Gov. Jeff Landry appointed the personal attorney of his close confidante Shane Guidry as chairperson of the Port of New Orleans and the Public Belt Railroad, using newly expanded powers over state boards and commissions to place an ally into another key leadership role.
Michael A. Thomas, a former Jefferson Parish prosecutor and Parish Council staffer who briefly served as an interim district council member, was appointed September 20 to the unpaid position, which has a five-year term, the port announced Thursday.
The Port of New Orleans photographed from the Mississippi River in New Orleans, Friday, June 14, 2024. (Photo by Sophia Germer, The Times-Picayune)
As chairman of the Port of New Orleans and the Public Belt Railroad, Thomas oversees some of the region’s most important economic assets and will help select a new permanent CEO of the port. He will also be thrust into the increasingly bitter fight with St. Bernard Parish over the port’s $1.8 billion container terminal that’s moving forward in Violet.
Vice Chair T. Jay Seale III called the appointment “deeply offensive,” adding that Landry “put someone in charge who was loyal to him” and that service on the board would be “a charade whenever the governor wants to order something to happen.”
Landry responded, saying that the board had done little in recent years to improve higher education.
Big changes ahead for Port of New Orleans
Thomas succeeds Joseph Toomy, who had extended his term for several months this year at the request of the governor to give him time to pick his new appointee. The appointment by Landry is unusual in that it departs from a tradition where the chairperson is chosen among board members who rotate into the role on a seniority basis, alternating between representatives from the West and East Bank of New Orleans.
As the personal attorney of Guidry, a friend, donor and advisor to Landry, Thomas becomes the second close associate of the New Orleans area businessman to lead a key board in the city. Rob Vosbein, who is the general counsel of Guidry’s company, Harvey Gulf International Marine, was named chairman of the Louisiana Stadium and Exposition District, known as the Superdome Commission, earlier this year.
Shane Guidry of Harvey Gulf Marine in his downtown New Orleans office on Thursday, August 1, 2024. (Photo by Chris Granger, The Times-Picayune)
Guidry said that the appointment of Thomas is another step toward ensuring that the state’s key money-generating organizations are run according to Landry’s agenda.
“We’re going to make sure that these are run like a business to make as much profit for the state as possible,” Guidry said. “Mike is going to bring everybody together and keep the governor abreast of what’s happening at all times.”
The Port of New Orleans, known as Port NOLA, is going through a period of significant change as it pushes to build the Louisiana International Terminal, which port officials have argued is critical to allow it to compete for container business with other Gulf ports, like Mobile and Houston.
It is also searching for a new CEO to replace Brandy Christian, who unexpectedly departed earlier this year to take a private sector job in Florida.
The port noted in its announcement of Thomas’ appointment that during Toomy’s term, the port had secured a record $300 million in federal infrastructure grants, as well as more than $230 million in state funds for the Louisiana International Terminal project at Violet, St. Bernard Parish.
The project, which has faced opposition from the St. Bernard Parish Council and some residents, still has to set out concrete plans to build a new road connection to the interstate system to fulfill a promise to parish residents that it will not create traffic issues.
The port’s acting CEO, Ronald Wendel, also noted that Toomy had played a key role in the new state-level board that will oversee port strategy, particularly for the five Lower Mississippi River ports that have in the past competed for scarce resources.
“The potential growth of the Port of New Orleans and the New Orleans Public Belt Railroad over the next few years may be the largest in their history and I am looking forward to working with our team along with local, state, and federal leaders to help both entities reach their full potential,” Thomas said in a statement announcing his appointment.
Thomas is one of two board members from Jefferson Parish, the other being Todd Murphy. Though he has no direct experience working in the maritime or related industries, the port noted his experience in private practice representing marine service companies, oilfield supply vessel companies and a Mississippi River pilots association.
The board also comprises four members representing Orleans Parish, which currently are James J. Carter, Jr., Sharonda R. Williams, Walter J. Leger, Jr., and Darryl Berger. Jeanne E. Ferrer represents St. Bernard Parish. All seven members are appointed by the governor.