Louisiana’s political landscape is populated with lots of interesting characters, but not many are people of great character. Only a few are both. We lost one of those few recently when political consultant Ray Teddlie died on Feb. 4 after a long battle against Parkinson’s Disease. He was 59.

Teddlie got his start as a political consultant in the 1970s under the legendary Ray Strother, who also mentored James Carville. In fact, Teddlie and Carville both worked on one of Strother’s first New Orleans campaigns — the mayoral bid of Joe DiRosa in 1977. DiRosa lost the runoff to Dutch Morial in that transformational contest; Morial became New Orleans’ first African-American mayor.

Strother says Teddlie was a “brilliant copywriter” who also had a lovable and hilarious knack for bungling. He recalled the time they went to visit a friend at a local marina, and when Strother asked Teddlie to retrieve his wallet from the trunk of his car, Teddlie accidentally tossed the wallet and all its contents into the water. “He missed,” Strother laughed. “That was a typical day with Ray.”

Carville remembers Teddlie fondly from their early days in the business. “He was different than most political consultants because he was such an avid reader — and he was drop-dead funny,” Carville added. “Ray had a sense of humor that was unique. Few people in this business had knowledge that was as broad as his, and his humor was deep and sophisticated.”

Gloria Powers was a longtime supporter of the art, music and culture of New Orleans. After recent illness, she went to Lafayette to be with her family. Powers died this morning.

Powers served as the executive director of the Foundation for Entertainment Development and Education, which runs the Big Easy Awards, since 1991. The foundation annually recognized achievement in music, theater and classical arts, and through grants it supports development and education. Powers was also active with the Living History Project. She was trained as a cultural anthropologist and worked with many Louisiana festivals, including the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and the Voodoo Experience.

There will be a memorial service at 11 a.m. Friday, Feb. 17, at Trinity Episcopal Church.

Veteran Louisiana political media consultant Ray Teddlie died late Saturday after a long illness. Teddlie was a fixture in state and local political campaigns and was well respected for his insights as well as the distinctive look and feel of his campaign ads. Many of his clients also became close personal friends. They included former Gov. Kathleen Blanco and New Orleans businessman John Georges.

“Ray Teddlie was a brilliant man who understood human nature and knew how to tap into the goodness of people,” Blanco said upon news of Teddlie’s death. “He was sensitive, and used the subtlety of emotion quite effectively in his work. And he was fun to work with, so much so that we enjoyed helping on his other campaigns. He and Raymond [“Coach” Blanco] were quite close, acting as each other’s sounding boards.

“Ray was hands down the smartest man I ever met in Louisiana, and I’ve met a lot of smart people in my time. He became more than a consultant to us; he became a beloved member of our family and one of our closest, dearest friends. He is going to be missed by so many who came to really respect and love him.”

Mayor Mitch Landrieu, City Council President Jackie Clarkson and New Orleans Police Department 8th District Commander Jeffrey Walls were among those gathered at St. Louis to pay their respects to Ainsworth, a beloved volunteer for COPS 8, a support organization for the 8th District.

Former 8th District Commander Ed Hosli, who spoke at the service, remembered Ainsworth as someone who was always eager to help with maintenance around the station.

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