January 26, 2026 (Baton Rouge, LA) – Cornerstone Government Affairs, a bipartisan, employee-owned consulting firm, announced today that veteran Louisiana fiscal and government leader Patrick Goldsmith will join the firm. Goldsmith most recently served as the Deputy Commissioner of Administration under Governor Jeff Landry and has more than three decades of experience at the highest levels of Louisiana government and politics.
Goldsmith, who starts February 15, was appointed Deputy Commissioner by Gov. Landry in 2024. In that role, he held the appointment authority for 1,600 state employees and oversaw the 22 sections of the Division of Administration – including statewide IT, Accounting, Auditing, Procurement, Risk Management, and Budgeting. Goldsmith also advised the Commissioner of Administration and Gov. Landry on all fiscal issues and led the development of the $50 billion Executive Budget and $12 billion Capital Outlay Plan.
“I am excited to join such a talented team and look forward to using my 30 plus years of experience in state and local government to deliver meaningful solutions to complex challenges for clients and ultimately to make Louisiana a better place,” Goldsmith said.
Cornerstone’s Baton Rouge office, which opened in 2008, is one of the firm’s 19 locations across the country. The Louisiana team includes (alphabetically) Ashley Cain, Rachel Farmer, Jordan Gleason, Gabrielle Kees, Stephen Ledet, Cooper Moore, Nial Patel, and Paul Rainwater.
Goldsmith previously served in Ascension Parish Government as Chief Administrative Officer. He supervised heads of all departments and functions within the parish, under the appointment of the Ascension Parish President. He was also the Chief Financial Officer to the Ascension Parish, where he directed all activities of the Finance, Purchasing, Legal, Grants, Human Resources, Data Analytics and Project Management Departments.
Earlier in his career, Goldsmith spent nearly a decade as the Director of the House Fiscal Division for the Louisiana House of Representatives, where he helped guide the Legislature out of the years of fiscal cliffs. He directed all activities of the House’s Fiscal Division including research, analysis, drafting, and committee-staffing on all state fiscal matters. In addition, Goldsmith advised House leadership on all fiscal matters and worked to ensure key priorities were achieved. He also provided committee oversight for Appropriations, Ways and Means, Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget, Revenue Estimating Conference, and various other committees. As part of his responsibilities, Patrick oversaw the drafting, amendments, and final passage of the General Appropriation Bill and Capital Outlay bill, making him one of the few that has overseen the budgeting bills from both the legislative and executive branches.
He is also viewed as one of the state’s top auditing and efficiency experts, having spent nearly two decades in the Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s Office where he held roles such as Director of Performance Audit and Actuarial Services, Performance Audit Manager, and Staff/Senior Auditor.
Campbell Kaufman, Cornerstone’s Co-Founder and President and a Baton Rouge native, noted that Goldsmith’s expertise and depth of relationships within the state are unparalleled.
“For over three decades, Patrick has been one of Louisiana’s leading experts on fiscal policy and government processes,” Kaufman said. “We are thrilled to welcome him to the Cornerstone team as the next phase of his career unfolds and are confident his vast understanding of parish and state governments will directly benefit our current and future clients across the region.”
Learn more about Cornerstone’s Louisiana office here.
About Cornerstone
Cornerstone Government Affairs, Inc. is a bipartisan, employee-owned, public affairs firm with more than 200 professionals in offices across the country. Through its federal and state government relations; strategic communications; political action committees; grant consulting and advisory services, Cornerstone represents a diverse group of clients from myriad industries and sectors and maintains expertise in a wide range of issue areas, including agriculture, cyber security, defense, education, energy, health, homeland security, international affairs, tax policy, telecommunications and transportation and infrastructure.
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