BATON ROUGE – Louisiana Supreme Court candidate Blair Downing Edwards says her campaign doesn’t accept any special interest money, but campaign finance reports show she has received more than $300,000 from trial attorneys and related entities.
The reports show Edwards’ campaign has received $311,450 from trial attorneys, related business entities and individuals with ties to trial lawyers. Among those, attorneys from Shreveport-based Morris & Dewett have donated at least $49,000.
Her campaign even received a $500 donation from Darrell Hunt, the registered lobbyist for the Louisiana Association for Justice, which is a statewide group for trial lawyers.
In a recent radio interview, Edwards said it’s inevitable that judicial candidates are going to receive money from lawyers.
“Judges are going to get … they’re going to get money from attorneys,” Edwards said during a recent interview on Talk 107.3 radio. “I have money from defense. I have money from business.
“What I don’t have is this dark money that comes from another state and when you have special interest groups. I don’t have special interests group backing me.”
According to the reports, Edwards has received $38,500 from defense attorneys and firms.
Edwards is running in a special election for the 1st District judge on the Louisiana Supreme Court. The special Republican primary is scheduled for May 16. Her primary opponent is William Burris, currently a 22nd District Court judge. They seek the seat vacated by William Crain, who was appointed to a federal judgeship.
In that radio interview, Edwards said she doesn’t look at her campaign finance reports.
“I say that and people say, ‘yeah right,’” she continued. “I do not look at that because a trial lawyer can be in the room and donate $200, and a defense attorney can be in the room and donate $1,000.
“The bottom line is it doesn’t matter to me. When someone gives to my campaign, they’re giving to my agenda and supporting that I am going to do the right thing. And if that’s not why they’re giving, then they shouldn’t give.
“Because I’m not going to look to see how much anybody gives, ho/w much anybody pays. I don’t have these special interest groups, oil, gas or whatever …”
Edwards, who currently serves as a judge on the Louisiana First Circuit Court of Appeal, also says she has no ties to a company that previously came to her court in a workers’ comp case.
Smitty’s Supply, based in Tangipahoa Parish, was represented in that workers’ comp case by Edwards’ brother-in-law and former governor John Bel Edwards’ law firm. Smitty’s also could up before the state Supreme Court because of a case filed last year related to an explosion last summer that caused evacuations in Tangipahoa.
The Burris campaign says Edwards should have recused herself from the workers’ comp case because of conflicts of interest that include a $305,000 mortgage along with a $50 million line of credit she and husband Daniel Edwards received in 2012 when she was a juvenile judge and her husband, a Democrat, was acting sheriff of Tangipahoa Parish.
Big 4 Investments provided the mortgage and line of credit. It is a Louisiana limited liability company owned and controlled by the Smith family that owns Smitty’s. Big 4 Investments serves as their private investment and holding company directly tied to Smitty’s Supply, the family’s core lubricant/oil manufacturing and distribution business. They share the same Roseland address.
Big 4 Investments appears in SEC filings, court records and business documents alongside Smitty’s Supply and related entities.
Edwards’ 2024 campaign also received $10,000 in contributions from David Smith and Tanya Smith, the son and daughter-in-law of Smitty’s owner Edgar Ray “Ed” Smith III. David is the longtime director, treasurer and key figure in the family-owned business and is also the principal/member of Seven Smith’s Company.
During a recent Press Club interview, Edwards denied taking a loan from Smitty’s.
“On the Smitty’s Deal, I can absolutely deny I have never taken a loan from Smitty’s ever,” she said. “I had a mortgage from an investment company that was not Smitty’s, and he (Burris) said that they won a case.”
Edwards says she had no idea about the connection when her appeals court dealt with a workers’ comp dispute involving the company. The panel of judges partially affirmed the workers’ compensation judge’s decision but adjusted how attorneys’ fees would be awarded.
“I don’t know why we’re talking about it,” she said. “I shouldn’t have to recuse myself because I didn’t get any money from Smitty’s. So, with that, transparency certainly starts now by telling the truth, thank you.”
Edwards’ campaign also has received at least $40,500 in donations from nursing home companies and related individuals.
