Louisiana Politics: US Senate Race, Economic Development, Revenues Today, Congress Election

Election For Cazayoux Seat

House Speaker Jim Tucker has issued a proclamation calling for a special election to the fill the vacancy in House District 18.

The primary election will be held on Saturday, October 4, 2008 and the general election, if needed, will be held on Tuesday, November 4, 2008.

Qualifying will begin on Wednesday, July 9 and end at 5:00 p.m. on Friday, July 11.

The vacancy was created by the resignation of former state Rep. Don Cazayoux who was elected to represent the 6th Congressional District.

Louisiana Democrats

C. David Wilburn has been named Field Director for the Louisiana Democratic Party, according to Chairman Chris Whittington.

Prior to this position, Wilburn had been working as Regional Field Organizer since September 2007. A native of Monroe, Wilburn became involved in political campaigns and voter outreach and education. Wilburn spent almost 10 years in New York working as a national brand manager for a publisher and marketing consultant. Since returning to Louisiana, Wilburn specializes in field organization and GOTV (Get Out The Vote) coordination. Wilburn comes to Baton Rouge from Lake Charles where he has worked in a number of campaigns and has been instrumental in organizing Party activities in Southwest Louisiana. Wilburn has recently helped organize field campaigns for numerous successful Democratic House races.

Before joining the Louisiana Democratic Party staff, Wilburn worked as field director for Turn Louisiana Blue, a political consulting firm.

“We are fortunate to have such incredible talent in David working to move Louisiana forward,” said Whittington.

This position was created as part of the Democratic National Committee’s 50-State Partnership Project. The DNC has provided funds to hire and train organizers with state parties to build a lasting Democratic infrastructure, and reach out to voters and their communities in each part of the country.

Senator Landrieu

The Mary Landrieu political machine is oiling up. In a recent email, in discussing the latest developments of the elections from last week, it is clear that she is focusing upon a combination of change, and seniority.

Here are her comments:

Last Saturday, voters in Louisiana's 1st and 6th Congressional Districts each elected new Representatives to serve in the U.S. House. Senator Landrieu welcomes Steve Scalise and Don Cazayoux to Louisiana's Congressional Delegation, and looks forward to working with both of them on a bipartisan basis on behalf of the people of our state.

Don Cazayoux's victory in the 6th District, formerly represented by Richard Baker, shows that Louisianians are less concerned with party labels than they are with who will work to address real problems and get the job done. Cazayoux, a Democrat, won in a district that has been represented by a Republican for 33 years and gave President Bush a 19 point margin in the 2004 presidential election.

The recent turnover in Louisiana's delegation that led to these special elections, however, does not come without a cost.

Combined with 4th District U.S. Rep. Jim McCrery's upcoming retirement at the end of this year, Louisiana is in the process of losing 44 years of seniority in Congress -- about half of the total we had last year.

This sudden loss of Louisiana's Congressional seniority greatly strengthens the case to re-elect Louisiana's Senior Senator, Mary Landrieu.

Senator Landrieu's seniority in the Senate, her strong working relationships with other Members of Congress from both parties, and her position on key committees such as Appropriations, Energy, Homeland Security and Small Business, ensure that Louisiana's voice is heard in the Senate.

This was on full display when the Domenici-Landrieu Energy Security Act was passed by the Congress and signed into law. This bipartisan bill won for Louisiana a major share of offshore oil and gas revenues, meaning tens of billions for our state over the years ahead. This legislation had been talked about for over 50 years. But it was Mary Landrieu -- using her seniority, determination, and ability to work effectively on both sides of the partisan aisle -- who got the job done.

As we look ahead, there are many fights we need to win to make our state and nation stronger and safer: stimulating our economy, improving education, securing American energy independence, making health care more affordable and available, reforming FEMA and national disaster management, pushing hurricane recovery to completion, restoring coastal wetlands, strengthening our transportation and port infrastructure, passing a new GI Bill, and protecting our troops in harm's way with the best possible armor and safety equipment.

Every day, Senator Landrieu fights to secure a better future for Louisiana. And given her seniority and determination to get things done, it's no surprise how often she wins major battles on behalf of our state -- and how important it is that we re-elect her this fall.”

Jindal Economic Development

On Friday, Governor Bobby Jindal will hold a press conference with Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Stephen Moret to make an economic development announcement. At the last press conference, Jindal and Moret announced the moving of Albemarle, a Fortune 1000 company to Baton Rouge.

Revenue Estimating Conference

On Friday, we’ll see who has a stronger hand for now—the Louisiana legislature or the Governor. The Revenue Estimating Conference files its report on Friday and legislators expect over $250 million due to the skyrocketing oil prices. The spending knives are getting short. There is also a cry for an income tax cut. Governor Jindal, who has taken hits from Conservatives in recent days on Wednesday said he wants the revenue to replace $420 in the one-time funds in his proposed budget and then would like to see that one-time spending money be used for surplus.

As John Maginnis has said in his Fax Weekly, “His announcement stirred more grumbling among lawmakers who say the budget is theirs to write.” Maginnis notes that Jindal’s enforcer “is the constitutional spending cap. There is only room under it for $40 million more in the current fiscal year and $116 million more in the budget bill. To lift the cap would take a two-thirds vote of both houses, which the governor's allies can easily block in the House.”

John Kennedy

Whether it is the legislative session or other factors, John Kennedy for US Senate has been somewhat dormant for now, although that should change soon. His website is being changed. He raised $500,000.00 in his George Bush fundraiser. However, he also has picked up a competitor in Paul Hollis (Mandeville, Louisiana), a coin dealer who will formally announce his candidacy for the Republican Party's nomination for the United States Senate on May 12. And yes, Hollis is the son of former Louisiana State Senator Ken Hollis of Metairie. Sources say that Hollis will “remind voters that "Kennedy ran for the U.S. Senate in 2004 as a liberal Democrat and finished third.”

The Louisiana primary is September 18 and the winner will face Senator Mary Landrieu in the general election that will be held on November 4, unless Mary Landrieu picks up a formidable opponent on the way to the primaries.

Hollis has stated that "Senator Landrieu is perceived to be the most vulnerable Democrat United States Senator who is up for re-election in 2008. She won her two previous elections by very thin margins. The demographics of Louisiana following Hurricane Katrina have changed and the state is now trending more Republican. Louisiana recently elected a 36-year old Republican Governor and the other United States Senator is a Republican. My entry into the Republican primary will make this race not only more interesting, but more competitive as well,"

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