Gordon 'Landslide' Dove leaves legacy of securing funds, fighting for coastal protection

For the politician who earned the nickname "Landslide," success in office is measured in dollars brought home, and combating land loss never stops.

Former Parish President Gordon "Gordy" Dove has walked a complex path of supporting the oil and gas sector while also fighting to protect the Gulf Coast. He left office Jan. 4, concluding 20 years of service as an elected official and now hopes to serve with the Coastal Restoration and Protection Authority to continue his mission of combating erosion.

According to Dove, good public servants hold their own convictions and vote for what's right for their communities, but to be a great public servant takes more.

"A good representative votes his or her ideals and beliefs, and what's good for their community. But a great one does that and brings money home," he said. "You've got to bring money home, because it makes the world go round, especially for people who survive on fighting the Gulf of Mexico like we do."

He is quick to name each of the people involved with securing money for the many projects he's been involved with through the years, as well as the administration who helped him to make the projects happen. All of the projects have stories about those involved and how they made it happen. No matter who was responsible for securing money, for the politician who measures success by the dollar, his projects found their funding.

For the man who began his career winning political office by just five votes, his ability to bring money into the parish would have far more zeroes attached at the end.

'Landslide'

Dove's political career began in 2004, when he narrowly won the District 52 State Representative seat, beating attorney Tom Watkins by just five votes. Dove served alongside the now House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, who nicknamed him "Landslide" for the close race. Dove would go on to serve his full 12 years as a state representative, even serving as the chairman of Natural Resources and on the CPRA board.

After terming out as a state representative, Dove returned home to Terrebonne and became Parish President. Many of those he met during his time in the Legislature would find their way into the mechanisms of power. Together, the group battled for the Morganza to the Gulf Project to take form.

"Remember, you don't build 80 miles of levees in 15 years, that's unheard of," he said. He then compared it to New Orleans's protection, "I mean, it took 'em 12 years to build New Orleans' [protection], but they had $12 billion and the whole Corps of Engineers doing it."

Officially titled the Morganza to the Gulf of Mexico Project, the nearly 100-mile coastal protection project includes levees, lock gates, pump stations and more. Originally paid for by local and state tax dollars, just last year federal dollars found their way into the mix.

Dove's administration didn't just focus on coastal waters, but those that soaked the city too. When he took office the parish had six pumps capable of remote operation, and none had backup generators. Under Dove's administration, 60 of the 98 are now remotely operable, and many also have backup generators.

The oil and gas question

Between 2012 and 2017, dozens of lawsuits were filed by other parishes against Chevron, Exxon Mobile and ConocoPhillips, arguing that they damaged the coast through creating service canals, disposal of hazardous waste, saltwater and other operations.

As Parish President, Dove protected oil companies, but also continued his work to protect the parish from the effects of storms and land loss.

"No matter how you look at it, Terrebonne Parish is oil and gas," he said.

Under Dove's leadership, Terrebonne was one of the few coastal parishes not to pursue legal action against them. His administration paid for and carried out legal work investigating possible damages, and also sued the Terrebonne Parish District Attorney for creating damage models.

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Dove said he didn't want to run these companies off, and during his time in office they have donated land and money to the community and coastal restoration efforts.

The parish has since diversified its economy to sports tourism, and continues to seek other businesses to make itself more resilient to the sways of the price of oil.

What's next?

Seated in his living room and watching the news, Dove keeps a small stand beside him. On it sits a house phone and a cell phone. Not 10 minutes pass without one of the two ringing.

For most of the year, Dove was contemplating retirement to spend time with his family. When pressed, he would always add that he'd never rule out continuing in politics.

Now he is aiding Gov. Jeff Landry's transition team and says he may serve with CPRA in the future. Using Google Maps he zoomed in on Raccoon Island to show a strategy for combating erosion. He said he'd like to see this method of using segmented bricks implemented across the Louisiana coast.

This article originally appeared on The Courier: Former Terrebonne President Gordon Dove still fights for Gulf Coast