Endorsements for November 21 election
16th November 2015 · 0 Comments
Governor: JOHN BEL EDWARDS
Rep. Edwards, is a graduate from the United States Military Academy at West Point. His honor was so trusted that Edwards as a cadet served as the Vice Chairman of the Committee that enforced the Honor Code. He spent eight years as an Army Ranger and commanded a rifle company in the 82nd Airborne.
Rep. Edwards wants to end double-digit increases in college tuition that have become a regular element of recent governance, and seeks to protect ALL university funding, even HBCUs, without cutting K-12 or hospitals. And he wants to do it without raising business taxes.
As he put it to a crowd of business leaders, “You are the folks that make the economy hum here in Louisiana. As your governor, I will address the structural deficit problems that are holding your businesses back because they prevent us from training and retaining qualified, well-educated workers here in Louisiana.
“We need to look at all exemptions, exclusions and credits to see what is working and what is not. We need to re-prioritize expenditures and giveaways across the board.”
Vote Edwards. We need honor in high office.
Lieutenant Governor: BILLY NUNGESSER
The importance of having a New Orleanian in the Lt. Governor’s office cannot be overstated.
As the head of the Department of Culture, Recreation, and Tourism, the Lt. Governor directs the multimillion-dollar promotional budget that seeks to bring visitors to Louisiana. We need a local who understands that the Crescent City is the engine that drives the state’s tourism economy, when those monies are allocated. Billy Nungesser has exactly that outlook. He knows that tourism in New Orleans propels tourism throughout Louisiana.
This Algiers native-turned-Plaquemines Parish President already made national headlines on his fight against the BP oil spill, to the acclaim of environmentalists everywhere. His crusade against coastal erosion, and his concept of utilizing berms (positioned immediately offshore) to fight storm surge, could provide the metro area and South Louisiana 500-year hurricane protection, at a fraction of the cost.
His tourism proposals, to claim a bit of the multibillion-dollar horse show industry, now centered in Texas, makes sense for a state that houses the Fair Grounds and Louisiana Downs. His idea of drawing the National Hunting & Fishing Show centers perfectly around the state’s “Sportsman’s Paradise” motto.
Attorney General: JAMES D. “BUDDY” CALDWELL
Our editors have had many disagreements with Republican incumbent Buddy Caldwell. However, we do not share the recent enthusiasm by some in the African-American leadership for his GOP runoff challenger Jeff Landry. The former Tea Party Congressman displays exactly zero sensitivity to the needs of the state’s minority community. His past voting record was too often standing in lock step with those on the Ideological Right.
Caldwell may have left the Democratic Party, but the incumbent is still an infinitely more preferable choice than Landry. Having his Tea Party perspectives dominate in an office charged with defending equal access and opposing discriminatory actions in the courtroom is too disturbing to consider.
State Senator 7th Senatorial District: TROY CARTER
Troy Carter proved his breath of support in this Belle Chase to Algiers to Gretna to Fairfield district, earning an impressive 44% in the primary. Perhaps the electorate saw the incredibly difficult task ahead for the next legislature. The state budget needs to be scrubbed from top to bottom, with all dedications removed, a position that Carter has long advocated.
Such a complex task requires elected governmental expertise on both a local and state level. As a former State Representative and New Orleans City Councilman, Carter has not only drawn up budgets, but seen how decisions made at the state level affect those on the parish side, and vice versa.
Having been out of politics for more than a decade and a half, Carter also knows what it is like to live in the private sector, run a business, and see an unresponsive government make life difficult for the business owner. This unique combination of talents will make a big difference in Baton Rouge.
State Representative, District 99: JIMMY HARRIS
Who better than this son of the Ninth Ward to represent it? Especially given Jimmy Harris’s qualifications as a former senior aide to Congressman Cedric Richmond and a seasoned political activist.
He has dedicated his political career to the premise that the Ninth Ward would not be forgotten a decade after Hurricane Katrina, and our editors believe that the Louisiana House of Representatives is the next logical place for Jimmy Harris to carry on his efforts. Please vote for him.
State Representative 100th Representative District: JOHN BAGNERIS
To represent New Orleans East, still struggling to recover from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, requires a potential legislator with a particular balance of expertise.
John Bagneris, scion of the storied political family, has spent years working with community-based organizations to improve economic development and quality-of-life issues in the Crescent City.
He is a master facilitator with a wealth of ideas. His plan to fund coastal restoration projects stands as one of the most innovative of this election season. We need his balance of experience and creativity in the State House of Representatives to succeed the term-limited Austin Badon. Vote John Bagneris.
State Representative 103rd Representative District: Casey Hunnicut
Republican “Ray” Garofalo is an honorable man, but in this Democratic majority district, re-electing an incumbent who voted in lockstep with Bobby Jindal makes no sense.
For a St. Bernard resident to oppose the Independent Commission’s Lawsuit of the Oil Companies is inexplicable. Many other local coastal GOP leaders supported the lawsuit over the wishes of their state party leaders. Garofalo could have voted his district rather than obey orders from the Governor’s Mansion.
This House seat, stretching from St. Bernard into Orleans needs an independent voice, one who is responsive to the needs and opinions of District 103’s residents, not LABI or BOBBY. Mr. Hunnicut seems more in tune with the voters than Rep. Garofalo.
Member of School Board District 1: JOHN BROWN, Sr.
We had enough unqualified “educational theorists” elected and appointed to our school governing boards. Let’s try something radical — a veteran teacher.
John Brown, Sr. is a lifelong educator and school principal. He understands the importance of neighborhood schools and seeks to return oversight authority to the OPSB. Brown has forgotten more about students in his long and distinguished career than most “educational reformers” shall ever know.
Vote John Brown, Sr.
ST BERNARD PARISH
Parish President: GUY MCINNIS
Only one candidate for Parish President as it knowledge that the demographics of St. Bernard Parish have changed.
Perhaps it takes a high school coach to know that change is afoot. Guy McInnis is a long serving Chalmette High educator and a veteran member of the St. Bernard Parish Council. He has displayed vision on a variety of issues post-Katrina.
McInnis was the lone vote, early on, to support the Bicentennial Reenactment of the Battle of New Orleans. And helped lead to the largest economic development impact in the history of St. Bernard Parish. Just one of the many ideas for business growth and improvement of quality of life that he advocates. Please support Guy McInnis on October 24.
Councilman at Large Western Division: RAY LAUGA JR.
The outgoing District A Councilman has been a champion for the “rebirth” of Old Arabi. Almost alone, he has understood that this historic neighborhood could become the extension of the arts & entertainment vibe found in the nearby Bywater. While some St. Bernard residents feared the influx of hipsters, Lauga welcomed their creative energy.
Lauga also advocates an innovative idea that would give tax breaks to local businesses that hire St. Bernard residents and do business with other St. Bernard companies. The idea that local government could incentivize local firms to buy local, with property tax breaks or other credits, should not be so revolutionary, but no official in that parish, and almost none in the metro area, has made such a proposal.
Lauga has, and his plan could be a model for local Louisiana companies to keep our dollars strengthening the homefront rather than flowing out of state. For this reason alone, Ray Lauga deserves election to the At-Large seat.
This article originally published in the November 16, 2015 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
