Welcome to Louisiana Lefty, a podcast about politics and community in Louisiana, where we make the case that the health of the state requires a strong progressive movement fueled by the critical work of organizing on the ground. Our goal is to democratize information, demystify party politics, and empower you to join the mission, because victory for Louisiana requires you.
I'm your host Lynda Woolard. On our first new interview of Season Two, I speak with District 93 Representative Royce Duplessis, about his call to public service, his winning state house campaign, and successes worth celebrating in this year's legislative session.
Royce Duplessis! Thank you so much for joining me on Louisiana Lefty for our first episode of Season Two.
Thank you, Lynda. Thank you for having me.
Well, I found in recording the podcast that I either have a very distinct recollection of an incident or an event where I met the guest, or I just can't remember not knowing them, and not having them in my political sphere. And Royce, unless I'm forgetting something, you fall into the second category where I just don't remember a political life without you in it.
I think that's correct. I would agree, because as I started to think about it, as you were pointing out, I don't recall either. It's just been a collection of events over the course of years. I cannot point to one particular moment or time.
I will say that frequently when I have that conversation with folks, Felicia Kahn comes up, and people will say, "I think you were with Felicia when I met you."
Oh yeah, definitely. Felicia was there, wherever it was Felicia was there, that's for sure.
Well, tell me your political origin story. You come from a political family, is that how you got involved?
You know, believe it or not, I think that's a misnomer. I think a lot of people think that about me. But that's actually not the case. I'm actually the first in my family to be involved in politics. There have been people with the same last name who've been involved in politics, but we're not related. Good friends. But my mom worked for the Postal Service. My dad was a school teacher in the Orleans Parish school system, teaching children with special needs. So we were involved in public service, but more from the standpoint of like, the fact that my dad was a coach. And, you know, he did work part time at NORD, and would cut the grass. And they would go to neighborhood meetings, and that that aspect of civic involvement. But politics was foreign to me. In fact, I grew up not even ever considering getting involved in politics. Yeah, I had a mindset more of going into business. Politics was just something that never really registered for me, until more after Katrina, quite honestly, I think that's really when I had my first opportunity to dive into public service and understanding what you could do for the community through public policy. So just to kind of fast forward a little bit and tell you my first foray, I did have an internship in college for a state legislator at the time, but it was just kind of one of those many things that you do in college. You know, I worked everywhere in college. I worked for Enterprise Rent-A-Car, I bussed tables at Mandina's for several years, you know, worked a ton of jobs. But before Katrina, I was planning to go to law school, then Katrina hit. And there was a guy who was friends with a mutual friend of mine, who was running for the city council. And I had a little extra time on my hands. It was the spring of '06, I want to say. I had a little extra time on my hands and I was going to law school in the fall of '07. And he was running for city council. So I just volunteered on the campaign. First time ever working a political campaign, didn't know anything about it, literally had no clue. And he ended up winning. And after winning, he asked me if I would be willing to defer law school for a year to serve as his chief of staff. And my mom was not crazy about the idea. But it was something that ended up to be a turning point for me. This was James Carter, he was a one term councilmember, turned into a lifelong friend. And it again really kind of opened my eyes up to the world of what I like to call public service, but obviously through the lens of politics, because you have to get elected in order to serve in certain capacities. But that was really the beginning for me. And since that time, I was really blessed with opportunities in the private sector, as well as the public sector, working in various jobs, from major law firms, to the Louisiana Supreme Court, serving on boards and commissions, and volunteering with organizations like the Silverback Society, and always having a passion for service, but just not really knowing how I was going to serve. And over the course of many years, probably 10 or so years of being involved, it was spring of 2018, when a special election was called for the house seat that I currently hold. Helena Moreno had run for the city council, that opened up a vacancy. At the time I was at the Louisiana Supreme Court. And I was spending a lot of time with Chief Justice Bernette Johnson, up at the State Capitol working on criminal justice reform, working on judiciary policy, working on funding for indigent defense, and a lot of issues that really caught my attention, and issues that I was passionate about. So when the opportunity presented itself, I prayed on it, talked to my family, my wife, and I had recently gotten married, and we were expecting, and I wasn't quite sure what the plan was gonna be. But my family stood with me and supported me, as did the community, and we were successful that first time. But that's sort of my journey in a nutshell. But I didn't have any, as you might think, I had no family or anything like that. It's just kind of all new for us.
Well, I'm so glad to know that story. And that's a very noble path to politics, really. And you've worked with some super impressive people.
I've been very fortunate. I feel like every experience really lent itself to where I am today. And I've always believed, I tell people all the time who might ask my opinion on running for office, I say, I really think it's a question of your highest and best use of your passion, and your experience, and your talents. And when I did an assessment of what I'm most passionate about, and the experience I had around public policy, because I'm not in it just to be a political player. I'm in it to try to make good policy. And I think that's really what we need more of, are people who can understand the power of the position, and use it to affect good policy. So I thought with my experience and my passion for service, that this would be a good marriage of the two. And there's all kinds of ways served, you know, I think you can be a business owner and serve your community, you can be a mentor and serve your community, there are there chefs and people who work in kitchens who serve the community, artists, whatever your thing is, you know, that's service, in my opinion.
I agree. I agree. What I liked about your successful campaign, is that you ran a very modern style campaign. You focused on that grassroots voter outreach. How did you come upon that, like, what made you decide that that was the kind of campaign you were going to run?
You know, I'm just a real believer in the little guy, and I wanted to be a voice, and still want to be a voice, and work every day to be a voice for the people who feel like they're unheard. And I have a respect for the fact that it takes resources to be successful. But if you're not working at the most ground level, grassroots level, then, you know, I just don't think that's the way to go. And the most power, in my opinion, that I've seen over the years is when you are in touch with what's happening at the ground level, and being connected to that everyday person, that everyday voter, even if it's not the most chronic voter, just understanding the issues of people, who oftentimes feel ignored, because that's why I chose to go in this to begin with. Usually the people who have the most influence, they already have influence, so I don't really know what value I can provide to them. You know, we can we can be friends, of course, but outside of that, I don't need to go into the sacrifice of public service just to carry the water of the most influential. So I think it's important to always sort of try to stay close to the grassroots. Sometimes we get it wrong, you know, sometimes, you know, everybody doesn't agree, everybody think the same. Even at the grassroots level, there are disagreements and difficulties. So, you know, we use the term grassroots, but what does it ultimately mean, right? I think it's an attitude more than anything. It's a spirit of what I like to call servant leadership, that you truly look at this as a service, that you are truly here to give of yourself. And it's almost a surrendering of sorts. I believe that's what public service should be about. It has unfortunately taken on a negative connotation. And you know, many of my family were not crazy about the idea of me going into it. Many of my family did not believe that this was something that was noble to aspire to. But I think that we have to restore the nobility in public service. And that starts at the grassroots ground level.
We referenced your campaign frequently in the office when we were working on Constitutional Amendment 2 for Unanimous Juries. Were you very involved in the Unanimous Juries effort in the legislature?
So here's the funny thing about that, Lynda. I mentioned that I worked for the Supreme Court. One of my key assignments when I was at the court was to develop a plan, if you will, working with the Judicial Council, which is a body that's created by law, that's overseen by the Louisiana Supreme Court, to begin to study certain data around the non-unanimous jury, which was the law at the time. And at the time, this was 2014, 2015, 2016, there was really no light at the end of the tunnel around the issue of non-unanimous juries. It was unfortunately, as one DA, who's no longer the DA, for Southwest Louisiana, once put it, "It is what it is." That was the attitude at the time. So I get to the legislature. And like I mentioned, I I got there mid session. So I was elected on March 24. And I was sworn in on April 10. This was during the middle of all those special sessions that were going on back in 2018. I get assigned to criminal justice committee. And literally it may have been my third or fourth committee meeting, when, former Senator Morrell brings his bill before the committee. And that was all she wrote. So it was it was amazing to go from where I'd been at the court, trying to work on this issue, because we recognized that it was an issue that needed to be addressed. And we were doing what we could, outside of any Supreme Court decision to try to begin to change this awful, awful constitutional provision. The bill passes in 2018. And, of course, having been one of the members, who not only voted but added my name as a co author, certainly did all that I could to help get the word out around why we needed to pass this thing statewide. And the people got the message, they voted for overwhelmingly. But it was just a truly exciting thing. I don't think the state of Louisiana had ever seen anything like that in a very long time. I'm still just amazed by the fact that I was able to go from the court, to actually being on the committee to vote for it, and then being in the body, in just such a short period of time. So I was amazed by the work that you did, that the organizers around the coalition on 2, and all of the different entities and people who have been working on this issue for years and years, people like Norris Henderson, and so many others, got to see that change happen. Really, really exciting stuff, but it should serve as a reminder that anything is possible.
I agree with that. I want to look back at your first campaign again, real quick. And one of the things I just want to mention is, I interviewed Davante Lewis, for the last interview of Season One of Louisiana. Lefty, and after we actually did the interview he mentioned you, and how you had actually called him - he didn't even know you - but you called him when you started running for office. And he was just on your list of folks to call. So I think that's really important. It's important to do that grassroots work, but you're also getting your politics right. You're making those connections, and you're talking to the people you need to talk to get on your side. And I just was hoping you talk a little bit about that, and all the folks that you spoke to, just getting your team together and getting your supporters together.
You know, I actually forgot that I had done that. So the fact that you reminded me is is pretty cool. And it brings me back to what I call campaign mode. You know, when you're in campaign mode, it's like being in trial. You're just in the zone and you have to do everything it takes to get it done. And obviously that means remaining ethical and staying true to your values. But there's no stone that can go unturned. So you have to reach out to folks. And what I did the way Davante got on my list was that any registered lobbyists or player that I thought needed to know about me, even if we hadn't met, I made sure that they knew about me. And I wanted to know about them and trying to understand the issues that they were advocating for, and that were important to them, even if we didn't disagree on all the issues, because these are all people that you have to work with. So I was cold calling folks, you know, even people who didn't even live in New Orleans, I was just cold calling people. And yeah, I mean, it's not comfortable at first, and I don't know that it's ever comfortable. But you do it. Well, at least, I did it. And it for me, it just further fed my fire and conviction, as a reminder that this was something I knew I wanted to do. So when it comes to other campaigns, whether it's a issue based campaign, or whether it's an electoral campaign for candidate, the theme is the most important, in my opinion, driving factor. It's all about the why, you know. Every campaign is different, but I think it's mostly driven by the why. Timing certainly matters. But it was my 'why' that gave me the strength and the conviction to pick up the phone and make cold calls to people. Because I felt that strongly about me needing to share what it was I needed to share, and not even being shy about. I was unapologetic. And I wasn't shy. I've been shy about things in the past. And I might be shy about some things in the future. But what that tells me is that, then I must not believe strongly enough in this issue or cause. So you have to have a real look in the mirror, in my opinion on any issue that you're working on, to know if you're committed to it enough to say, "I'm willing to make cold calls," and some people were not receptive and that's fine, you have to accept that part as well. But I think that's all part of the process. I'll reference, one time I heard Walt Leger say this a long time ago, that when you make the decision to run, you have to be willing to lose. Because your belief in the cause is so much greater than the outcome. Obviously, we run to win, you know, you run the win every single time. But your commitment, and your belief in what it is you're about to undertake has to be that strong, to where it's worth it, in the end, that regardless of the outcome, it was worth going for it. So all of that's part of like a greater theme, about the need to have access to whatever, a list of contacts in terms of building your resources, building a network, because, you know, Davante Lewis didn't know me from a can of paint, just like I didn't know him from a can of paint. But now he's someone that I look to as being one of the strongest advocates we have in the state around issues that I certainly believe in. And you know, I'm grateful for his advocacy. It's those sorts of introductions that are necessary, and you just never know where they might lead. We could believe that we're the greatest thing since sliced bread, but you can't do it without relationships. And people have to know you, they have to trust you on anything that you're trying to convey.
Are you starting to feel comfortable in the legislature now?
I'll tell you, that's an excellent question. This year was a what I like to call a growth year for me. My first two and a half years were very rocky, in terms of trying to find my voice, in terms of trying to find my comfort level, just in terms of trying to find the way things work. Like I said, I mean, my dad wasn't in the legislature. I didn't have aunts and uncles who had run campaigns, or who knew the process. I'm kind of learning this, and fortunately, I did have mentors and people that I could call, but it was all still very, very new for me, and I'm still learning my way around. So it was a challenge. And like I said I was elected on March 24, 2018. I was sworn in taking votes on April 10. So I didn't even have a whole lot of time to go from campaign to just learning the rules, procedure, knowing what committees I would be on. I just got really thrown into the fire. At the same time, Lynda, I had to start my own law firm. Because I left the Louisiana Supreme Court and I didn't go work for anybody, and I still had to eat because, you know, the legislature doesn't pay. You actually lose money going into this stuff. But at the same time, I had to go out on my own, and start to put that together. So it was really, really difficult. But this past year, I felt like I have made a lot of growth, in a lot of areas, certainly learning the process, having worked with my colleagues more time, the relationships had grown, especially after 2020, with such an influx in new members, we lost a lot of folks like Walt, and we got all these new folks that came in, and then the pandemic hit. So we didn't even really get a chance to build relationships over the course of an entire year. And when we did show up to the Capitol, everybody's wearing masks, well, the responsible ones were wearing masks. But it had a real impact on all of our abilities to find a level of comfort. But this 2021 year, I felt like I was better able to deal with some of the emotional turmoil, and some of the mental turmoil that you're confronted with on a day in day out basis, and still stay focused on the mission that's in front of you. There's so many distractions, there are people telling lies on you, there are people that are actively trying to deceive you. Figuring out who to trust, and who not to trust, is always a challenge. But this year, I felt a little more confident in my ability to get legislation through, and just work the process. So I'm still finding my groove. But this year was definitely a growth year for me.
Who are the 504 Splash Brothers?
Alright, the 504 Splash Brothers is myself, Representative Matt Willard from New Orleans, and Representative Jason Hughes from New Orleans. So it's sort of an inside joke. And if you just Google Splash Brothers, then you'll see pictures of the superstar basketball players, Steph Curry, and I don't know why I'm why I'm drawing a blank right now. But two superstar basketball players. And they are known as the Splash Brothers. Okay? And I don't know how it came about, but it was just sort of random, even though it's three of us, if you look at the splash brothers in the NBA, and then you look at me, Jason and Matt, you would understand what it means. So it's kind of like a just a spin on that, even though it's two of them. It's three of us. We just couldn't cut anybody out. So that's how we're rolling. And that's how we're coming. You know, it's kind of like a tag team approach of just being successful, working together, and having fun. But I have a great, great, great respect of those two members who are incredible public servants. Rep. Hughes, Rep. Willard, brilliant, brilliant legislators, great people, and have already in their own right been incredibly effective in a short period of time. And even though I have senior status now that Gary Carter has gone. I'm the most senior member in the in the house. How about three years, and I'm already most senior member from Orleans in the house?
Wow.
Yeah, but those guys have just really knocked it out the park. And I'm just so proud of them. So we are the 504 Splash Brothers. It's just a fun, fun, fun idea.
Well, it's fun to see y'all post about that on social media.
Yeah, yeah. Klay Thompson is the other. Yeah, but we have we have we like to have fun with it. Klay Thompson and Steph Curry.
Well, it's part of that bonding experience you're talking about, finding your comfort in the legislature, I think.
And they're like brothers to me. And relationships matter so much. You know, and I think the relationship piece is really a big part of finding that comfort because you have to have strong relationships in order to get things done.
You did a lot of amazing work for the people, in a year that was set aside as a fiscal session. We talked about this a little bit before the podcast, but you passed three criminal justice reforms, including two juvenile justice bills, two housing bills, two mental health bills, including one on maternal mental health, a work opportunity tax credit, and an extension of the earned income tax credit. And those are just the bills that you authored. So that's pretty impressive, Royce.
Thank you. Thank you, Lynda. I was I'm proud to carry all of those pieces of legislation. And as I mentioned in the other segment, none of it gets done individually. To have a coalition of people that you can count on that were gonna be there to help you make those points make those cases, is even better when you get bipartisan support. So I was very, was very proud to be able to work on some of those instruments. And I think they're going to really have a positive impact on the people of this state.
I also think it's hard to overstate the importance of the Louisiana Legislative Black Caucus for the state right now. The LLBC passed several more bills on police reform, marijuana decriminalization, women's health, investment in families, racial equity. And I hope folks understand just how important the work y'all do is to their daily lives.
I'm such a proud member of the Black Caucus, we actually just held a press conference today, calling on the Department of Justice to do a full scale, top to bottom investigation of the Louisiana State Police based on the horrible reports that have been coming out, not just since the death of Ronald Greene, but even before that. I mean, it's really, really egregious some of the things that we hear. That's just one example of some of the work that we are doing. Generally, you're going to see when it's an issue of social justice, and issue of being progressive, and an issue of trying to move this state in the direction that we believe is the right way, the Black Caucus is going to be right there at the front of the line. So I'm just really grateful for the leadership there, Chairman James and so many others, in terms of pushing those issues. It's unfortunate that it oftentimes has to be an issue where the Black Caucus is leading you think these issues do oftentimes transcend race. The issues that we're fighting for, are not solely for black people. They affect all communities that are at the lower floor spectrum of the economic ladder, communities that are suffering, through lack of access to health care, or good education, good jobs, these are all issues that we care about. So our issues are not solely limited to that of black people. I just need that point to be emphasized.
That's right. That's right. And you mentioned Chair James, and that's Ted James, that you're talking about.
That's right, Chairman Ted James. He is fiercely and fearlessly leading this caucus to new heights. And I'm just so proud of his leadership.
Y'all passed a couple of bills to make voting easier for folks, do you have concerns about the potential for more restrictive voting laws in Louisiana?
So the advocate actually just ran an article toda that showed that Louisiana, a deep southern state, was somewhat of an outlier from the rest of our surrounding states, and other states throughout the country, in terms of not having, as many far reaching voter restriction bills. There were a few that started out as gross attempts to try to limit the rights of certain folks to vote, but most did not make it through the process. And some that even attempted to, were vetoed. But we actually did something really cool, which was we actually expanded the right in some areas, we expanded the early voting by, I think, three days for presidential elections. That type of stuff isn't even happening. But you know, we got it done, because we got to we had a great author, Fred Jones, who is unfortunately running for judge. I'm a little upset with him right now. Representative, Ted James passed a bill that extends the amount of time in which you can spend in the voting booth from three minutes to six minutes, which is very important. And we were again, able to stop some of the oppressive bills. But I will tell you, Lynda, I was surprised myself. I thought that more bad bills would have been filed after we saw what was filed in Georgia. We saw what just happened in Texas. Louisiana, took somewhat, I use the term somewhat, a more of a moderate approach this time around. And it could have been a result of the recent federal litigation that we went through as a result of the emergency election plan that we had over the summer. You know, that was a big fight over vote by mail. You might remember that. That ended up in federal court. So I think the state of Louisiana was just saying, "Hey, you know, we know where this would end up, so Let's just not even try to go down this path again." But we, we stood our ground, we stood our ground on the issue of voting rights, and we're gonna continue to do that.
Are there things that you already know of that you'd like to see done to make voting more accessible to everyone?
You bet. You know, when people talk about voting integrity, and I said this in committee, these terms get thrown around about voter voter integrity, election integrity. Well, to me, integrity means ensuring everybody has the right to vote. People want to talk about patriotism, how about we make sure that everybody gets to exercise the right to vote? That's the patriotic thing to do. So don't talk to me about the cost of early voting expansion, and the cost of paying more poll workers, when we're spending all of this money to chase down this false narrative of election fraud, when we have one of the safest election security systems in the country in Louisiana. So to me, what we need to be talking about is how we expand. We need to go further. And we need to expand early voting, we need to talk about same day voter registration, we need to talk about automatic voter registration. And these are the types of things we need to be pushing for, and we need to push hard for them. It is difficult, I will tell you in this conservative legislature, but these are the types of things we need to be pushing towards. I think 19 other states have same day voter registration. So you can't tell me it can't be done. It's just a question of whether we want it to be done. I think those are some simple examples of how we can ensure more people have the right to vote. Voter education, voter outreach, we can do things like make sure the Secretary of State's website doesn't fall off line or go for website maintenance on National Voter Registration Day, we can make sure things like that don't happen, which unfortunately, happened last year. You know, if we want people to vote, if we truly want people to vote, we can make that happen. And I think the examples I just gave are some ways in which we can do that.
Are there things that those of us outside the legislature could do to support the work around legislative sessions that y'all are doing? Is there is there anything missing that advocates, activists, citizens in general, should do?
What I think we have to constantly work towards, Lynda, and this is not easy, because these problems are oftentimes complex, but I think the folks who are outside of the legislature, like yourself, who follow it, I think what you're doing right now is a great tool, in terms of achieving what you just talked about, because you're creating a medium and an outlet for us to have these conversations. And we can somewhat demystify the process, which I think is a challenge for many people. People are caught up in their daily lives. They're trying to work to pay bills, take care of their children. So how do we how do we have the conversation around the process in a way that that's somewhat demystifies it? I think also we have to be like Vice President Kamala Harris and be joyful warriors. We have to talk about difficult issues in a way where people don't become discouraged. We have to work on the issue of apathy, which is real, and I respect it. I don't like it. But we have to fight against it. And I think the way that we do that is to try to be joyful warriors, to encourage other people to join the fight. And that doesn't mean everybody should run for the legislature. And I don't think that even means everybody should show up to the legislature every day, because it's not practical. But there might be that one issue, or those two issues, or three issues that you care deeply about. And it's the the leaders, and the activists, and organizers, like yourself, who are oftentimes a bridge between myself as a policymaker and the community. Although I want to have direct relationships with the community, I may not be as savvy, or have the capacity to create a podcast to get the word out on on these issues. So, you know, I think what you're doing right now is a great example of how we can do those pieces. But there's just so much content out there so many ways to get involved. We just need to just encourage people not to be discouraged.
Oh, thank you for that.
Yeah.
And you mentioned you had to open a law firm to supplement your legislative role, but even outside of legislative session, you're still doing constituent services all the time, right?
All the time. No, that does not stop. I love that part. Let me be very clear, I enjoy policymaking, but I love constituent services. And to me, that's the best part. Even if we can't get a pothole fixed, because I just don't have the jurisdiction or authority to, I will take that call. And I will call the city council, I will call the mayor's office, and try to get that street light turned on. But those calls never stop. All day, every day. But I actually love that part of the job. I really, really do. Responding to constituents is something that I'm very passionate about. But no, there are no days off. So when you're in session thinking that wow, our session ends, I'm gonna be able to practice some law, those those calls never stop,
Still work to do.
Always.
What's the best way for folks to plug into your work and follow you? Is it social media? Are there other ways that they can connect to you?
Definitely, I'm most active on social media. I don't share everything on social media, because I don't want to be too obnoxious. I just think people are overwhelmed, Lynda, I really do. I think that we're getting too many emails, we're getting just overwhelmed with information, but social media for sure, Instagram @royce_duplessis, Twitter @royceduplessis, Facebook Royce Duplessis. So I try to share as much as I can, without being a burden or turning anybody off. But I think it's important to share what I'm working on. I do have a newsletter that I encourage folks to sign up for. And again, I I try to spread it out. I do one before session, I do one after session. And if there is something really important that I need to share, I'll share it, but I do promise, I keep my newsletters to a minimum. But then you can just call my office, you know, my office line is always available. You can email me, and you know, we do our best to respond immediately. So I pride myself on being accessible to my constituents. Even if you don't live in my district, you know, I want to hear from you.
Well, I'll make sure to put links to your social media in the podcast notes. So people can connect that way, and sign up for your newsletter. I'll put a link for that. We're at the final three questions. And I always ask the same ones, every podcast. So in your opinion, what's the biggest hurdle for progressives in Louisiana?
Well, obviously, we have to increase our numbers in the legislature. I think that is it. And while we're not going to strike a majority, after redistricting, this upcoming redistricting session is going to be the most crucial in terms of the future of the next 10 years in the state for progressives. So while we may not strike a majority, we can make a difference in terms of increasing the numbers of progressives, and creating districts that are more representative of this state, to reduce some of the hyper partisan districts. And I think ultimately, that will help progressives, but I think the biggest obstacle that we have to overcome, because the practical reality of this process is, in order to get things through, you need to have the numbers. That's just a hardcore reality. And I would just say sort of a two part answer to that, Lynda, I think that is more of like a mechanical component. And then the more aspirational piece is just staying encouraged, and not getting discouraged. Because as a progressive in Louisiana, I think it could be easy to just throw up your hands and say, "There's no hope." And I'm not willing to do that. And I think all progressives need to make that commitment to not become discouraged. And just to keep fighting everyday, everyday, everyday, everyday. So I know that that's sort of two answers to one question, but I think they go hand in hand. Yeah, we need to focus on increasing our numbers in the legislature. And we need to just not be discouraged. Even if we get hit with body blows, which happens quite regularly in the state, we got to keep getting back up. We got to keep swinging.
I think those are good answers and what's our biggest opportunity for those things?
I think the biggest opportunity is, as I mentioned, right now, coming up in this upcoming upcoming session. I think it obviously helps that we have a Democratic governor. We don't know how that's going to turn out next time around. So the fact that we have a Democratic governor who may not be progressive, you know, he's not Eddie Rispone. Okay? And I think that's an opportunity, that we could potentially get some fair maps drawn. So the opportunity is there for people to get engaged, and to make sure that the process is fair. So that's where I'll leave it. And I'm speaking on that, because it's at the top of my mind, because I serve as Vice Chair of House Governmental, so I'll be heavily involved in that process. Everybody's going to be heavily involved in the process. But I think this is the big opportunity, having Governor Edwards, having President Biden, and the Biden administration at the DOJ, all those present great opportunities for us to not be reactive to what we saw happen 10 years ago. I think we've already gotten out front and sent a strong message to the other side that we're going to be ready, even if it ends up in litigation, that we're not going to let happen this time around happened what happened last time around.
And so you'll let us know if there's support things we need to do to get to that point?
Oh, yeah, yeah, we're gonna be going on a road show. We're gonna be doing a road show pretty soon. So just be on the lookout for that.
Wonderful. Royce, who's your favorite superhero?
Oh, wow. That's a tough one. Wow. You know, wow, I would have to say, when I was a kid, and this isn't like an actual superhero, but there was a cartoon when I was a kid. And there was this cartoon called the Underdog. And for some reason that character just always just stuck with me. It was a little dog, who, you know, was a superhero, and he would save people, and it was just really awesome. I think the name says it all. But I've always had an affinity for that superhero. He's a little little dog that used to go out and do good deeds.
Oddly, I was just thinking about Underdog today. I can't remember the last time he came to mind. But I think it's a great choice. And it fits with everything you've talked about so far. Royce, thank you so much for joining me. I hope you have a great summer, and you get at least a little downtime with your family to recover from that session before you go into something else.
But we can't give up. And we won't. We'll keep pushing every day to be on the side of right. And when I say right, I mean the right side. So thank you, Lynda, just for having me on. I appreciate all your work. I'm a fan of yours. I'm a supporter of yours. And I just appreciate so much all that you do, and I really appreciate you bringing me along to have this conversation.
Honored. Honored to have you here.
Thank you.
Thank you for listening to Louisiana Lefty. Please follow us on your favorite podcast platform. Thank you to Ben Collinsworth for producing Louisiana Lefty, Jennifer Pack of Black Cat Studios for our Super Lefty artwork, and Thousand $ Car for allowing us to use their swamp pop classic, Security Guard, as our Louisiana Lefty theme song.
