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).
CenLamar 
It isn’t all that ironic that liberals would say Landrieu is not liberal enough. Her votes show her as more middle of the road. I’m not complaining– she beats any alternative by far– but she’s no ultraliberal by any measure. Especially on the environment, where my only concerns on her voting record lie.
I agree. Poor word choice. I think that, on balance, Senator Landrieu understands the issues of sustainability and, relatedly, she has been the State’s biggest proponent of smart growth planning, which is inextricably tied to the environment.
That said, what I MEANT to say was that there will be national bloggers (heck, there already are) who will attempt to disparage her as not liberal enough. Of course, the vast majority of these cynics do not live in Louisiana and are not from Louisiana. No offense to my friends on the national blogs, but on this issue, many of them simply do not know what they’re talking about. They don’t understand that the political reality in Louisiana is unique and must be managed uniquely.