NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Call it a sign of the times for Louisiana's embattled governor: A chance to dine with Gov. Kathleen Blanco fetched a winning bid of $1 at a recent fundraising auction hosted by a group of business leaders.
The president of the Monroe Chamber of Commerce, in northeastern Louisiana, said she called Blanco's office Tuesday to apologize for a "poor joke gone awry."
"It's something we deeply regret," chamber president Sue Edmunds said Wednesday. "Our organization has worked very well with the governor. We have been pleased with her efforts on behalf of this community."
Dinner with Blanco was the last item up for bid at the fundraising auction last week. Edmunds said the bidding opened at $1,000 and dropped to $500 before the auctioneer accepted a $1 bid from bank executive Malcolm Maddox, a regional chairman for Capital One.
Others were trying to bid on the dinner when the bidding abruptly closed, according to Edmunds.
"We were all stunned," she added. "It was at the end of the auction, so there was no way to go back and amend that."
Edmunds said an apologetic Maddox came forward Monday to donate $1,000 to the chamber. He won't be dining at the governor's mansion, however. Edmunds said a chamber official will be going in Maddox's place.
Someone was being generous. I wouldn't have given up the $1 for dinner with her.
ReplyDeleteHa ! I think it sucks that it's going to be at his house too. I bet he was itching to have a nosey round the governors place.
ReplyDeleteAs a former resident of Louisiana who left shortly after the hurricane disaster, I would like to say that the bidder paid too much for lunch with Mrs. Blanco. She has been an embarrassment, as has the mayer of New Orleans. I did not vote for her. Her major running opposition was Bobby Jindel and he would have been brilliant during the crisis. I would have paid $1000 NOT to have dinner with her.
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