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Archive for October, 2007

Oct 31

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The Truth About Voter Turnout

According to the United States Census Population Estimates Program, in 2006, Louisiana had a total population of 4,287,768 people, representing a 4.1% decrease since the 2000 Census (or a loss of a little more than 180,000 people between the years 2000 and 2006). At first glance, one may assume these numbers are entirely indicative of the net out-migration caused by Hurricane Katrina. After all, Katrina resulted in the destruction of over 275,000 homes and the loss of over 1,800 lives. Some conservative pundits seem almost gleeful at this population loss, opining that the loss primarily affected New Orleans African-Americans (who, they claim, constituted “the base” of the Louisiana Democratic Party). By their logic, all of those 180,000 people that Louisiana lost from 2000 to 2006 were registered Democrats who habitually voted in every major election, representing some sort of fictional political machine.

However, based on more recent population estimates and mail deliveries, we now know that New Orleans is currently up to 86% of its pre-Katrina population, which would represent a loss of only 67,000 people and which indicates that New Orleanians have continued to return in large numbers. Moreover, these numbers do not include the thousands of New Orleanians who simply relocated to places like Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Monroe, Alexandria, Houma, and Shreveport. The American Community Survey, an arm of the Census, reveals that these municipalities and the parishes in which they are located have gained population since 2000. In other words, current data indicates that Louisiana’s population has grown significantly since December of 2006.

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Oct 31

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“Ethics Reform Without Campaign Finance Reform Is A Scam”

Today, former gubernatorial candidate and political activist Mike Stagg published an insightful piece entitled “Claiming Ethics: Turning Jindal’s Ethics Campaign Gambit Into Transformative Reform of Louisiana Politics” on his Louisiana Democrat 2 Democrat website. Throughout the past two months, Stagg has extensively researched and written about the duplicitous campaign finance tactics of key Republican candidates and organizations like the Louisiana Committee for a Republican Majority (LCRM). In his latest article, he poses a simple question: How can Governor-elect Jindal institute ethics reform without also reforming our convoluted and easily-manipulated campaign finance laws? He writes:

Republican contributors have ridden roughshod over Louisiana’s campaign finance laws in this election cycle, using legally and ethically questionable means to circumvent campaign contribution caps established in state law.

The technique used involves individuals controlling multiple limited liability companies (LLCs) to use each LLC to make the maximum contribution allowable in the particular races of interest. In this way, an individual can use multiple corporate shells to make multiple contributions to a single campaign.

This practice does not pass the “hint of corruption” test Jindal wants applied to legislators. It should be noted that the governor-elect’s campaign booked in excess of $700,000 in contributions from individuals and companies via this tactic.

Other statewide Republican candidates as well as candidates for the House and Senate also benefited from this tactic which, again, raises at least a hint of corruption.

Then there was the matter of the $50,000 in contributions Jindal’s campaign received from a Colorado firm and its officers that has tried in the past to place a hazardous waste site in the Alsen community in East Baton Rouge Parish. The money was headline news on the front page of the Baton Rouge Advocate (it’s in their archives now, but here’s a link to a discussion of the coverage).

It certainly raised eyebrows and will draw further scrutiny to that company’s efforts to open that site.

Corporate bundling is an easy way to skirt campaign finance laws regarding maximum contributions. The practice may not be technically illegal, but, as Stagg points out, if Louisiana is truly committed to setting the “gold standard” in ethics, campaign finance reform should be the centerpiece in these efforts.

I am under no illusion that the type of corporate bundling described by Stagg is exclusively practiced by Republicans. Democrats have also employed these tactics. It is a bipartisan problem, and it needs to be corrected. Stagg has a couple of novel suggestions:

The simplest, surest way to eliminate what are — for now — only hints of corruption would be to overhaul Louisiana’s campaign finance laws.

The first step would be to ban corporate contributions to political campaigns, as many other states (including Texas) have done.

The second would be to adopt some of the reporting standards now in place under federal election laws, particularly requiring contributors to list their employers and whether or not their employers serve as government contractors.

Not only are direct corporate contributions banned in Texas, they are also banned on the federal level, a ruling that was upheld just four years ago by the United States Supreme Court. From The New York Times:

In describing the state of the law, Justice Souter said, ”Restrictions on political contributions have been treated as merely ‘marginal’ speech restrictions subject to relatively complaisant review under the First Amendment, because contributions lie closer to the edges than to the core of political expression.” He added, ”Within the realm of contributions generally, corporate contributions are furthest from the core of political expression, since corporations’ First Amendment speech and association interests are derived largely from those of their members.”

Richard Hasen, an election law expert at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, said the court’s approach boded well for the two main provisions of the new campaign finance law: restrictions on corporate spending for issue advertisements, and a ban on receipt by the political parties of unregulated ”soft money” contributions from corporations and labor unions.

On the federal level, corporations may donate to so-called 527 groups (who are prohibited from coordinating with candidates) and political action committees (who are also prohibited from coordination), but corporations cannot donate directly to a candidate. Although a ban on direct corporate donations does not eliminate the practice of bundling (and would not address political action committees like the LCRM), it does eliminate corporate bundling, a practice that allows one individual or a small group of individuals to donate limitless amounts of money toward a single candidate. Moreover, such a ban would ensure that political campaigns are financed by individual voters of Louisiana, each of whom would be regulated by the same rules and regulations. Banning corporate contributions is not only more ethical; it is also more democratic.

If the dismal voter turn-out in the jungle primary is any indication, most Louisianans seem to be disengaged from the democratic process. When we allow corporations to bundle contributions, we are only further alienating individuals from participating in our democracy, and we are perpetuating a system that values the interests of corporations over the interests of the people of Louisiana (and often, as is the case with the Colorado landfill company, those interests do not align). Stagg continues:

Corporate contributions to political campaigns are a legacy of the “pay to play” system that Jindal purports to want to end. If his actions are to match his rhetoric, he can be pushed on the issue of banning corporate contributions to political campaigns.

He might back it. Republicans in the Legislature will probably balk, prodded no doubt by the heads of the corporations that contributed so lavishly to their individual campaigns, their party and to groups like the LCRM.

Democrats can seize the high ethical ground here by pushing to ban corporate contributions and to require contributors to provide more information about the sources of their income.

It takes two to corrupt: someone willing to take the money, yes; but some other party has to be willing to offer it.

Any proposal that purports to be ethics reform but which does nothing to close the loopholes on the campaign finance side of the ledger (where favors are most often bought) is not serious ethics reform. It is another empty gesture designed to convey the impression of addressing an issue of widespread concern while leaving the door open for some form of the activity to continue.

Oct 29

“Louisiana Speaks” Joins the Blogosphere

Last month, Louisiana Speaks, an arm of the Louisiana Recovery Authority, joined the blogosphere, setting up shop at laspeaks.blogspot.com. Louisiana Speaks has been charged with the task of developing a long-term, state-wide comprehensive plan. During the past two years, they have held a series of community planning meetings throughout South Louisiana, and in May 2007, they published Louisiana Speaks Regional Plan: Vision and Strategies for Recovery and Growth in South Louisiana, a thorough and insightful document that establishes a number of key priorities in planning the recovery and redevelopment of coastal Louisiana and the areas most affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Currently, Louisiana Speaks is expanding its focus and its scope; they are beginning to reach out to those of us in Central and Northern Louisiana. Last week, Louisiana Speaks, in coordination with the Center for Planning Excellence, held their first community planning meeting here in Alexandria, and throughout the planning process, they will continue to visit Alexandria, meeting with disparate groups of stakeholders in order to ensure that their comprehensive plan accurately addresses the needs and the hopes of those of us here in Central Louisiana.

A few months ago, I attended a Louisiana Speaks state conference in Baton Rouge, and during one of the question and answer forums, an older man from Lecompte asked the panel, “Why isn’t Central Louisiana included in your current regional plan?” The answer to his question was both simple and promising: First, there was the issue of priorities. Due to the destruction of the hurricanes, South Louisiana was in greater need for a comprehensive redevelopment plan, a plan that would guide investors, local and parish governments, and real estate developers. But, as one of the panelists pointed out, those of us in Central and Northern Louisiana may actually be at an advantage as we create a long-term plan for our future. “We have learned a lot through trial and error,” she said, “It’s probably better to be one of the last regions we plan than one of the first.”

Recently, Louisiana Speaks published “The Next Ten Steps.” They are:

— 1 —
(a) Establish an Office of State Planning (see LSRP, pp. 81, 83, 85-8)
A new Office of State Planning will help coordinate state plans and incentives, and it will provide technical and material support to local planning efforts. It would be governed by a public-private board serving staggered terms. Dedicated funding for this office and its programs would be established and protected either through state statute or the Constitution.
(b) Establish an Independent La. Speaks Leadership Group (see LSRP, pp. 83, 87-8)
This non-profit group will unite diverse community leaders and citizens from across the state to monitor progress toward Regional Plan benchmarks, support the activities of the Office of State Planning, and conduct public education and advocacy for community-planning best practices.
Status: (a) The 2007 Legislalture established a study committee to recommend a structure for an Office of State Planning to the 2008 Legislature; (b) the non-profit La. Speaks group has established an interim executive board and staff, and its 501(c)3 application is pending.

— 2 —
Fund and build recovery-critical transportation infrastructure (see LSRP, pp. 32-3, 38-9)
Regional infrastructure projects with vital economic-recovery value and/or critical evacuation importance should be funded immediately. These projects include:
· Regional transit projects with recovery and evacuation value, such as commuter rail from New Orleans to Baton Rouge
· Coastal evacuation and economic-recovery projects such as La. 1 to Port Fourchon, La. 23 to Venice, and La. 27 to Cameron
· Regional evacuation and economic development projects such as I-49 from Lafayette to metro New Orleans, La. 20/24 from Houma to I-10, and U.S. 165 north of Lake Charles
· Key local connections with regional evacuation and economic recovery value, such as the Calcasieu Pass bridgeworks, the Florida Ave. bridge to St. Bernard Parish, and expanded public transit in the New Orleans metro area.
Status: Partial funding exists for intercity rail between New Orleans and Baton Rouge, DOTD has operating agreements in place, and the LRA is working on a feasibility study. Work is underway on some of the other projects, and partial funding has been identified for many.

— 3 —
Create a “Louisiana Location Index” (see LSRP, pp. 63-4)
A “Louisiana Location Index” will be a powerful tool for coordinating La. Speaks and other plans, policies and incentives. The Index would be a database-driven, publicly accessible map (GIS) that categorizes land in Louisiana based on its suitability for different kinds of development. All state data, policies and incentives—regarding economic development, conservation, transportation-planning and related development, community reinvestment, and more—could be integrated into this comprehensive resource. The first step in creating the Index will be convening a broad stakeholder group to establish viable and credible categories for land-classification. The Index would provide a framework to local planners. This approach has been very successful in other states, including Maryland and New Jersey.
Status: This effort has yet to be launched, but rich base-data has been created by state agencies, universities, regional planning offices, and through the La. Speaks process.

— 4 —
Create Model Development and Zoning Codes (see LSRP, pp. 58, 64)
A Louisiana Model Development Code will be a body of zoning and development-regulation statutes offered as a free resource to local jurisdictions. Locals could import selected portions “cafeteria”-style, or they could adopt the whole Code. The Louisiana Model Development Code would include best practices for creating safe, walkable communities by addressing building massing and density, block standards, buffers, street design, parking, and fire and public-safety standards. The Code will be tailored to the distinctive physical, cultural, and legal character of Louisiana, yet it will also be flexible enough to address urban, suburban and rural areas; areas experiencing growth and areas in need of reinvestment. It will include innovative guidelines for transit-oriented development and traditional neighborhood development. Its development will also be coordinated with Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority so that the Code will be a tool for sound coastal development and conservation. The Louisiana Location Index will provide a basis for local application of the Code. Educational outreach is a key part of the project.
Status: CPEX and LED have partnered to hire a top consultant team to develop the Louisiana Model Development Code.

— 5 —
Use the La. Speaks Regional Plan to Guide the Road Home Corporation (see LSRP, p. 39)
When property-owners opt for a Road Home buyout, the lot is developed for its best use—either by returning it to commerce or conserving it for mitigation and community enhancement consistent with neighborhood, parish, and regional plans. This process should follow the community-building and risk-management strategies in the La. Speaks Regional Plan.
Status: The LRA is currently using the La. Speaks Regional Plan to help establish policies that guide the disposition of Road Home Corp. properties.

— 6 —
(a) Focus public investment into developed areas and centers (see LSRP, p. 40)
State policy should encourage locating new state buildings and infrastructure investments in existing downtowns, neighborhood centers, and town centers—or at least within the urbanized area of existing communities. This policy should support parish recovery plans, such as the Reinvestment Areas identified in the New Orleans’s Recovery Plan. This policy could also guide state assistance for local projects, making it easier for local entities to focus investment in developed areas.
(b) Identify and clear obstacles to “infill” development (see LSRP, p. 40)
A comprehensive assessment of legal, financial, regulatory, and other barriers to development and redevelopment within existing communities (“infill”) will be undertaken. From this, remedies—legal, statutory, regulatory, and otherwise—can be pursued.
Status: (a) State policy on facilities and infrastructure siting remains to be undertaken; (b) Identification of obstacles to infill is the topic of a La. Speaks policy white paper and of associated legal research.

— 7 —
Establish a State Trust Fund to Revitalize Communities (see LSRP, pp. 40-1)
A new State Community Reinvestment Trust Fund will support plans and projects that reinvigorate streets, spaces, and corridors of commercial and/or civic importance—including downtowns, historic districts, and main streets. Funds could support implementation of neighborhood plans done through La. Speaks, the Unified New Orleans Plan, or others. The Community Reinvestment Trust will complement and expand Louisiana’s existing Main Streets program, and it will work in coordination with it.
Status: Lousiana’s Main Streets program has been operating successfully for years, but an effort to create a new trust fund has yet to be started.

— 8 —
Establish a State Trust Fund to Acquire High-Risk or Environmentally Sensitive Land
(see LSRP, pp. 58-61)
A new State Conservation and Mitigation Trust Fund will acquire rights (or surface rights) to high-risk and/or environmentally sensitive land, or acquire permanent conservation easements. In order to achieve effective and efficient administration of these efforts, the new fund should be coordinated with state, regional, and local entities, as well as allied nonprofits. (This effort would benefit from the legal severance of underlying mineral rights, so as to ease surface property transfers and create more willing sellers.)
Status: The 2007 Legislature requested the La. Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to study the establishment of a state coastal land trust, and private resources already exist. It remains to be seen whether an additional effort to establish a separate Conservation and Mitigation Trust Fund is needed.

— 9 —
Locate and Design Schools and Medical Facilities to Create Better Neighborhoods and Spur Community Development (see LSRP, p. 76)
New schools, clinics, and other community and social-services facilities should be integrated into the urban fabric and easily accessible to the populations they serve by foot or public transit. Such facilities should be strategically sited and developed to function as community centers and to spur private development. Such facilities should be clustered so they can share space and parking, as well as providing off-hour community centers. These clusters can also be world-class economic development engines, such as the proposed joint efforts of Tulane, Louisiana State University, Xavier, and the Veteran’s Administration in New Orleans’s downtown medical center. These issues will be addressed in the new Louisiana Model Development Code.
Status: The State appropriated $41.5 million for planning, acquisition, and construction of neighborhood primary health care clinics throughout the recovery area, and another $100 million in federal funds is targeted to community clinics for the parishes hardest hit in 2005. The New Orleans Recovery School District Master Plan is also underway.

— 10 —
Build Greener (see LSRP, p. 64)
Developers, builders, the public, and local governments will be educated on the value of environmentally sustainable (“green”) construction using the La. Speaks Pattern Book and Planning Toolkit as resources. A key component of this is education about the lower lifetime costs of sustainable building practices. The state should require new state buildings to meet LEED or other green-construction certification, and it should encourage local governments and the private sector to do the same, including offering tax incentives.
Status: Education using the La. Speaks Pattern Book and Toolkit is ongoing, the state approved new building codes in 2005, and the 2007 Legislature approved tax incentives for building alternative energy systems, such as wind and solar. Broader education and targets, incentives, and/or requirements regarding sustainable development have yet to be addressed.

Louisiana is one of the only states in the union without a State Planning Department, and considering the demands of recovery, it makes good sense for our new governor, in tandem with the legislature, to create a department that would serve as a clearinghouse for state planning.

Check out the Louisiana Speaks blog (they recently reported that they were honored with a regional Emmy nomination), and stay tuned for more updates.

Oct 29

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National Republican Senatorial Committee Lies About Senator Landrieu’s Stance on Internet Tax

Last week, the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) created a poorly-produced advertisement targeting Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu in an attempt to question her vote against placing a permanent ban on taxing Internet commerce. Although Senator Landrieu is in favor of instituting a 7-year moratorium on any taxation of Internet commerce (Landrieu is even willing to extend to moratorium to up to 10 years), hardcore Republicans (and their easily-duped flock) have attempted to suggest that Landrieu’s position somehow constituted a vote in favor of Internet taxation. When the Senator responded, the mainstream media accused her of being “irritated,” and perhaps this is accurate, insofar as a blatant misrepresentation of the truth should be cause for frustration and irritation.

The truth is this:

Senator Landrieu did not vote in favor of taxing the Internet. She voted in favor of, once again, extending a preexisting moratorium on taxation, a moratorium that recognizes the rapidity by which the Internet has grown. And any attempt to pin her to a position that she does not hold is a duplicitous lie.

The NRSC recognizes the power Senator Landrieu currently possesses, and they are willing to mislead and misinform voters in order to promote their own disingenuous agenda– an agenda that relies on viral videos to spread patent lies about Landrieu’s real stance on the issues.

Oct 29

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The Hurricanes and the California Wildfires

H/t to People Get Ready for producing this table, which was culled from this article in The Times-Picayune:

Hurricanes Katrina & Rita California Wildfires
In New Orleans alone, 140 of 180 square miles flooded, — rendering uninhabitable a residential zone seven times the size of Manhattan. Across the region, its winds and rains wreaked havoc to a 90,000-square-mile swath of the Gulf Coast, an area twice the size of the entire state of New York. The California fires had burned about a half-million acres, an area twice the size of New York City. Much of the burned area was forest.
The number of homes destroyed or still threatened in California is about 1 percent of the roughly 200,000 left uninhabitable by Katrina and the often overlooked Hurricane Rita, which struck three weeks later. 1,700 homes were lost to the California fires.
In Louisiana, problems that cannot be blamed on state government. Indeed, a commander with the Arkansas National Guard who helped secure Convention Center Boulevard told reporters he did not even receive an order to go to New Orleans until two days after the hurricane. The federal government response was swift in California.
Financial losses from the fires based on initial estimates are about 2 percent of the damage caused by Katrina and Rita, which so far stands at $91 billion. While damage estimates are still climbing in California, initial estimates are about $2 billion.
Katrina forced the evacuation of 1.2 million people — 500,000 remained displaced after four months. Almost 2,000 people died in Katrina. Probably fewer than half that many southern California residents were displaced from their homes by the wildfires. According to a Los Angeles Times report Thursday, the number of evacuees at any one time in the region was significantly less than the 800,000 widely reported by officials earlier this week. Many residents began returning to their homes on Wednesday. More reliable estimates of the number of people instructed to leave their homes put the number at between 350,000 and 500,000, which is still the largest evacuation in California history. A statement earlier in the week by the San Diego Sheriff’s Office that more people had been evacuated in southern California than left in advance of Katrina has been dismissed as greatly exaggerated. The death toll from the fires stood at seven as of Saturday.
Once the levees failed in New Orleans, floodwaters swamped nearly every major road in and out of the city. Louis Armstrong International Airport shut down. Ground access into the city was largely limited to U.S. 90 from the West Bank and River Road on the east bank. Many supplies and support personnel had to be airlifted into the city by military aircraft, many of which did not arrive until well after the disaster. The fires did not wipe out every remnant of infrastructure. Many California evacuees drove to shelters on roads unaffected by the disaster. Most of the blazes are burning in sparsely populated areas. While the fires continue to pose some challenges to getting around in greater San Diego, the infrastructure of the city remained largely unfazed. Some highways have been closed, but the city’s main interstate arteries and airport have remained open. The main San Diego airport is operating normally. Amtrak and regional commuter train service was restored on Thursday. “There’s a big difference – we have a functioning city,” said Kevin McCoy, a crisis counselor from the Harbison Canyon Community Resource Center, who was among the hundreds of volunteers at Qualcomm Stadium this week. “When you walk out of this stadium you aren’t stepping into 4 feet of water.”
Katrina and the subsequent flood obliterated power, water systems and nearly all traditional forms of communication — cell phone towers, phone company switching centers and 911 call centers. The almost complete loss of communication for several days resulted in deadly consequences for many storm victims and first responders. The wildfires destroyed dozens of cell phone towers and land lines in California, causing service outages in isolated areas, companies have compensated with the use of mobile transmission equipment. Cell service and land-line use in San Diego, Anaheim and Los Angeles remain largely unaffected.

Oct 26

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A Message to Local Republicans

Recently, a couple of bloggers over at Cenla Antics, a blog created by Quint Carriere, the Fundraising Chair of Cenla GoPAC (a local political action committee dedicated to electing Republican candidates), have criticized our decision to provide election analysis and candidate endorsements.

Needless to say, the folks at Cenla Antics and I have a history with one another.

A year and a half ago, I wrote a letter to The Town Talk about Cenla Antics. At the time, Cenla Antics was not exactly well-known, yet it frequently received as many as fifty new comments every day. And for someone who was getting reacquinated with local politics, Cenla Antics often served as an informative resource. Notably, Cenla Antics was the first local political blog, created around a month before WeSawThat launched their website and five months before I created CenLamar.

During the race for Alexandria mayor, the conversation on Cenla Antics often became heated, at times bordering on the defamatory, and for a kid who was just getting his feet wet in politics, it was hard not to take it personally. To his credit, Mr. Carriere constantly attempted to refocus the conversation, and when bloggers began attacking my disability and my late father, Mr. Carriere, who, at the time, I had never met or even spoken with, intervened, urging fellow bloggers to maintain civility. A few months after the election, I met with Mr. Carriere, and while our politics may not be the same, I think we share a great deal of respect for the democratic process and for the future of our State. And I think we both understand that, at the end of the day, the only way for our State to progress is by working together- conservatives and progressives, Republicans and Democrats.

After last year’s election, I became a member of the new administration, and since then, I have been incredibly busy. I enjoy the work. When I returned to Alexandria after college, I became passionate about my hometown, and I am thankful for the opportunity and the ability to put this passion into practical use on a daily basis– working with people from all walks of life toward a shared goal.

In my spare time, I have continued and will continue to operate this blog, expressing my personal opinions on a wide range of issues and allowing others the freedom to contribute and comment on our on-going discussion. We may not always agree with one another, but I believe a free and open exchange of ideas is essential to the preservation of our democracy.

As a product of the Louisiana public education system and as a disabled American who endured a protracted battle in order to receive health care coverage (after my family’s private insurance provider eliminated my coverage when I was only ten years old), I have real concerns about Governor-elect Jindal’s health care and education plans and priorities, and I have simply exercised my right as an American citizen to voice, among other things, those concerns.

But the election for Louisiana Governor is over, and although I refuse to relinquish my freedoms of speech and expression to those who disingenuously claim that balanced criticism no longer has a place in our new political landscape (or those who claim that our support of those in whom we believe is somehow “immature”), I understand, through personal experience, the need for all of us to work together, to communicate, and, when necessary, to challenge one another. Without such a healthy conversation– a conversation that recognizes Louisiana’s political diversity, our State will never be able to climb off the “bad lists” of which Mr. Jindal spoke frequently during the campaign.

That said, the opinions that I express on this blog are, exclusively, my opinions; additionally, both PointeCoupeeDemocrat and Daniel Smith also express their own opinions. All three of us have a different perspective on things. Despite the erroneous claim that I was hired as a blogger, this blog is an avocation, a hobby; it is not –and has never been– my occupation. Since taking a job in the administration, I have rarely commented on our local government, except when I felt it necessary to give credit where credit was due. I have refrained from commenting not only because it would be unfair to the hard-working people with whom I work on a daily basis, but also because I have learned, during the course of the past year, that, locally, progress can only occur when people set aside their own agendas (we have elections to sort those out) and honestly work with one another to achieve a common goal.

Oct 24

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Le mandat putatif and the State House of Representatives

The Republican noise machine, particularly Moon Griffon and his listeners at KALB-TV Alexandria, are referring to the results of the jungle primary as "a mandate." According to those who are exploiting this trope for all that it may be worth, Jindal has every reason to involve himself in the outstanding legislative races. Too bad they fail to realize that 54% is not a mandate. But too bad they have every intention to pollute the mediascape with the byproducts of all the partisan bilge they are spoonfed by the Republican Party operatives who bankroll their enterprises.

That Jindal has affirmed an unwillingness to become engaged with local legislative races, races whose outcomes he hopes will be so many iterations of his “mandate,” is not surprisingly to these demagogues’ exasperation. Or perhaps it is not, for Jindal need not avail himself of these races; the LCRM and the Louisiana Republican Party, organizations respectively led by David Vitter and Roger Villère, already have, and they will perform all the discursive and logistical work Jindal ostensibly refuses to undertake. This should be of no surprise, for Vitter and Villère started to perform the roles of Jindal’s outspoken, malevolent political operatives at the very moment Jindal decided to cast himself as the benevolent reformer who would “officially” run for Governor a second time.

Stephen Sabludowsky of the Bayou Buzz has likened this bifurcated strategy of the silent and aloof Jindal and the vocal and rabid Villère and Vitter to one of ” good cop, bad cop”, and there is every indication that this will continue through the runoff period. Jindal’s planned and coordinated silence during what will be a highly contentious month of campaigning is, in other words, a political strategy. Indeed, it is so much malevolent benevolence, especially as he is acutely aware of the operations of organizations such as the LCRM that are working on his Party’s behalf. This, I believe, will be Jindal’s public image for the next four years: he will grin and assure everyone of the state’s unity while Republican Party operatives destroy the lives and reputations of every Democratic politician. Welcome to a new era of Louisiana politics. But it is not so new: what comes to mind unbidden are the 2002 and 2004 election cycles.

This rhetoric of mandate has been deployed by Jindal and those who collude with the LA GOP’s operatives for a reason: one legislative chamber, the state House of Representatives, remains in the balance, and the Republican Party desires a legislature that will approve Jindal’s policies wholesale, hook, line and sinker, even if they do not resonate on a local level. Louisiana, we all know, seats 105 Representatives in the state House, a chamber designed to address the local concerns of all Louisianans. The Representatives housed therein are not elected by their constituents in order to impose policies drafted by political operatives in Baton Rouge in every parish and municipality; they are elected by highly localized constituencies in order to voice the latter’s concerns and to ensure that legislative solutions to local problems are enacted. To claim that Representatives are to be so many representations of a chimerical “mandate” imposed from without and not generated from within is tantamount to reversing the structure of the legislature and of the legislative process. For bills will not be shaped and determined by local exigencies; they will be informed by utterly foreign ideologies. And even worse, Representatives will represent politicians in Baton Rouge and policy researchers in Washington, DC, not the citizens of the parish(es) who elected them. If the state House of Representatives is to fulfill its intended role and purpose, this notion of mandate over which the Republicans are crowing must be bracketed and shelved.

Democrats have emerged from the jungle primary with 34 state House seats, four more than the 30 the Republicans presently control. Joel Robideaux, the sole Independent in the House, was elected at the close of the Qualifying Period, as he was unopposed. Joining the House Democrats and Republicans will be the 11 Democrats and 12 Republicans who will emerge from the following nonpartisan runoffs:

District 15
Paul Hargrove (R)
Frank Hoffmann (R)

District 20
Noble Ellington (D)
“Cleve” Womack (D)

District 34
“A.B.” Franklin (D)
Tony Guillory (D)

District 44
Rickey Hardy (D)
Christopher “Chris” Williams (D)

District 48
Taylor F. Barras (D)
Shane Romero (D)

District 50
Sam Jones (D)
Allen A. McElory, Jr. (D)

District 58
Elton M. Aubert (D)
Troy Brown (D)

District 67
Lorri Burgess (D)
Patricia Smith (D)

District 68
Kyle Ardoin (R)
“Steve” Carter (R)

District 69
“Bill” Benedetto (R)
Erich Ponti (R)

District 70
“Pat” Culberson (R)
Franklin J. Foil (R)

District 71
J. Rogers Pope (R)
John Ware (R)

District 72
John Bel Edwards (D)
George R. Tucker (D)

District 73
Michelle Aycock (R)
“Steve” Pugh (R)

District 74
Adam Ackel (R)
Scott Simon (R)

District 76
Lee Balinas (R)
“Ray” Canada (R)

District 77
Colleen Howley (R)
John M. Shroder (R)

District 78
Kirk Talbot (R)
Tiffany Scott Wilken (R)

District 79
George L. Branigan (R)
“Tony” Ligi (R)

District 91
Judy Bajoie-Phillips (D)
“Walt” Leger III (D)

District 92
Michael McMyne (R)
“Tom” Willmott (R)

District 95
Una Anderson (D)
Walker Hines (D)

District 98
Neil Abramson (D)
James P. Johnson (D)

The partisan distribution of House seats when these nonpartisan runoffs are considered is 45 Democrats, 42 Republicans and 1 Independent. This leaves 17 seats, all of which will be assumed by the winner of a partisan runoff. 45 Democrats, 42 Republicans, 1 Independent and 17 partisan runoffs: the race for a majority in the state House could not be more competitive. And the competition will be fierce, indeed severe: Republican candidates in these partisan runoffs will receive the financial and logistical support of the LCRM; Democratic candidates will have to contend with the LCRM’s mailers and television commercials, the content of which has been so offensive that even Lance Maxwell, the Republican candidate for LA-HD25 who was and will be one of the beneficiaries of these advertisments, felt obliged to repudiate the organization that financially sustains his campaign; and Republicans will attempt to bludgeon Democrats with the seemingly unstoppable narrative of Jindal’s “mandate” the sycophantic and obsequious media has been and will be propagating. It is, to be sure, a toxic environment, but Democrats can emerge victorious if they are able to remind voters that Representatives are local advocates, not mere reflections of a political ideology manufactured by Republican operatives in Baton Rouge and Washington, DC. “Reflect,” by the way, is a word I adapt from Jindal’s response to a question about the legislative races posed during his press conference on Sunday.

Here is a list of the 17 partisan runoffs that will determine who controls the state House of Representatives:

District 7 – Caddo and DeSoto Parishes
Richard “Richie” Burford (R)
Kenny Ray Cox (D)

District 14 – East Carroll, Morehouse, Ouachita and West Carroll Parishes
“Sam” Little (R)
“Buddy” Quinn (D)

District 23 – Natchitoches and Winn Parishes
“Rick” Nowlin (R)
Joseph Michael “Joe” Sampité (D)

District 24 – DeSoto, Red River, Sabine and Vernon Parishes
“Frankie” Howard (R)
Mary Ann Wiggins (D)

District 25 – Rapides and Vernon Parishes
Lance Maxwell (R)
“Chris” Roy, Jr. (D)

District 28 – Avoyelles Parish
Robert Johnson (D)
Kirby Roy, III (R)

District 30 – Beauregard and Vernon Parishes
James Armes (D)
“Jack” Causey (R)

District 32 – Allen, Beauregard and Vernon Parishes
James David Cain (R)
Dorothy Sue Hill (D)

District 37 – Calcasieu and Jefferson Davis Parishes
John E. “Johnny” Guinn (R)
Kyle Reed (D)

District 39 – Lafayette, St. Landry and St. Martin Parishes
Bobby G. Badon (D)
Raymond “LaLa” LaLonde (R)

District 51 – Assumption, St. Mary and Terrebonne Parishes
Carla Blanchard Dartez (D)
“Joe” Harrison (R)

District 54 – Jefferson and Lafourche Parishes
Jerry “Truck” Gisclair (D)
Mitchell “Mitch” Theriot (R)

District 55 – Lafourche Parish
Michael “Mike” Matherne (D)
Jerome “Dee” Richard (R)

District 57 – St. James and St. John the Baptist Parishes
“Geri” Broussard Baloney (D)
Nickie Monica (R)

District 83 – Jefferson Parish
Robert E. Billiot (D)
Danyelle Taylor (R)

District 94 – Orleans Parish
Deborah Langhoff (D)
Nicholas J. “Nick” Larusso (R)

District 103 – Orleans and Saint Bernard Parishes
Reed S. Henderson (D)
Mark Madary (R)

Democrats must win eight of these races if they desire to retain their majority in the state House. Republicans, on the other hand, must be victorious in 11 if their planned takeover of the lower chamber is to be realized. While the numbers are to our favor, the task is tall and the organization of the Republican apparatus redoubtable. But as DemEAUXcrats, we are not running on ideology or on a platform served to us in a manuel drafted by the Republican operatives in Washington, DC, who advise David Vitter’s LCRM; we are campaigning on our committment to serve the constituents who elect us. As DemEAUXcrats, we understand all politics and all mandates to be wholly local affairs. This, mes amis, explains why we will win these runoffs.

 

Oct 24

30 Comments

Allegations Swirl in the Race for Rapides Parish Sheriff: Did Mike Slocum Graduate from High School?

Update: Mike Slocum told Michele Godard of KALB that he did, in fact, graduate from Buckeye High School. (More later…)

I bring this up with a preface: I have the utmost respect for Major Slocum, and I prefer not to be engaged in the endlessly repetitive conversation currently occuring over at The Town Talk’s website. But yesterday’s paper revealed a stunning allegation that has yet to be addressed by StoryChat participants or the Slocum campaign (bold mine):

“I’m the only candidate with a college degree, a degree in criminal justice from Louisiana College,” Wagner said, after questioning whether Slocum finished high school. “And Slocum likes to say that I left law enforcement, but I’ve put myself in a position to open doors for me. I wanted to make myself into the best law enforcement officer I could be, the best educated and trained I could be.”

A few months ago, Major Slocum claimed to be a graduate of Buckeye High School, but since then, all mention of his high school education has been removed from his campaign mailers and website.

Chuck Wagner has a good reason to be suspicious. As I mentioned to a blogger named Nora (in another thread), the Slocum supporters at The Town Talk forum seem intent on diminishing the importance of a college-educated Sheriff, but no one has yet denied this critical question, a question that, if proven to be legitimate, implies Major Slocum knowingly lied to voters about his high school education (before retracting this claim in later campaign materials).

I honestly hope Major Slocum can confirm that he did, in fact, graduate from Buckeye High School, as he had once claimed, but the attempt to skirt the issue is not reassuring.

Oct 24

1 Comment

A Post-Election Addendum

Most of the 27,000 people who visited Secretary Dardenne’s website over the weekend were met with the same problem: Around 9:30PM CST, the site (basically) crashed. Reporters, supporters, and candidates scrambled to find out election returns, while the site seemed to be in permanent refresh mode. Interminently, the site behaved, and thankfully, we were able to deliver information, often 20 to 30 minutes before the mainstream media was let in.

Today, a friend called to remind me of an important fact left out of our post-election analysis: In Saturday’s gubernatorial election, Bobby Jindal actually received only 23,143 more votes than he did during the 2003 run-off election. Of course, the two elections were very different, and in last week’s election, voter turn-out was substantially lower than it was during the 2003 run-off election; the difference in turn-out was around 110,000 votes. But historically, high-profile and competitive run-off elections yield higher turn-outs, as it did in 2003 when approximately 45,000 more voters showed up to vote in the run-off election.

Incidentally, there were 55,000 more voters in the 2003 jungle than in the 2007 jungle, and though some Republicans would like to believe this is due to “fundamental demographic changes” which ostensibly occured as a result of the hurricanes, the truth is that those changes were not nearly as dramatic as they had hoped, despite the nefarious and (for the most part) unsuccessful efforts to purge tens of thousands of Democratic voters from the rolls.

Today, we learn from The Times-Picayune that the population of New Orleans is up to 86% of its pre-Katrina level; the massive diaspora for which some Republicans had wished simply did not happen, at least in the numbers they had so boldly asserted. As it turns out, when you study population growth in the surrounding parishes, you find that many New Orleanians simply moved right outside of the city. It is likely that thousands of others have found new homes in cities like Baton Rouge, Lafayette, and Alexandria.

According to American Community Survey, Rapides Parish grew by more than 7,000 people between the years 2005 and 2006, a remarkable surge only dwarfed by the population growth we experienced as a result of the Louisiana Manuevers during World War II, and many, if not most, of our 7,000 new residents are formerly from New Orleans.

Why is this important? Because, most likely, Rapides Parish is not the only place in Louisiana in which thousands of New Orleanians moved in the aftermath of Katrina. But because the American Community Survey only targets a handful of parishes and Census Bureau “estimates” only apply a pre-established factor to the number of housing units in a given area, it is likely that Louisiana will not get a full understanding of its total population until the actual Census is conducted in 2010.

However, it seems likely that, despite the lower turn-out in last Saturday’s election (an election that lacked a clear challenger), Louisiana is still a viable Democratic state. Although I know this assertion is likely to annoy a handful of conservatives, one only needs to consider the results of the Lieutenant Governor’s election in which Mitch Landrieu, a Democrat, actually carried more total votes and more parishes than Bobby Jindal (both elections can be considered comparable, because both lacked a strong opponent) or the results of the Senate and (likely) the House races, in which Democrats are poised to maintain control of both chambers.

Oct 23

3 Comments

Three Points of Light

Oct 22

26 Comments

Ceci n’est pas un mandat

Here is the actual electoral map, one Lamar generated on my behalf, not the disingenuous paint by misleading numbers project that mistakes a plurality for a majority posted on Jay Dardenne’s dysfunctional website. Notice how Jindal failed to win 29 parishes outright, and notice how large swaths of the state rejected him and his candidacy. Parishes colored red are parishes he won outright, while parishes colored blue are parishes whose voters rebuffed Jindal and cast their votes for someone else. Those dissenting votes are significant, as Jindal’s name recognition was near universal. Ceci n’est pas un mandat; ceci est un portrait d’un État divisé.

Consult the returns for each parish at the Secrectary of State’s website if you desire to view the data on which this map is based.

Oct 21

7 Comments

The State Senate and Jindal’s Putative “Mandate”

54% may secure an outright victory in a jungle primary, but it is certainly not what Jindal’s supporters both online and in the traditional media will characterize as a “mandate,” a word that not coincidentally rolled glibly off of Jindal’s tongue during the second gubernatorial debate. The term in question is one that circulates in today’s increasingly deceitful political discourse: it is the trope Rush Limbaugh, Karl Rove and other national Republicans deployed in order to render Bush’s loss in 2000 into a clarion call for Republican hegemony, and it was reiterated by all the regular suspects in 2004, when Bush’s slim margin of victory over John Kerry was viewed as a “mandate” for something these people referred to as “morality.” David Vitter’s avoidance of a runoff in 2004 with 51% of the vote was also cited as evidence of this chimerical “moral mandate.” Readers of this and other Louisiana political blogs need not be reminded of the absurdity of this phrase, a phrase Vitter and his Republican Senate colleagues, particularly Larry Craig of Idaho, seemingly interpret as an enantioseme, or what those who prefer Greek call an enantiosis.

So Jindal will parrot Rove, Vitter and Limbaugh and claim he was elected with a mandate, even if 46% of the state cast their votes for someone else. And he will repeat this trope in order to beguile and hoodwink Louisianans into buying his policies and proposals wholesale. But unfortunately for Jindal, at least one legislative chamber will have a functioning Democratic majority, one with which Jindal is obligated to negotiate and cooperate if he intends to represent the people of Louisiana and not just the Republican base who catapulted him into office during an election with low voter turnout. Again, 54% is anything but a mandate.

The chamber in question is the state Senate, where Democrats are already guaranteed 22 of this body’s 39 seats. And the number of seats under Democratic control can only increase in the next month, as four Senate districts will hold runoff elections involving one Republican and one Democratic candidate. If Jindal was delivered a genuine and not a spurious mandate last night, he would not have to contend with so many Senators of the opposing political Party.

17 Democrats and 12 Republicans were elected to the Senate last night. Joining them next month are the 5 Democrats and 1 Republican who will emerge from the following six nonpartisan runoffs:

District 2
Ann Duplessis (D)
Jon D. Johnson (D)

District 5
Cheryl A. Gray (D)
Jalila Jefferson-Bullock (D)

District 14
Jason M. DeCuir (D)
Yvonne Dorsey (D)

District 28
Eric LaFleur (D)
Donald Newton (D)

District 30
Claude “Buddy” Leach, Jr. (D)
John Smith (D)

District 37
Billy Montgomery (R)
B. L. “Buddy” Shaw (R)

While these runoffs will be entertaining for all the typical reasons, attention should be focused on the following seven partisan runoffs, where PACs such as David Vitter’s LCRM will air scabrous advertisements in a cynical attempt to dupe voters and thereby lend financial and electoral ballast to Jindal’s bankrupt and baseless “mandate:”

District 7 – Jefferson, Orleans and Plaquemines Parishes
David Heitmeier (D)
Paul Richard (R)

District 22 – Iberia and St. Martin Parishes
Troy Hebert (D)
“Jeff” Landry (R)

District 25 – Acadia, Calcasieu, Cameron and Jefferson Davis Parishes
Dan “Blade” Morrish (R)
“Gil” Pinac (D)

District 32 – Avoyelles, Caldwell, Catahoula, Concordia, Franklin, LaSalle, Ouachita, Rapides, Richland and West Feliciana Parishes
Bryant O. Hammett, Jr. (D)
Neil Riser (R)

Because David Vitter’s LCRM and the Republican candidates who choose to affiliate themselves with David Vitter’s version of “morality” will invest lavish funds in these runoffs, Democratic victories in these districts will reveal where the mandate truly lies.

Oct 21

6 Comments

LiveBlogging the Election Returns

Stay tuned as we liveblog the election returns. Please feel free to add your own comments as the results roll in. We hope to update every fifteen minutes or so.

According to the Louisiana Secretary of State, voting for statewide races is as follows (3942/3967 precincts, 11:32 PM):

Governor: Boasso (%), Campbell (13%), Georges (14%), Jindal (54%)

Lt. Governor: Beard (11%), Landrieu (56%), Kershaw (30%)

Secretary of State: Wooley (31%), Dardenne (63%)

Attorney General: Foti (32%), Caldwell (36%), Alexander (32%)*

Commissioner of Agriculture: Odom (42%), Strain (40%), Carter (13%)

Commissioner of Insurance: Donelon (51%), Crowley (36%)

CenLa races (10:40 PM; all precincts in):

Senate District 28 (149/149 Precincts): Belt (20%), LaFleur (49%), Newton (31%)

Senate District 29 (90/90 Precincts): Guillory (31%), McPherson (69%)

House District 25 (40/40 Precincts): Maxwell (41%), Beard (24%), Roy (35%)

House District 26 (32/32 Precincts): Dixon (50%), Kirk (10%), Sanders (28%), Wardsworth (11%)

House District 27 (36/36 Precincts): Farrar (38%), Hazel (62%)

Rapides Sheriff (103/103): Robinson (16%), Slocum (48%), Tanner (3%), Wagner (33%)

Remember, these are early voting and absentee numbers, which represent a snapshot of the race from two weeks ago. Our feeling is that these numbers may be skewed Republican, due to Jindal’s push to turn out early voters in order to account for the LSU game and the beginning of hunting season. Demographically, older suburban voters tend to vote earlier.

Update (8:49): With real precincts now coming in, we’re seeing the numbers for Jindal and other Republicans begin to fall. Keep an eye on the Attorney General’s race, which is at a three-way statistical dead heat at the moment.

Update (9:11): Dardenne’s website is terrible. We’re being redirected to different parishes when we try to refresh for multi-parish races. We know the series of tubes is overloaded at the moment, but this should underscore the reason that our current broadband infrastructure is incapable of meeting digital demands for the next decade.

Update (10:07): It appears that all 32 precincts for the 26th House District is in, and Herbert Dixon has won it outright with 50% of the vote. Congratulations, Herb. Chris Roy, Jr. and Lance Maxwell will be in a runoff for the 25th House District.

Update (10:18): With all precincts in, it appears Senate District 28 candidate Eric LaFleur didn’t quite get the numbers to avoid a runoff with Donald Newton. He looks in great shape, however. With only two precincts out, we can safely say that Joe McPherson will hang onto his Senate seat in District 29.

Update (10:24): There will indeed be a runoff for Rapides Parish Sheriff between Chuck Wagner and Slocum, and KALB is reporting that Chuck Hazel has won it outright for House District 27.

Update (10:50): The Attorney General’s race continues to be interesting. Alexander and Foti have been trading off to be the contender in a run-off against Caldwell. Moreover, The Times-Picayune is calling the races for Bobby Jindal and Mitch Landrieu.

Update (11:07): We are going to leave the outcome of the football game and the Attorney General race to the gods as we go downtown in Alexandria to celebrate the victories of Mitch Landrieu and Herbert Dixon. We are also thrilled that Eric LaFleur, Chris Roy, Jr. and Chuck Wagner secured a place in their respective run-offs.  It also looks that Royal Alexander squeaked by Charles Foti to challenge Buddy Caldwell in the run-off for Attorney General.

We wish our best to Louisiana’s new governor, Bobby Jindal, and we earnestly hope that throughout the next four years, Mr. Jindal will reach out to people from all walks of life to build a better Louisiana. Hopefully, during the next four years, The Times-Picayune will learn how to spell Mr. Jindal’s name.

bobbie.jpg

(More later…)

Update (11:32): Holy Smokes! Matt Flynn completes the last-second pass to win against Auburn 24-30!

Oct 20

It’s the Final Countdown

Fellow Citizens,

Please remember that despite what the pseudo political scientists and the Louisiana conservative media may tell us, this election is still up for grabs. We can take this election. We can claim this election for the future of our State, but first, we must recognize the reality on the ground. Let’s be honest about this: Instead of empathizing with the human tragedy of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, many white conservatives have actually expressed satisfaction with the idea that African-Americans were dispossessed and disenfranchised, as if it lends credibility to their agenda. In a state that is 31% African-American, commentators like John Maginnis believe it is possible for Bobby Jindal to win without ever inspiring or reaching out to African-Americans. Maginnis may be right, but that doesn’t mean the conservative strategy for victory is right.

We thank everyone for their unprecedented attention to CenLamar’s election coverage, and we promise to continue asking the tough questions, regardless of what happens.

But for now, vote your conscience. It’s the final countdown.

Oct 19

6 Comments

The CenLamar Sample Ballot

GOVERNOR: Foster Campbell

To read CenLamar’s full endorsement of Foster Campbell, click here.

LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR: Mitch Landrieu

During the past four years, Mitch Landrieu has proven himself to be a passionate and competent leader. In the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Landrieu faced a significant challenge– restoring faith in Louisiana’s tourism industry– and Landrieu met the challenge with aplomb and confidence. Landrieu has also engaged in important social activism work, facilitating conversations and networking between non-profit organizations and individuals committed to the future of our State. His work has already yielded incredible results.

ATTORNEY GENERAL: Buddy Caldwell

Of all the candidates for Attorney General, Buddy Caldwell possesses the most impressive resume. As an attorney, Caldwell has a 99% conviction rate. He has trained assistant district attorneys, district attorneys, school boards, and sheriffs from all over the State of Louisiana. His competence and diligence as a prosecutor are precisely the qualities that befit an Attorney General.

CENTRAL LOUISIANA RACES:

SENATE DISTRICT 29: Joe McPherson

Joe McPherson has proven himself to be a consistent and honest leader who is unafraid of tackling controversial issues and standing up to powerful political and corporate interests. McPherson is also responsive to his constituents, and he has a unique understanding of the needs and demands of our district.

HOUSE DISTRICT 25: Chris Roy, Jr.

As an attorney, Chris Roy, Jr has built a career fighting for those in need, and although we are certain Mr. Beard would also make a fine representative, Roy’s experience as an attorney and his grasp of the issues will serve our community well in the state legislature.

HOUSE DISTRICT 26: Herbert Dixon

Herbert Dixon has proven his commitment to our community through his work as a School Board Member on the Rapides Parish School Board. Because of this experience, Mr. Dixon understands how to tackle one of the biggest problems facing our area, education. District 26 is also the location of the Sugarhouse Road extension, and we are certain that Mr. Dixon will work to ensure the proper funding for this and other important infrastructural projects.

SHERIFF: Chuck Wagner

Although both Mike Slocum and Bill Robinson possess the attributes and qualities of a good sheriff, Chuck Wagner stands out. Wagner brings fresh perspective, a unique business acumen, and a jolt of energy to a department that has remained under the faithful stewardship of William Earl Hilton for over 15 years. Some have criticized Wagner’s decision to leave the Sheriff’s Department and go to work in the private sector, but we believe this is one of his greatest assets. Mr. Wagner worked his way through college in the Sheriff’s Department, and afterward, he built on his experience and education in the private sector, learning important first-hand managerial and leadership skills, skills that he can easily put to good use as the next Sheriff of Rapides Parish.

BEST CAMPAIGN COMMERCIAL (And our favorite for Senate District 28): Eric LaFleur

There are many good reasons to vote for Eric LaFleur. He’s a brilliant attorney who also has degrees in History, French, and Economics. He’s a competent leader who knows how to build coalitions and achieve compromises. But please forgive us for being superficial: Eric’s campaign commercials are, quite simply, the best and, by far, the most original in the State. Eric is proud of his Cajun French culture- a culture that is threatened by the forces of assimilation- and while other candidates have recently shunned the “Cajun” in “Cajun Country,” Eric has embraced it. And the best thing about Eric’s commercials: He made them himself on a home computer.

BEST CAMPAIGN WEBSITE: Stephen Ortego, House District 39. Much like Eric LaFleur, Stephen Ortego, a young architect from Carencro, understands how to connect with Cajun Country. His website appears in English, Creole (Kreyol), and French (Francais), and it is slick, professional, and plain awesome. Click here to visit www.StephenOrtego.com.

For a full list of House and Senate candidates, visit The Daily Kingfish.

Oyster also reveals his endorsements, complete with a thorough analysis of each race.

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