On Monday morning, state Rep. Ernie Alexander surprised many supporters when he posted a new column with a Shakespearean title on his Web site. Titled "to be or not to be," the missive stated, "Today, I am undecided as to whether I will seek re-election or not." As recently as last week, Alexander indicated that he would be running for re-election, and felt that he might be in line for a high-ranking committee chairmanship position if a Republican governor is elected this fall.
However, with strong competition lining up to challenge him for his District 43 seat, Alexander is now considering calling an end to his nearly 20-year career in local politics. "I'm torn," Alexander says. Alexander was a supporter of two-term limits for legislators before the three-term limit passed, which is another factor now giving him pause about running for a third term.
"The pressure is on me to come up with a decision," he adds, "and that's why I put it on the Web site. Because if I decide not to run, I've got to let people know who might be interested in running that the opportunity is there."
Already gearing up to challenge Alexander is Page Cortez, a 46-year-old Republican and co-owner and operator of La-Z-Boy Furniture and Stoma's Furniture and Interiors. Cortez, who plans to officially announce his candidacy within the week, has already lined up an impressive campaign organization. In one week's time, he's raised $40,000. A host committee including Schilling Distributing Co.'s Herb Schilling and local landmen Rusty Peyton and Mark Hopkins is planning a fundraiser for Cortez on Aug. 20 at the Petroleum Club. A former high school coach and teacher, Cortez has a good reputation and is heavily involved with several community organizations including the Miles Perret Center and the Acadiana Outreach Center, as well as serving on the city's Parks and Recreation Commission. And as a furniture salesman, he's already been on TV for years.
Cortez respects Alexander, but says this is an election he can't pass up. "I've been considering this for a long time," Cortez says. "There's going to be a new governor and a whole new legislature to speak of and I want to be a part of that change."
Cortez paid a courtesy visit to Alexander last Saturday to tell him he was running. "We had a great 45-minute conversation," Cortez says. "And he is a honorable man who has served very well on the council and he's served the community and I respect him for that and I told him that. But it was just a feeling that it was my time and I had to get involved or else I would have regrets down the road." Cortez also made the rounds to every other elected official in the area. "Out of courtesy, I thought it was right to let them know that I was entering the race. And I know most of those guys personally. I wanted everybody to be aware that I was getting involved and each and every one of them has been very sincere in saying, 'Congratulations and good luck and I think you'll enjoy the process.'"
For Alexander, who hasn't faced political opposition in eight years, the prospect of mounting a sizeable campaign may be daunting. On his campaign finance report for the end of last year, Alexander showed only $11,090 in campaign funds on hand. Alexander also has concerns about the political organization that appears to be backing Cortez. In his Web site column, he wrote: "It is not the challenger which gives me pause, it is the organization which is supporting the challenger." Cortez's supporters include Andre Fruge, president of Louisiana Capital Certified Development Company, one of the fundraisers and campaign organizers that helped fund and elect state Sen. Mike Michot and state Rep. Joel Robideaux.
Last week, Alexander went to clear the air with Michot, whom he considers a friend. "Ernie came to see me," Michot says. "He was very concerned that it would look like me as a Republican would be putting up a challenger against another sitting Republican. But there's no reason for me to be against Ernie Alexander."
Michot and Cortez were fraternity brothers together at UL Lafayette and have many mutual friends, some of whom are now working on Cortez's campaign. However, Michot says neither he or Robideaux convinced Cortez to run. He maintains that he and Robideaux, who together formed a Political Action Committee called Leadership for Louisiana, would likely remain neutral in any race between Alexander and Cortez.
"We did not put him up," Michot says. "Me and Rep. Robideaux are not sitting in some back room deciding who's going to run for the next office. [Cortez] is a man that's interested in serving and feels like he can do some things for the community. I don't think we can fault people that want to put themselves up and want to run for public office."
Alexander emphasizes that it's not the challenger that is swaying him against running. When Cortez paid him the courtesy call last Saturday, Alexander told him that he looked forward to the campaign. Two days later, the 74-year-old Alexander, who has served almost two decades as both a city councilman and then state representative in Lafayette, is considering whether the time is right to walk away from politics.
"I've really got to think long and hard about it," he says. "There comes a point in time where you just really need to think about is it time for me to step down or not. The primary [question] is, 'Am I going to do the eight years that I was originally committed to do and just get out of there, or am I going to stay in?' I just don't want any real ill will toward Mike and Joel. I really have got to sit and my wife and I have been discussing this for a few days. Of course, she's very encouraging, she wants me to run. And I'm just going to have to see how this goes."
Sen. Michot, who has known retired broadcaster Alexander for many years, says if Alexander decides to run, the residents of District 43 will have two quality candidates to choose from. "I work extremely well with Ernie," he says. "I have the highest respect for him and the job he's done. A political race is healthy. Everybody's entitled to get involved in the process. And if good people want to put themselves up, we ought to be proud of that and let the public decide who they want to represent them."
MAY 17 Here's a column from James Gill, this time in the Advocate. Gill, who has jumped ship from the Picayune, writes about the absurdity of dueling polls in this post. The numbers are so wildly different, it is obvious that both sides are "cooking the books," he writes. In particular, he looks at Sen. Mary Landrieu, and how her recent actions in DC have been received by those polled. Gill's acerbic, amusing prose is a welcome addition to a paper so conservative as to be occasionally lacking in personality.
MAY 17 Blogger Tom Aswell continues delivering bombshells about the state education department and Gov. Jindal's education "reform" efforts. In this post, he reports that students in the Shreveport area have been signed up for a charter school without their knowledge or consent. Most interesting to Aswell is how this Texas-based charter (with ties to GOP types) got the personal student information it has, if the students didn't give it.
MAY 17 This post by JR Ball in the Baton Rouge Business Report is an interesting tongue-in-cheek look at recent Baton Rouge economic development efforts. Among the items he examines is the idea that gaining a Costco makes BR a "world-class city." (Really? All you need is a different brand of Sam's? MK!) This effort, and other recent ones, are all built on the taxpayer's back, with tax zones, tax incentives and tax rebates, Ball writes.
MAY 17 Blogger CB Forgotston is critical of the legislature's reliance on a revenue-estimating committee's decision to include projected tax amnesty income in this year's forecast. That's a problem, CB posts, because the deadline for these people to pay their taxes is June 30, 2014. So when do you think these people who haven't paid taxes in years are going to pay their taxes? Surely not before June 30, and that means the money won't be there for this year's budget, he argues.
MAY 17 Here's an interesting blog out of California by a Hollywood writer, attorney and academic named Brian Alan Lane. He blogs about higher ed, and was a whistle-blower in a scandal over false credentials. In this post, he takes aim at LSU's new top dog, King Alexander. It's convoluted and a little confusing, but it sure makes Alexander a lot more interesting than he was yesterday.
MAY 17 Blogger Robert Mann writes about the LSU Board's refusal to allow Dr. Fred Cerise to testify before the legislature about Gov. Jindal's plan to close down all the state's charity hospitals and dump the poor on the private system. It's hard to imagine anyone more qualified than Cerise to testify about that, so why would anyone try to prevent him doing so? Mann thinks it is because the powers that be aren't interested in hearing any truth about the plan.
MAY 17 This post on the Louisiana Sinkhole Bugle, a blog that notes developments in the Bayou Corne and Jefferson Island salt domes, talks about a proposed expansion of the salt dome storage under Lake Peigneur in Iberia Parish. Residents are working against it for several reasons, including two biggies: the sinkhole disaster in Bayou Corne and the continuing, unexplained bubbling on the surface of the Lake.
MAY 17 NOLA police arrested more people Thursday accused of either being involved in the Mother's Day shooting or hiding the suspect afterward, this Gambit story reports. The NOLA police chief said he suspects the whole thing was gang-related and throws out a challenge to the gangs: he's got informants now, he says, and he knows a lot more than the gangs want him to know. The people who live in the neighborhoods terrorized by gangs are ready to talk, he says.
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