CenLamar

Earlier today, I had the special privilege of introducing Senator Mary Landrieu at a “Young Leaders” press conference on the steps of the Capitol building in Baton Rouge.

Daniel and I took the day off, drove down to Baton Rouge, and met up with Ryan of the Daily Kingfish and Drew Ward (who blogs here). There were around forty “young leaders” from all corners of the State as well as several members of the State Legislature and of course, a handful of people from the media.

There are many reasons I am supporting Mary Landrieu in her reelection bid.

Professionally, I believe Mary Landrieu’s staff is one of the best in the nation. They are knowledgeable and responsive. They work well with Republicans and Democrats. They have given countless hours to helping our community, and they continue to do so on a daily basis.

Personally, I believe Senator Landrieu to be a faithful servant for our State– someone who knows how to strike a balance for our collective benefit. And, as I said today, Louisiana waited sixty years before we were allowed to share off-shore oil profits, until the Landrieu-Domenici Act.

More importantly, losing our seniority and our seats on the Appropriations, Small Business, and Homeland Security Committees would be reckless.

We need Mary Landrieu.

There will be people on the right who will attempt to challenge her “liberal” credentials.

And ironically, there will be people on the left who will claim she isn’t liberal enough.

Again, she knows how to strike a balance– which is likely to cause ire on both sides of the political spectrum. But compromise is the only way to create policy.

And the policies she has passed on behalf of our State have been, by and large, incredibly helpful. She has personally secured billions of dollars for hurricane recovery and redevelopment– with an adept understanding of and focus on smart growth and best practices.

Here in Alexandria, Senator Landrieu has secured funding for numerous infrastructural and quality of life projects, including, most recently, the Third Street “streetspace” project.

She understands smart growth and sustainability, and on July 2nd, she will be here in Alexandria as the keynote speaker of the first-ever Summit on Sustainability (more later).