BATON ROUGE, La. — Governor-Elect Jeff Landry took his oath of office on Sunday in front of hundreds in front of the state capitol in Baton Rouge.
On Monday, he will officially take office as Louisiana's 57th governor.
The Martinville native captured the majority of the vote in October.
“The people sent us here to repair and reform their government," Landry said in his inauguration speech.
Speaker Mike Johnson, Senator Bill Cassidy, former governors Bobby Jindal and John Bel Edwards were all in attendance.
While most of the evening was about the pomp and circumstance, Landry did highlight a few top issues in his 33-minute speech.
First, he brought up education and the efforts to control learning materials that are in schools.
“Our people seek a government that reflects their values. They demand that our children be afforded an education that reflects those wholesome principles and not an indoctrination behind their mother's back," Landry said.
He later addressed crime in his speech.
“I pledge to do everything I can to possibly make this state safer," Landry said, "And to bring an end to the misguided, deadly tolerance of crime and tolerance that plague us. To the men and women that project us who stand firmly on the thin blue line. Our appreciation is expressed this being in the rows of flags placed on these sacred grounds.”
Landry had a somewhat tumultuous relationship with the City of New Orleans as Attorney General, but several top city officials were at the inauguration.
“I do believe without a doubt that we will be able to work together in the spirit of moving our state and the City of New Orleans forward. That’s why we’re here. That’s why we’re in these leadership positions, to move things ahead. So, I look forward to working with the governor," Mayor LaToya Cantrell said.
“I’m optimistic for a variety of reasons. We’re electing a governor who has served as the state’s attorney general, has served in Congress. We recognize the importance of our entire state working together on issues that are common to all of our cities. So, in that respect, we’re electing a governor who has experience," District D Cm. Eugene Green said.
The governor-elect said he wants to work with New Orleans and the state legislature.
“To the legislature, I ask you to help me help you and together help them. For failure in this state is not an option anymore," Landry said.
Other state officials took their oaths at Sunday's inauguration as well.
- The Honorable Nancy Landry, Secretary of State
- The Honorable Liz Murrill, Attorney General
- The Honorable Dr. John Fleming, Treasurer
- The Honorable Dr. Mike Strain, Commissioner of Agriculture
- The Honorable Tim Temple, Commissioner of Insurance
- The Honorable Billy Nungesser, Lieutenant Governor introduced
► Get breaking news from your neighborhood delivered directly to you by downloading the new FREE WWL-TV News app now in the IOS App Store or Google Play.