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Our Endorsements
Orleans
and Jefferson Parishes — and the state of Louisiana —
face major challenges. We urge all our readers to vote.
Voters go to the polls for the statewide runoff elections this
Saturday (Nov. 15). Secretary of State Fox McKeithen is predicting
a 45 percent turnout statewide — a dismal number that’s
down from the 49 percent turnout in the primary. Meanwhile,
Orleans Parish Registrar of Voters Louis Keller predicts a 55
percent turnout locally — up from 46 percent in the primary.
A lower turnout is predicted for neighboring Jefferson Parish,
despite five hotly contested runoffs for the newly configured
parish council.
We urge all voters to go to the polls this Saturday.
Orleans and Jefferson Parishes — and the state of Louisiana
— face major challenges in the years ahead. Gambit Weekly
makes the following recommendations in the races that remain
on the ballot:
Statewide
Governor
We reaffirm our endorsement of Bobby Jindal, a Republican
and governmental policy expert. Jindal articulates the best
plan to move our state forward, and we believe his emphasis
on the economy, health care and education will benefit both
Louisiana and the New Orleans area.
Insurance Commissioner.
We repeat our endorsement of Democratic incumbent Robert
Wooley. We believe he will effectively police the insurance
industry and break the string of scandals that have befallen
this office.
State Board of Elementary and Secondary
Education, District 1
Democrat Barbara Ferguson, a businesswoman and former
school superintendent, will represent this district well. The
district includes St. Tammany Parish and parts of Orleans and
Jefferson parishes.
BESE District 2
Attorney
Louella Givens, a Democrat and political newcomer, will
ably represent this district, which includes Orleans and Jefferson
parishes.
Orleans Parish
Judge, Criminal District Court Section
B
Gambit Weekly does not make endorsements for judgeships.
Clerk, Criminal District Court
Two Democrats — Kimberly Williamson Butler, a former city
Chief Administrative Officer, and former District D City Councilman
Johnny Jackson Jr. — are in a runoff. We make no recommendation.
Legislative Elections
Senate District 1
We reaffirm our endorsement of Republican businessman Walter
Boasso to represent the parishes of St. Bernard, Plaquemines
and St. Tammany, as well as the Lake Catherine area in Orleans.
Senate District 2
We strongly support Ann Duplessis, a banker and Democrat,
as a candidate for change in eastern New Orleans.
House District 81
Attorney Mickey Landry, a Republican, will ably serve
this conservative Metairie district seat. We repeat our endorsement
of him from the primary.
House District 91
Attorney and Harvard Law School graduate Jalila Jefferson
is intelligent, energetic, and promises to be the team player
that this inner-city district needs. We endorse her.
House District 9
Insurance attorney Randy Evans, a socially progressive
Republican, has our endorsement in this district, which includes
parts of Mid-City and Uptown.
House
District 99
This district, which includes the Lower Ninth Ward
and parts of eastern New Orleans, is ready for a change. We
strongly endorse Charmaine Marchand, a Democrat and attorney
who will bring new leadership to these areas.
House District 100
Political newcomer Austin Badon, a Democrat and administrator
at Nunez Community College, faces incumbent Rep. Pat Swilling,
a real estate developer and former pro football player. Swilling
has candidly admitted to some rookie mistakes as a legislator
and pledges to get back to his pro-business game plan for eastern
New Orleans that got him elected in 2001. Badon is bright, committed
to the community, and has the pro-business agenda needed in
a district that’s impatient for change. We endorse
Austin Badon.
Jefferson Parish Council
Jefferson Parish Council members oversee an annual operating
budget of more than $320 million, plus hundreds of millions
more at two parish-owned hospitals — one on the West Bank
and one on the East Bank of the Mississippi River. The parish
is poised for growth on the West Bank, via the expansion of
the Huey P. Long Bridge. A new master plan for parish growth
and development is critical — and a unified council is
vital to a unified parish. The river has too long divided Jefferson’s
people and its politics.
The newly reconfigured parish council features five district
seats and two at-large seats. We were very impressed with the
overall quality of all the runoff candidates in the remaining
five council races. Each race was a tough decision for us, especially
the at-large contests.
Outgoing district Council members Ed Muniz and Lloyd Giardina
have served the parish with honor and energy for 17 years and
24 years, respectively. The parish owes Muniz and Giardina a
debt of gratitude. Unfortunately, parish voters also insisted
on term limits for council members, a defining issue in the
campaigns and our endorsement deliberations. Two youthful and
promising candidates are poised to build on the successes of
the past and bring new vision and energy for the future.
Council At-Large, Division A
Republican John Young, chief of administration and chief
of parish courts for the Jefferson Parish District Attorney’s
Office, possesses the leadership skills needed to continue progress
in the parish. He is committed to implementing the master plan
and to protecting the parish’s neighborhoods. We endorse
him.
Council At Large, Division B
State Rep. Tom Capella, a Republican, strikes us as independent,
honest, energetic and well-equipped to handle technical issues
that come before the council. For example, many of the outgoing
council members sound like engineers when talking about drainage.
Capella’s pledge to put a back-up generator in every pumping
station tells us he understands the issue, literally, from the
ground up.
District 1
This all-West Bank district will be well-served by the youthful
Chris Roberts, a 28-year-old Democrat, currently a member
of the parish School Board and an owner of two ice cream stores.
He is intelligent, honest, and vows to be an independent force
on the parish council. Republican Pat Sharp, a CPA who is making
his first run for office is very impressive. Although we endorse
Roberts, we believe that District 1 cannot lose with two such
strong candidates.
District 2
Democrat Vinny Mosca, an accomplished criminal defense
attorney and former mayor of Harahan who presently serves on
its city council, will be a creative force for this parish council
district, which straddles the river. In his eight years as Harahan’s
mayor, Mosca oversaw $3 million in improvements to street and
sewer projects. He has captured the imagination of voters by
advertising his home phone number in his TV commercials. The
council needs Mosca’s creative approach to solving problems.
District 3
State Rep. Kyle Green and fellow Democrat and businessman Byron
L. Lee are both qualified to represent this district. Green,
an attorney, has performed well during his 12 years in the Legislature.
His opponent, Lee, is a quick-thinking businessman who has served
as a commissioner on the West Jefferson Levee District and as
treasurer of the West Jefferson Hospital board. He has a history
of involvement in the parish business community. Lee envisions
construction of senior citizen centers, housing for the elderly
and quicker police response time for District 3 neighborhoods.
His ideas and stated commitment are both impressive. We endorse
Byron Lee.
Above all, we urge all our readers to vote this
Saturday.
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