November 8, 2023
Governor-Elect Jeff Landry Announces Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner of Administration
Lafayette, La– Today, Governor-elect Jeff Landry announced that Taylor Barras will be the Commissioner of Administration and Patrick Goldsmith will be the Deputy Commissioner of Administration.
“It is through the Commissioner of Administration and his office that efficiencies, savings, and streamlining of state government can happen. This is where protecting the taxpayer starts. Both Taylor and Patrick have extensive backgrounds in public service and finance, and I am confident these two men will work to ensure our State is fiscally responsible and responsive to our citizens,” said Governor-elect Jeff Landry.
“I am honored to serve Louisiana as the Commissioner of Administration. With my extensive background in finance, I am confident we can deliver a budget to the people of Louisiana that is both thoughtful and responsible with the taxpayer’s money,” said Taylor Barras.
“After working 27 years for the legislative branch and 3 for local government, I am honored for the opportunity that Governor elect Jeff Landry has given me to work in his administration. I will bring the same objectivity, transparency, and innovation to the executive branch that I brought to the legislature and Ascension Parish. I will focus on making the administrative operations more efficient and effective so the great state of Louisiana can be a better place,” said Patrick Goldmsith.
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Background:
Taylor F. Barras
Taylor Barras is currently serving as the Assessor of Iberia Parish. Prior to his election as Assessor, he served as Speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives from 2016-2020. He served as the State Representative for District 48 from 2008 until the end of his term as House Speaker in 2020, as a result of term limits.
In his professional life, Taylor served as the Market President of Louisiana based IBERIABANK for 21 years and worked as a commercial banker for the preceding 20 years. He completed his 41- year banking career to accept his current Assessor’s position. During his time in the Louisiana Legislature, he was a member of the House Ways and Means committee and authored several key pieces of legislation directed at fiscal reform and improved tax policy.
During his tenure as Speaker of the House, he was elected Chairman of the Council of State Government’s Southern Legislative Conference in 2018. He was also selected to the Board of Directors of the State Legislative Leaders Foundation.
Patrick Goldsmith
Patrick Goldsmith served a 28-year career for the Louisiana Legislature and most recently 3 years in local government. Patrick Goldsmith spent 19 years with the Legislative Auditor as a performance auditor and nine as the Fiscal Director for the Louisiana House of Representatives. In local government Patrick served as the Chief Financial Officer and then the Chief Administrative Officer for Ascension Parish. Patrick served 2 months as the Interim Chief Administrative Officer for Ascension Parish, where he oversaw all departments of the parish. As the Chief Financial Officer for Ascension Parish Government, Patrick was responsible for overseeing several departments, including Finance, Grants, Purchasing, Human Resources, Data Analytics, Legal, and Project Management.
As the Director of the House Fiscal Division, he was responsible for overseeing the research, analysis, drafting and committee staffing on fiscal matters for the Louisiana House of Representatives. His oversight included the Appropriations and Ways and Means Committees. Prior to working for the House, Patrick was the Director of Performance Auditing and Actuarial Services for the Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s Office. He spent nineteen years with the office, all of which was in the performance audit section.
Patrick is a Certified Internal Auditor, Certified Government Auditing Professional and has a Certification in Risk Management Assurance. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in finance and a Master of Public Administration degree with an emphasis in internal auditing, both from Louisiana State University. Patrick is a past president of the National Association of Legislative Fiscal Offices and past staff co-chair of the National Conference of State Legislatures Budgets and Revenue Committee.