I haven't seen a direct quote, but nor have I seen this refuted by the Gov.
But Blanco, after meetings by her staff that consumed much of Friday night and Saturday morning, declined to sign the memo and opted to preserve her authority of the Guard forces, which by then numbered more than 13,000. Blanco said she did not want to undermine the authority of Maj. Gen. Bennett Landreneau, who leads the Louisiana National Guard and oversees the Guard troops who have arrived from other states.
"The problem with the offer (to federalize) was that when the question was asked, 'How does this make things better?' the question was never answered," said a state official who attended meetings about the issue but asked to remain anonymous because he does not have authority to speak for the governor.
http://www.nola.com/newslogs/tporleans/index.ssf?/mtlogs/nola_tporleans/archives/2005_09.html
Blanco has refused to sign over control of the National Guard to the federal government and has turned to a Clinton administration official, former ...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050905/ap_on_go_pr_wh/katrina_washington
Blanco has refused to sign over National Guard control to the federal government and has turned to a Clinton administration official, former Federal Emergency Management Agency chief James Lee Witt, to help run relief efforts.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9186823/
