"I am the same man and the same candidate I was yesterday," Georges said in a statement released after he switched parties. "I simply choose not to participate in a system that puts party labels over good public policy. Partisan politics have become too divisive in Louisiana. I'm not running to be governor of a political party." Georges is joined by 12 other candidates including Jindal, the only Republican running. Other hopefuls include Democrats Foster Campbell, Walter Boasso, M.V. "Vinny" Mendoza, Hardy Parkerson, and Mary Volentine Smith; Libertarian T. Lee Horne III; and Anthony "Tony G" Gentile and B. Alexandrenko, who registered as "other." "No party" candidates include Vincent Mark Castillo, Arthur D. "Jim" Nichols and Sheldon Forest. ... SPEAKING OF SHELDON FOREST A 50-year-old independent water well driller from Maurice is the only gubernatorial candidate from Acadiana this election cycle. Sheldon Forest says he has been thinking about running for a decade. Since Sept. 5, when he threw his name into the hat, he's been saving his money. "I'm not accepting any campaign contributions; I don't belong to any party. I'm running for the people of Louisiana," he says. "I represent the common man."
He says what solidified his resolve to run was the political attack ads running on TV. "Look how these guys are treating each other. That's how they are going to treat us," he says. "They need somebody like me in there, who's going to keep all the state employees in place so we don't have a year of turmoil while new people learn their jobs, and who will take care of the people. I don't owe political favors to anybody."
Forest has some unusual ideas he's promoting, including raising money for hurricane recovery by taxing water usage. "There are so many people on a water meter that a little small tax, you won't even feel it. It will be like a mosquito bite, will add up to billions in no time ' forcing water to pay for the damage water caused. I'm an expert on water. It's a new tax base; nobody's ever thought of it." To help out the rice farmers of southwest Louisiana, Sheldon says he will institute a state program to promote ethanol made of rice. Defending Louisiana's coastline from attack is another point on Forest's agenda. "I plan to put lookout towers and forts along the coast, like it used to be in the old days. Actually, it should be pretty fun to do this." Forest says his heritage and work ethic has given him a natural ability to lead. "Being governor will be easier than digging water wells, that's for sure." ... BOUSTANY'S POSITIVE ASSESSMENT OF IRAQ Charles Boustany was one of two Congressmen who appeared on CNN's Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer to discuss their assessment of Iraq just a week before Congress was to hear key progress reports from U.S. military leaders. Both Boustany and the program's other guest, Democratic U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek of Florida, recently traveled to Iraq during Congress' August recess. While Meek favors a troop withdrawal due to the high cost of the war, Boustany echoed many of President Bush's recent statements that the current surge in troop levels appears to be working. "The plan that's been implemented since January is showing significant success," Boustany said. He noted Fallujah has seen a "major improvement" and that he and three other members of Congress were able to walk the streets there with only one marine platoon's worth of security. "Two months ago, that couldn't have happened," he said. Asked about recent reports that the President will be seeking an additional $50 billion or more from Congress for Iraq, Boustany said he would need to see a breakdown of the costs and that Congress should base its policy on the report from Gen. David Petraeus, the U.S.'s top military commander in Iraq.
MAY 20 This post by blogger CB Forgotston draws parallels between Gov. Bobby Jindal and two individuals he probably doesn't want to be aligned with: President Obama and former governor Edwin Edwards. CB says Jindal's trying to jack up the debt ceiling (an Obama play, according to CB) and buy votes from GOP leges who normally wouldn't go for that (an Edwards play, CB says).
MAY 20 Here's a post in the Baptist Message from an alumnus of Louisiana College. The author, Larry Burgess, calls on the leadership of the private school to take care of some pressing problems. Physical plant issues are critical and unaddressed, some faculty make so little they need government health care, and there is an atmosphere that does not encourage honest discussion, he writes. It's time to get things back in order, he says.
MAY 20 This post in Gambit tells of a benefit concert scheduled to raise money for the 19 people shot during a Mother's Day second line on Frenchmen Street in NOLA. Among them was Gambit blogger Deb Cotton, who spoke frequently about violence in the city and reported on the city's second line culture. Gambit's foundation, along with other NOLA non-profits, also is selling t-shirts to raise money for the victims.
MAY 20 Blogger Robert Mann is critical of the personal interest some legislators take in their work here, sharing the comments one NOLA solon made in explaining his decision to vote against a bill that would require people to stop discriminating against female workers. His wife might lose some salary, so he was going to have to vote against the equal pay bill, Conrad Appel said. Appel and everyone who heard him should have been ashamed, but they weren't, and that's what is wrong in that building, Mann argues.
MAY 20 American Press columnist Jim Beam writes about the budget again here, urging kudos for the House and its efforts to try to fix the budget as opposed to passing on a flawed and messy rubber-stamped document as it usually does. The Senate already is poo-pooing the effort, but instead Senators should be trying to find a way to improve it as well, Beam argues. He also has some predictions in here from LABI and CABL.
MAY 20 Here's a link to the photo gallery from Tulane's graduation this past weekend. Dr. John and Allen Toussaint played together and received honorary degrees. The Dalai Lama was so entranced by their performance he got up from his seat and walked across the stage to stand next to them. He even participated in a second line with his own personal, saffron-colored umbrella. To the graduates, he urged them to think about creating a peaceful, hopeful life and society.
MAY 20 This Picayune story questions the rhetoric of NOLA officials who say the city, aside from having a "murder problem," is safe. The talking points generally are that the criminals are killing each other, but everything else is OK. The police chief there says that even Lafayette is more dangerous than NOLA. But crime experts interviewed here say that NOLA's numbers indicate one of two things: either people are so used to violence they don't report it, or somebody's "fudging the numbers."
MAY 20 The Advocate's Mark Ballard writes about some of the background maneuvering that took place during the development of budget alternatives in the Legislature. From Rep. Joel Robideaux being called a "tax and spend liberal" to robo-call influence, Ballard lets us in on some of the work that happens behind the scenes but usually doesn't make it into the Advocate's daily coverage of the session.
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