Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) lives very fabulously in her Washington DC $2.5 million mansion. However, there’s one problem: She does not actually live in the state in which she is running for office.
In order to get around living in the state and somehow still representing it in the US Senate, Landrieu has used a unique loophole in which she simply claims her parents’ (Moon and Verna) house as her own home. Landrieu has claimed her parents’ large-scale New Orleans bungalow on South Prieur Street.
But, there’s a problem with this and in a rare act of journalism, the Washington Post is taking note.
On a statement of candidacy Landrieu filed with the Federal Election Commission in January, she listed her Capitol Hill home as her address. But when qualifying for the ballot in Louisiana last week, she listed the family’s raised-basement home here on South Prieur Street.
Now, Republicans in the state are debating whether or not to take legal action against Landrieu for not living in the state in which she is running in.
However, Landrieu is still asserting that with all of her riches, she does live with her parents in their New Orleans mansion, saying “I have lived at my home on Prieur Street most of my life and I live there now, when not fulfilling my duties in Washington or serving constituents across the state.”
So, the Washington Post investigated the area to see if Landrieu is around often like she claims. This is what neighbors had to say about Landrieu living in the home:
“I don’t think she lives there,” said Fontaine Wells, 65, pointing at the Landrieu home. “She might come visit, but come on now — she lives in D.C. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her.”
Michael Fitzgerald, 61, has lived around the corner from the Landrieus for three decades. He said he sees Moon and Verna Landrieu regularly, as well as Mitch Landrieu, Mary’s younger brother and the city’s current mayor, who lives in a home he owns nearby.
“They’ve been very good neighbors,” Fitzgerald said. “On Election Day, [Mary] is seen at our polling place accompanying her parents.” He added, “I have not seen her lately. . . . She’s been in the Senate for — I’ve lost count — 16 years? 18 years?”
In the years since, the neighborhood has been rebuilt and is now a post-Katrina success story. Moon Landrieu was particularly active in the rebuilding efforts, said Kelli Wright, who has lived in Broadmoor since 1988 and is president of the Broadmoor Improvement Association.
“Is Mary’s address the Landrieu’s family home?” Wright asked. “I don’t know where she lives. I’ve never seen her around the neighborhood. It doesn’t mean she’s not here, but I haven’t seen her. We see Moon, we see Verna, we see the mayor.”
Essentially, no one has seen Mary in years.
Rep. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), who is challenging Landrieu for her Senate seat this November, said Landrieu had serious nerve to claim that she is still living with her parents when she visits the state.
“Let’s call it what it is: She doesn’t live in New Orleans,” said Cassidy, who owns a home in Baton Rouge and a condominium in Washington. “She has an address she uses for voting purposes. . . . She literally no longer lives here. She belongs in Washington, D.C. She just chooses Louisiana to get reelected.”
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