Special statewide elections in Louisiana are only a few weeks away. At the top of the ballot on November 6th will be an office second in line to the governorship. A number of the candidates are harping on the same theme. Each wants to be the business development voice of the state. Will the Governor let that happen? Fat chance.

The Secretary of State does have, under current law, some business duties. But the office serves primarily in that capacity as the filer and record keeper of corporations and partnerships. How can we gently say this....a glorified clerk of court. It would take a benevolent governor to turn over business development responsibility to another statewide official.

So just what should these candidates be talking about? Yes, there are some real problems to address. Here’s the list.

Voting Machines. All over the country, concerns are being raised over new electronic voting machines. Many critics say these machines are riddled with security leaks and are ripe for computer hackers to change numbers without elections officials knowing anything about it. And what abo

Current Louisiana Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser has brought up an interesting idea.  Have the governor and the lieutenant governor run together on the same ticket.  Such a system exists in a majority of states across the nation.

As Nugesser states:  “The ticket idea seems to work well in other states. We ought to consider it. The only way I can do the best job I can do is to have a good working relationship with the governor.”

Next year, Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards will face the voters for re-election. He will have to defend his performance on an array of issues, including the expansion of Medicaid, the increase of taxes and the controversial decision to release thousands of prisoners onto the streets of Louisiana.

The Justice Reinvestment Initiative was a collection of ten bills passed by a bi-partisan coalition of legislators and signed by Governor Edwards last year. The goal was to reduce the incarceration rate and save money for the taxpayers of Louisiana.

by Patrick Bergeron, Op Ed

Louisiana Independents call for no party label SOS