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| Tara Hollis |
A largely unknown, self-identified “conservative Democrat” has announced a bid to unseat Gov. Bobby Jindal this fall.
Claiborne Parish public-school teacher Tara Hollis, who has no prior experience in elected office, made the announcement via email Sunday evening, citing state cuts to education, Louisiana’s spiralling incarceration rate, inadequate care for veterans and other issues for her motivation to run for Louisiana’s highest office.
The 33-year-old Haynesville resident earned a master’s degree in education from Louisiana Tech. She teaches special education for fifth and sixth graders in a parish that recently moved to lay off more than 60 public-school employees including her husband, a 13-year veteran of the school system.
“Cuts to education is the fastest way to kill our economy, but seems to be the first place everyone cuts funding. If this state is to survive and grow, we need to put the focus back on building up our school system,” Hollis says in a press release. “Promises have been made to the people of Louisiana, and those promises have fallen short. Jindal promised education reform, economic growth, and more jobs; instead over 169,000 Louisianans across the state have been let go, and funding for literacy programs, early and adult education programs, as well as cuts to higher education have left this state’s school systems surviving only on life support.”
Hollis plans a grassroots campaign based on a public conversation about the future of Louisiana and, presumably, a lot of travel during her summer break.
“We’re going to run a campaign that will reach all people in the state, working together to foster progress without sacrificing the common good,” she adds. “It is time the people of Louisiana come together and fight back for the good of our children and the health of our state. Democrats and Republicans alike are tired of career politicians that make deals to promote their own agendas.”
Tara Hollis’ campaign website is located here.
MAY 22 This post was written the day after the second line shooting in NOLA, by Brentin Mock. Mock is a friend of Deb "Big Red" Cotton, a blogger who was shot in the back and was seriously injured. It is a raw, emotional piece of writing, something the writer obviously felt he needed to get off his chest. But it raises questions that can't be easily dismissed, and might give some insight into where the source of these events truly is.
MAY 22 In this Baton Rouge Business Report post, Rolfe McCollister considers the privatization of bus service in Baton Rouge. After decades of under-funding, it is a mess, and although a tax (partially) passed last year, improvement hasn't happened yet. McCollister apparently feels it is time to let private business get in on the transit business.
MAY 22 This post on Bayou Buzz by Jeff Crouere urges the defeat of a bill that would grant modest pay increases over the next several years to the state's judges and clerks of court. The state is in no position to fund pay hikes, Crouere argues, with the pay increases costing a total of $9 million over several years. It sends the wrong message to the (proverbial) hard-working people of Louisiana, he says.
MAY 22 The Advocate reports here that State Treasurer John Kennedy is complaining about a meeting of the corporation that oversees the state's tobacco settlement. The Governor wanted it restructured, and he has some support, but not a lot. The corporation agreed with his plan, but Kennedy didn't, and it appears that the meeting was noticed in a manner completely different than that of all previous meetings. Kennedy's given to hyperbole, but in this case the fish don't smell too fresh.
MAY 22 In this Advocate story, Carencro Police Chief Carlos Stout says the recent federal indictment of a strip club owner is all wrong. The indictment alleges that drugs and prostitution went on with impunity because club staff made arrangements with "local" police. Stout says it never happened, and while his cops do work security in the parking lot, they're not allowed inside.
MAY 22 This amusing post in DIG Baton Rouge recounts an ad that ran on Craig's List recently; the advertiser was seeking tenants for a Beauregard Town house. He knew his market, and wrote an ad that the most ironical hipster couldn't resist. Apparently, he really did know his market, because the ad worked like a charm.
MAY 22 In this post in The Lens, Mark Moseley comments on the rhetoric Gov. Jindal employed in trying to save his tax "reform" package. One interesting point concerns Jindal's use of his brother, Nikesh, in a little story. Nikesh left Louisiana because of his inability to get a decent job, the story goes, but the story won't hold water: Nikesh lives in DC, which has an income tax level comparable to Louisiana, Moseley says. If income taxes caused the dismal situation, it should exist in DC too. Right?
MAY 22 This post by columnist John Maginnis traces the trajectory of the bill that would fund construction at community and technical colleges -- and bypass the Board of Regents and traditional higher ed funding mechanisms. Sure, it will bust the legislature's self-imposed debt limit, but some leges feel that there's more need (because there is more growth) in the community and technical college area than in the university area, he says.
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