was lost because of nothing more than uncontrolled greed.

The Guardian earlier this month noted “Promises are not the same as jobs” in a story about a $15 billion steel plant proposed for Lee County, Iowa.

Skepticism mires Trump’s Iowa steel plant project: ‘Promises are not the same as jobs’ | Steel industry | The Guardian

Should the steel mill project of Mesabi Metallics not materialize in Ascension, it would not be the first time an announcement of a major manufacturing plant failed to develop during the administration of Donald Trump. Foxconn, which a joint announcement by the company and Trump touted as a $10 billion investment for Wisconsin turned into a nightmare of false hopes for the Badger State.

Oh, they held a ceremonial groundbreaking in 2018 for what Trump said was the “eighth wonder of the world” which he said would provide 13,000 new permanent jobs. But after investing only $300 million of that supposed $10 billion and hiring only about 2,000 workers, a disillusioned Wisconsin state denied Foxconn’s generous tax subsidies for failing to follow through on its investment plans.

Trump also made empty claims about the coming of new auto plants to Michigan—claims that were never fulfilled. In fact, the number of manufacturing jobs in Michigan for autos and parts actually decreased.

Trump’s False Auto Industry Claims – FactCheck.org

Even as Trump bragged about the jobs he was bringing back to the U.S., thanks to his tariffs, American manufacturing was, in fact, bleeding jobs, according to Politico.

Trump hails ‘manufacturing miracle’ as factories bleed jobs – POLITICO

And with a 25 percent tariff on steel and aluminum, the fate of that Hyundai steel mill in Ascension may yet hang in the balance. Oh, sure, the state has granted an air permit for the mill but to remind you of The Guardian’s warning, a permit isn’t jobs. Nor has anyone yet to draw a paycheck from a data center or from Space X.

Remember a company called Eurochem? Probably not.

Way back in 2013, when a guy named Bobby Jindal was still governor, he and a fellow named Dmitry Strezhnev jointly announced that Eurochem was going to build a $1.5 billion giant fertilizer plant on one of two sites—one in Iberville Parish, across and downriver from Baton Rouge on the Mississippi River or further south, in St. John the Baptist Parish.

The Russian firm did spend $12 million to purchase 2,150 ACRES OF LAND within the town of St. Gabriel in Iberville Parish, though at the time of the sale, the identity of the purchaser was not revealed to legislators who approved SB 216 (Act 127) by Sens. Mike Walsworth (R-West Monroe), Rick Gallot (D-Ruston), Neil Riser (R-Columbia), and Francis Thompson (D-Delhi).

Walsworth has since retired from the legislature. Gallot now serves as president of the University of Louisiana System. Riser, after being term-limited in the Senate, is now a representative in the House. Thompson, likewise term-limited in the Senate, also now serves in the House, but as a Republican after having switched parties.

Interestingly, the 2,150 acres bought by the Russian oligarch Strezhnev-led company just happened to be property surrounding a Louisiana National Guard facility but hey, they’re jobs, right?

Not so, it turned out. But first things first.

Eurochem somehow decided the Iberville site, even after paying $12 million for it, was unsuitable for its purposes, so in 2015, it opted for the 915-acred site in ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST PARISH.

But alas, a mere 7 years later, in March 2022, Eurochem, which produces approximately 5 percent of the world’s fertilizer, WITHDREW AN APPLICATION for a New Source Review (NSR) permit from the EPA for the plant, effectively killing the project that had been touted as planning to employ 200 persons.

Jindal, of course, has moved on to other projects—like PAYING CRASHERS $200 to disrupt rallies by Michigan senatorial candidate Abdul El-Sayed.

Strezhnev, meanwhile, with the aid of one Viktor Radin, busied himself funneling some $785 MILLION TO SWITZERLAND in order to avoid taxes when Eurochem purchased a 10 percent stake in the company from Strezhnev in 2019.

Eurochem was founded by another Russian oligarch, Andrey Igorevich Melnichenko, who hosted Trump fundraiser Bill White on his superyacht in 2019.

Top Trump Fundraiser Vacationed with Russian Oligarch on Superyacht – Forensic News

Melnichenko, described by Forbes as Russia’s richest person, managed to avoid financial disaster in 2022 by transferring ownership of Eurochem and one of the world’s largest coal companies to his wife the day before he was sanctioned by the European Union.

EXCLUSIVE: EXCLUSIVE How a Russian billionaire shielded assets from European sanctions | Reuters

Will there ultimately be a steel mill in Ascension? A Space X in Vermilion? Data centers in West Feliciana, Caddo and Bossier, Rapides, Richland, or Livingston?

Only time will tell if these are truly economic windfalls for the state of Louisiana or just another pipedream like when Eurochem was going to build in St. John the Baptist Parish, DISNEYWORLD was rumored to be considering St. Tammany Parish or when BELL HELICOPTER was slated for Lafayette Parish, HAWKER BEECHCRAFT for East Baton Rouge Parish or ELIO MOTORS for Caddo Parish—but didn’t?

Headline in today’s Louisiana Illuminator. Just a reminder: Louisiana still has more registered Democrats than Republikkkans. So, depending on the turnout…

So, the question of the day is: how responsive is the administration of one Jeff Landry to the public’s right to know about how our state government conducts its business?

For the answer to that, we need only refer to a single public records request made by LouisianaVoice back on Sept. 3.

On that date, the following public records request was submitted to the Louisiana Office of Economic Development (LED):

Sent: Thursday, September 3, 2026 4:11 PM
Subject: PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST

Under the Louisiana Public Records Act § 44:1 et seq., I am requesting the opportunity to review all copies of public records that include:

Any and all Nondisclosure Agreements executed, signed or otherwise agreed to by the following elected and/or appointed officials for the Parish of Livingston and Watson, Louisiana, from January 1, 2020 through September 3, 2026:

A list of 30 names was included in that request. Here is the initial response from the LED:

Date: Wednesday, September 9, 2026 at 11:22 AM
To: Tom Aswell <louisianavoice@outlook.com>
Subject: Re: PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST

Good morning:

The official records custodian for Louisiana Economic Development (“LED”) received your Public Records Request (“PRR”) on September 3, 2026, at 4:11 p.m.

LED estimates that its search for records that may be responsive to your request, along with any necessary review, segregation, examination, redaction, and processing, will be completed by November 3, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. If records that may be responsive to your request are identified and become available for production before that time, LED will make them available as soon as practicable.

If responsive records are identified for production, LED’s standard copying fee of $0.25 per page may apply. At this time, we are unable to estimate any costs associated with your request. If responsive records are identified for production, you will be notified of any applicable copying costs before the records are provided. You may also inspect any responsive

records made available for inspection at no cost.

Thank you for reaching out to LED.

Monica Craig-Champagne

Strategic Communications Project Manager

Louisiana Economic Development

Now, in case you might be unfamiliar with the Louisiana Public Records statute (L.R.S. 44:2 et seq), the law clearly and unequivocally says that the custodian of the records “shall” provide any public record not exempt immediately or inform the requestor as to when the record will become available “within three working days.”

Nevertheless, giving LED the benefit of the doubt, I did not object to their arbitrary timetable.

But as that deadline approached, I received the following email from Ms. Champagne at 7:27 a.m. on Oct. 26:

Sent: Monday, October 26, 2026 7:27 AM
To: louisianavoice@outlook.com
Subject: Re: PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST

Dear Requestor:

Apologies for the delay. Please be advised that despite our diligent efforts, we are still in the process of collecting, segregating, and reviewing records that may be responsive to your request.  We estimate that any records we may deem responsive to your request should be available by December 30, 2026 by 5:00 p.m.

Best Regards,

Monica Craig-Champagne

Strategic Communications Project Manager

Louisiana Economic Development

Dec. 30? Why, that’s four months after I submitted my original request. So, 17 minutes later, at 7:44 I responded:

Sent: Monday, October 26, 2026 7:44 AM
To: Emma.Wagner@la.gov
Subject: PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST

This is totally unacceptable. I will come to LED to review the files myself. State law says you are required to make them available on demand. I fully intend to have that law enforced. You are stalling, attempting to wait me out and I simply won’t have it. The alternative is litigation against the department and the custodian of the record(s).

Tom Aswell

louisiana-public-records-act.pdf

I also included the above link to the state’s public records law as well as a copy and paste of applicable sections of the statute:

What is a public body? A government agency, branch, office, department, board, commission, committee, subcommittee or other governing authority at the state, parish or local level. Private corporations that perform a governmental function may also be considered public bodies.   2. What is a public record? Any document that is created, used or kept to perform the business of a public body, regardless of physical format. Public records include books, papers, letters, maps, pictures, drawings, photographs and recordings. They also include information stored electronically, such as in e-mail and databases.  3. How do I see (examine) a public record?  At no cost, you can examine any public record in the office where it is kept during regular working hours. Special permission may be needed to allow you to see a record in a different place or at a different time. The person responsible for keeping the record can make reasonable rules to make sure that you do not destroy, damage or alter a record while you are examining it. (However, only Louisiana residents can seek records from the governor’s office and must provide ID.)  • The law calls the person in charge of releasing or protecting records the “custodian.” The person in charge of any public body is automatically a records custodian, but the responsibility can also be granted to other employees who handle records. Most public bodies name only a few people to handle all public records requests. • The custodian may ask for your name and age before showing you a public record. Also, the custodian may ask you to sign a list so he or she can keep track of who has seen or copied a certain record. The custodian can ask questions about the specific records being sought if unable to determine what records are requested.   4. How do I get a copy of a public record?  You may ask for a public record in any manner—over the phone or in person, by email or in a letter. To protect your right to sue in case of a dispute, you should always request records in writing and date your request.

The following day, Oct. 27, at 10:09 a.m., I received this:

Sent: Tuesday, October 27, 2026 10:09 AM
To: louisianavoice@outlook.com
Subject: Re: PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST

Dear Requestor:

After a diligent search and review of the agency’s records in regards to your September 3, 2026,  Public Records Request, the agency has determined that it does not possess any records responsive to your request at this time.

Accordingly, the agency considers this request closed.

Thank you for reaching out to LED.

Monica Craig-Champagne

Strategic Communications Project Manager

Louisiana Economic Development

Amazing, right? Was it my threat of litigation or did LED just happen to magically come up with the information that it did not possess any records responsive to my request?

I suppose we’ll never know the answer to that but I do know one thing for certain:

At least one of the persons on my list of 30 did, in fact, sign an NDA, LED’s denial notwithstanding. So, on the face of it, it would seem someone at the agency took it upon themselves to simply concoct a “non-response” response to my request in order to prevent possible litigation—without actually ascertaining who had signed an NDA.

This is an example of how this administration responds to public records requests. And remember, when Jeff Landry was attorney general, he actually sued a reporter for the Baton Rouge Advocate who had the temerity to make a public records request and later, it was that same Landry as governor who convinced the Repugnantcan legislature to water down the state’s public records laws.