By Andrew Benton
October 1, 2002

I distinctly remember the first time I “met” Governor Murphy J. “Mike” Foster, Jr. It was in the spring of 1995 when, at the time, State Senator Mike Foster came into my living room and introduced himself. He told me a little bit about himself, his family and his beliefs. Shortly thereafter, he asked for my assistance in obtaining a new position he wished to fill. He then thanked me for my time and left. Over the next few months we had many similar meetings that increased with frequency over time until one day in November when suddenly, the meetings stopped. I can even remember what he wore — a denim jacket and a welder’s hood propped-up on his head. Inappropriate attire for a meeting you say? Not if your means of introduction is a television campaign ad for the Louisiana governor’s office.
I will never forget seeing that commercial for the first time. I thought it was a brilliant campaign spot, and I remember saying to myself that this man will be the next governor. It is worth mentioning this prediction was particularly foreboding on a personal level considering that, at that time, I was a senior at LSU working for another gubernatorial candidate. My prediction was realized, and I, along with the rest of Louisiana, watched as Senator Foster quickly became Governor Foster. I learned a lot during that election. I learned how to correctly use the term “Dark Horse” in a sentence, but more importantly, I learned a lot about people, politics and public perception.
Seven years have passed since my first “meeting” with Governor Foster, and in that time, I have learned much about our state’s chief executive. I learned that he is proud of the fact that he achieved the highest honor and rank of Eagle Scout as a Boy Scout. I learned that after one semester at the Virginia Military Institute, Governor Foster transferred to Louisiana State University where he was a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. I learned that after graduating from LSU in 1952 with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry, Governor Foster joined the Air Force and served in the Korean War. I learned that upon his return from the Korean War to his home in Franklin, he began farming sugar cane and later formed Bayou Sale Contractors. I learned that he and his wife, Alice, have four children. I leaned that it was in 1986 that he formally entered into state politics by running for and winning a seat in the Louisiana State Senate.
By some accounts, Governor Foster has had some of the highest public approval ratings of any other governor in recent Louisiana history. Today, as the final year of his second and final term in the governor’s office approaches, I had the chance to formally introduce myself and ask him a few questions concerning his terms in office, his politics in Louisiana, and his current law school experience. In the process, I found out for myself why so many people seem to like Mike.
As we began the interview, Governor Foster eased back into his chair. “Ask me anything you want,” he said. Immediately I recognized that same sense of approachability and comfort I first saw and heard on television seven years before. We started to talk about his terms as governor and how they compared with serving in the legislature. His predictable and apparent response was that there were more advantages in serving in the executive branch because more can be accomplished on the executive’s agenda as opposed to the legislature, which does not have the ability to move events as quickly. As for his agenda, Governor Foster seems very pleased with all that he has accomplished while in office, and if given the chance to do anything over again as governor, he said he would not change a thing.
Governor Foster feels the work he and his team accomplished thus far is laudable. When asked about the one thing he would like to be remembered for as governor, he replied that he would want people to remember that “we always tried to do the right thing and not the political thing.” Following this thought he began to address what he contends is his personal proudest accomplishment as governor — civil law reforms. “The system had slipped to the point that the public had lost respect for the law,” he says. He felt something needed to be done to prevent further abuse. Fueling his disdain for this abused system is his personal involvement as the defendant in many tort suits. Specifically, he mentions a case he is currently defending wherein the plaintiff has managed to bring a tort suit of a slip-and-fall nature every two years for the past 20 years, and all the suits filed are nearly identical. He claims it is this type of blatant abuse and fraud his civil law reforms attempt to remedy. It may the cost the legal profession some money, but making money is not what the law is there to protect. The practice of law “is not about making money, it is about doing the right thing,” but you need not worry about the money aspect because, “you will make money if you do the right thing.”
In addition to his work on civil law reforms, Governor Foster’s interest in the law was clearly evidenced when he, to the amazement of many, enrolled in the Southern University Law Center last year. However, Governor Foster will be quick to state for the record that his interest in attending law school came anything but sudden. His love affair with the law stemmed from a two-year correspondence course in common law he took while serving in the Air Force. He states that the course did not him teach him enough to think like a lawyer, but it did teach him basic principles that helped him in his business dealings. Additionally, Governor Foster states that law must be in his blood as his son, Murphy J. Foster III, is a practicing attorney in Baton Rouge with Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson, and both of his grandfathers were lawyers — one who became a district judge in Shreveport, and another who, like his grandson, became governor of Louisiana.
The law school experience, according to Governor Foster, is everything he thought it would be, but he was a bit surprised to learn how much work was involved. He loves being around “the young people” in school and has enjoyed the company of both the students and professors alike. Admitting he almost quit ten times, he says that he will take one day, one month, one year at a time. If he has the grades, he wants to continue until he graduates or until he finds it is impossible to be both the governor and a student. “I just hope that I can make it,” he said.
For now he will continue being a part-time student and a full-time governor. When I jokingly asked if there was any other job he wanted to try, he replied that he did not want to attempt any other occupation and then listed all of his past pursuits. The impressive list includes: farmer — both the labor and political aspects; Farm Bureau board member and president; involvement in the construction business; land manager, board president of a large sugar company; involved in the sugar industry on both the farming and milling sides; service on bank boards; he is a licensed pilot; Coast Guard licensee who is licensed to operate 100-ton offshore vessels; and an EMT licensee who is qualified to ride in an ambulance. Not to mention he was a state senator, is currently the governor, and for a few days in August of this year he was the almost-maybe-potential-considering-surprise U.S. Senatorial candidate.
In closing my conversation with Governor Foster, I asked what he thought was the biggest problem facing Louisiana today. “From a political standpoint it is to maintain real integrity in this office and be careful who you elect to any office,” he replies. “Recognize the fact that Louisiana is a poor state and we have to emphasize education and job creation to change the State. We have a long way to go.” And for the future administrations, I asked what problems will it face further into the future. “Education and job creation. We need to come up with money for improved state infrastructure,” he says. Governor Foster adamantly states that the best advice he can give to the next governor is to “go out of your way to generate good relations with the legislature, particularly, with legislative leadership and de-emphasize the importance of party.” Cautioning that if the next governor wants to come in and fight the legislature, then he or she might as well not even run because nothing will get done, and Louisiana and its citizens will suffer as a result.
As I left Governor Foster’s office in the Governor’s Mansion, I asked if he would be involved in the next gubernatorial election. He replied, “I hope so. I hope I can get enthusiastic.”
I thought how long it has been since I heard the terms enthusiastic, integrity and do the right thing as they relate to Louisiana government in the shadow of the notoriously nefarious reputation of Louisiana politics. This year has been especially rough in light of various state officials being either indicted on multiple counts of various crimes or sentenced to prison. Whether or not you agree with Governor Foster’s politics; whether or not you feel he was an effective leader; or whether or not you simply just like Mike, you must concede that his terms in office are not marred by some prevailing turpitude or infamous scandal. Were his terms without controversy? Certainly not, but remember this is politics we’re talking about here. Now, I am not saying that the evaluation of a politician’s term in office should come down to no jail time=good politician and jail time=bad politician. It is not that simple. As for simplicity, Governor Foster’s ideology can best be explained in a simple quote by American poet and essayist Matthew Arnold. In his book Culture and Anarchy and Other Writings, Arnold wrote, “Everything in our political life tends to hide from us that there is anything wiser than our ordinary selves.” I do not know if Governor Foster has ever read this book or heard this quotation, but nevertheless, he has followed its instruction and lived its virtue. By being himself and appearing to be just like every other Louisianian, he has garnered the approval of most of the State, and to his credit, Governor Foster has restored a sense of dignity to the office of governor at a time when Louisiana desperately needs it. And for this I, too, like Mike.