Fanny Vote

 

 

By way of introduction my name is Corinne M. Villavaso, I am the Co-founder and President of Voter's East Of The Industrial Canal (VEOTIC). Our Mission is to increase responsible, informed voters, and civic participation through the implementation of creative, educational programs, and awareness events in the City Of New Orleans.

 

We have filmed a professional PSA  with students from Fannie C. Williams and Einstein Charter schools encouraging adults to vote.  Please click the link below to view our commercial. 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpaYWfJ77_8&feature=youtu.be

 

We are requesting and hoping that you can help us get this commercial on television or share in many ways as possible.  The HD version is also shared on my google drive.  

If you are able to assist us, please give me a call at 504-905-2892
 

 

 

 

Click here to learn more!
 

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Hillary Rodham Clinton

NEW ORLEANS - The Landrieu campaign today announced that Hillary Rodham Clinton will hold a Women with Mary Geaux Vote Event in New Orleans for Senator Mary Landrieu on Saturday, November 1.

 
The event will highlight mothers, grandmothers, and women all across Louisiana, who are coming out to say, "I'm with Mary."
 
Clinton will speak about Senator Landrieu's fight to create high-paying jobs by growing a skilled workforce of Louisiana women, especially important since women still only make up only 25 percent of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) jobs nationally.
 
Senator Landrieu has fought and delivered for Louisiana by saving and creating thousands of energy and manufacturing jobs during her 18 years in the senate. Some of her many accomplishments include:

• Directing hundreds of millions of dollars to Bollinger Shipyards for new coast guard cutters, supporting over 3,000 employees in Southeast Louisiana.
• Approving the Cameron LNG Terminal in Southwest Louisiana that will create 3,000 oil and gas jobs.
• Delivering for the I-20 corridor by helping bring 800 high-paying IT jobs to Bossier City.
• Securing the single, largest Coast Guard contract that Metal Shark Boats has ever received that will support more than 200 jobs in Acadiana.

Senator Landrieu has also secured $25 million for the STARBASE program, which is a science and engineering program for fifth graders who go to school on military bases, as well as secured $20.8 million for cyber education, which helps train teachers and integrates STEM education with the liberal arts.
 
Both Hillary Clinton and Senator Landrieu have been tireless advocates for women, seniors, students, veterans, and middle-class families.
  
The general public is welcomed to attend the event by RSVPing online. Details on time, location, and how to RSVP will follow shortly and will be available at marylandrieu.com.

  

 

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NEW ORLEANS - As we approach the November 4th Primary Election we at Data News Weekly in the name of promoting civic engagement and voting; in this issue we will focus on early voting. In this election early voting begins on October 21st  and runs thru October 28th for the Primary Election that will be held on November 4th and on November 22nd  thru 29th for General Election that is on December 6th... 

             

Getting Out the Vote

 

There are many groups that are working to promote early voting especially during this election since the primary will be held on Tuesday and not the normal Saturday when elections are normally held in Louisiana.  "One of the things we try to stress is the importance of early voting because there are things sometimes that can get happen that may prevent someone from voting. And since this election is on a Tuesday, there are more factors that may prevent some from getting to the polls to cast a ballot, so I am encouraging people to take advantage of early voting," says Vincent Sylvain, who serves as the Louisiana coordinator of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, an organization that does outreach to promote voting.

 

Voter registration drives have been going on all over the City with the goal of getting more people civically active. Herbert McGuin, is a Librarian at Xavier University and has partnered with Dr. Pamela Moore who teaches Political Science at Xavier to get more young people signed up to vote. "It has been a mostly positive experience" says McGuin. "I have gotten a cross section of kids' information about voting in addition to some registering. But I realize this is only the first step, voter education is also important so I talk to them about learning the issues so they can become informed voters."

 

While it is encouraging during election season to see so many outreach efforts to get people involved in voting, but there are some that feel voting registration and education should be a year round affair. For it is the thing that can empower the community, "At Ash�, we use art and culture for community and economic development.  Therefore to stay true to our mission, it is imperative that we connect with community.  Voting gives us a voice, so we can never be disconnected from politics.  We have to engage, use our collective power to make change.  We can't grow our communities, our cities, etc., without being a part of the process," says Viola Johnson, Communications Director for the Ashe Cultural Center. Continuing on the importance of voting she says, "So Voter Registration is of paramount importance.  Because we know that, we don't do periodic drives here at Ash�.  Our executive director, Carol Bebelle, wants us registering folks daily.  Any member of the community can come in and fill out an application to vote, all year long.  It's that simple."

 

What is at Stake?

 

As mentioned in my last piece regarding voting, African Americans voted at a higher percentage than whites during the last Presidential Election. But closer to home many continue to be absent from the polls must realize that every election is important. "Some feel mid-term elections as not being important, it does not have the cache of when the President or Mayor's race. But we try to let people know that there are just as important because in these elections they determine whether or not the president is going to be able to carry out their agenda, says Vincent Sylvain. "In the case of President Obama in his first term we saw the Democrats lose several seats in the House of Representatives and as a consequence the majority is now Republican(s) and the result is stagnation taking place in the government. The House is going one way and the Senate the other has hampered some of the initiatives President Obama has tried to move forward."

 

The level of gridlock on Capitol Hill is unprecedented leaving the people of the U.S. frustrated with U.S. Congressional approval ratings at record lows. This is something that motivated many to get involved. Herbert McGuin says he has become frustrated with the way things are going in Washington D.C. and realize that it affects what is also going on at the local and state level, "Part of why I became incensed and wanted to get involved was sparked by a radio show hosted by Joe Madison, he was saying that if Republicans take the U.S. Senate they would try to make an impeachment run on President Obama and try to make that part of his legacy. And while I am not pleased with everything he's done it is better than many of his predecessors particularly George W. Bush."

 

Vincent Sylvain cannot stress enough how important he feels this election is, and one race in particular for him that is of great concern is the re-election battle Democratic Senator Mary Landrieu finds herself in, "The Battle for the Senate is a race I am looking at and feel is the most important one on the ballot in November. She is being challenged by several candidates with one being a Republican and considered a major challenger. This seat for Louisiana could change the balance of power in the U.S. Senate. What's at stake is the direction of governmental policies that can affect the voters. If Landrieu is defeated what you are going to see is the progressive agenda challenged. We will see an effort to block voting, a more aggressive stance around putting policies in place around immigration; also an attack on entitlement programs and the list goes on and on. That why it is important to participate because your way of life is going to be affected by the outcome of what happens November 4th; we are looking at the balance of power of this country being determined based on who gets elected or re-elected."

 

Voting and the Voice of Generation Next

 

Cameron Mims is a sophomore at Xavier University and has been involved in the community since a very young age. His father is well known community advocate and former member of the Louisiana Parole Board Al "Brother" Mims.  Saying of young people, "We are politically engaged but the sad thing is that our voices are not usually heard. I sometimes go to town hall meetings and we are overlooked. There is a misconception that young people are not concerned that is not the case, it is just that some are not listening."

While this generation is not heard through traditional means their voices are heard very prominent in social media and on the web. "Many in my generation get there voices out through blogs and other forms where they have conversations about issues that affects them. It is our way to be engaged and have conversations and expand on what we feel is important," says Mims. "A lot of people take some of the negative things and run with that and very often do not take the time to see there are many more young people who are either doing the right things or want to be involved in something of meaning but they must be given a lane to have their voices heard by older people because I feel we have a lot to offer on these conversations regarding some of the issues directly affect us."

He feels that there are many issues young people care about, but most importantly they want to have a voice that is respected. "The biggest thing my generation wants is getting our voices heard. Also we want to see politicians getting things done. We want more mentoring programs, opportunities to gain job skills for young people, and, better educational opportunities. What we want to see is elected officials more engaged in everyday life; not engaging us as if they are above us. I feel they can be more effective and connected to the issues that are important by being accessible and not only come through for special occasions or when they are running for office or re-election."

 

Voting is Only One Piece of the Puzzle that is Civic Engagement

 

While Vincent Sylvain feels voting is the most important form of civic engagement he feels it is only a piece of what one must do to be civically engaged. "You have to do more than simply vote. To be fully engaged that may mean joining civic organizations and being on the frontline of issues that affect you inside your community." He feels that those who are chosen to lead must be held to a higher standard from day one after they are elected and sworn in.  "We have to hold our elected officials accountable and you don't have to wait until they are up for re-election to critique them; you can work to hold them accountable and make sure they are doing the things that you elected them to do.  That process begins when they get in office and it never ends."

Over the last few years post Katrina some would say that there has been a lack of dynamic leadership in the African American community. There was a time when leaders were organic coming from the community when African Americans first began to have political power. Today that is not the case where sometimes there is a disconnect. Recently, one election bucked this trend with Latoya Cantrell beating a well-funded highly connected white candidate in Dana Kaplan for a seat on the New Orleans City Council with a wide range of support. On this election Sylvain says of the factors leading to her victory, "Cantrell was victorious because she did not have to pass out a r�sum� to say who she was. Her resume was herself and the work she's been doing. Her resume was her involvement prior to running for office and the people rewarded her with a victory because of her past participation as a civic leader." Continuing he says, "We don't see enough examples like this, while I am an advocate of education I find what we see as of late are individuals who are well educated and have impressive resumes but little to no involvement in the community prior to running for elected office. And this is one of the reasons I think we see some of our elected officials not connected to the issues of that are important to the people they represent. We as a community must scrutinize those who choose to run more carefully and not just vote for someone who looks good on paper; because once they are elected unfortunately what the communities oftentimes get is paper leadership."

 

As we are coming to the beginning of early voting and the primaries that may decide who hold some of these elected offices it is important to know that the power lies in you the voter. A point made by Cameron Mims. "I think the important thing is to know is that the power is not in the politician, but in us because we are the ones that select the leaders and it is responsibility not just to vote but to make them responsive to our needs and stay involved in the things that go on in our community because at the end of it all it is us not the politicians that will be key to coming up with solutions to the things that negatively impact our City."

 

NOTE: This story is written as part of the voting rights fellowship with New America Media.
 

 

 

 www.ladatanews.com

 

 

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NEW ORLEANS - In 1964, I registered to vote.

 

I had an unfriendly audience as I entered the courthouse in Baton Rouge to register and vote.  The audience and the folk in that office knew me from two years before when I ran the Voter Registration project for the Baton Rouge NAACP.  Mine was a familiar, though unwanted, face and they knew that I was going to breeze through their "test" which was no more than an application form that had a tricky date response which was good for intimidating older voters.  The birthdate had to be given in years, days and all but - hours, minutes and seconds.

 

This date is important to me because of the path that I had taken to make that walk to take the "test" which was "administered" at the will of the registrar or clerk that waited on you and was, sometimes, dependent on how they felt and or the depth of their racism.

 

Previously, I had spent the Christmas Holidays of 1961 in the Black line atop the Baton Rouge courthouse after having been arrested in the December 1961student protests. I was one of the students that had been arrested for "illegal picketing".  There were 13 of us.

 

The day after we were locked up, 5000 students from Southern and citizens marched on downtown Baton Rouge.  They assembled at the courthouse where we were incarcerated in cellblocks atop the building.  They sang, "We Shall Overcome", we responded from upstairs, the police panicked and rioted firing tear gas into the crowd and releasing their dog.  The smell of tear gas wafted upstairs to where we were incarcerated.  It was, in terms of protest, the best and worst of times.

 

We spent the holidays in the jail and were released on January 2nd, when I first laid eyes on the trio of attorneys Lolis Elie, Bob Collins and Nils Douglas who "sprung" us.  I will always remember the sight of Elie walking through a cordon of Deputy Sheriffs who parted like the Red Sea before Moses.  Elie withered deputies with his unwavering glare. Later, when I got to know him my feelings approached hero worship.

 

We were, eventually, sent forth from Southern to pacify the school's president and appease the "masters" who pulled the strings.  I was out of school and had little chance of being hired.  Family members and some of the friendly white folk suggested I leave and go elsewhere.  Anywhere.

 

I was a member of the local NAACP and Rev. Arthur Jelks, then president talked to the local organization and offered me a job directing the voter registration project. It paid $50 a week, which wasn't bad for a 18 year old in 1962.   I celebrated my 19th birthday walking the streets of Baton Rouge trying to convince black people to register and vote. The experiences were interesting and varied, ranging from just plain "NO" to one not-so-gentlemanly brother who chased me out of his yard with a hoe.  The funniest was a mixed breed bulldog who welcomed me into his yard but wouldn't allow me to leave.  When his owner returned home, he told me that the dog "just liked to play".  I was cool, sat on the steps and petted "Spike" while talking his owner into voting.

 

I began in my neighborhood and worked through South Baton Rouge.  My route, which covered a broad swatch of Baton Rouge, included areas that we called "The Lake" and further out to "The Park" (Eden Park) burning shoe leather eastward as far as 49th Street (for those familiar with Baton Rouge).  I knocked on a thousand doors with, I must admit, little success.

 

Most of the people were afraid.  There were voter's leagues and the like.  The north end of town near Southern University had a strong voters' league led by a tough brother named Acie Belton. There was a group in downtown Baton Rouge that had been effective and, nine years before Willis V. Reed, their leader, had initiated the Baton Rouge bus boycott.  A former insurance man and, later, newspaper publisher, Reed was one of the unsung heroes of the civil rights effort in Baton Rouge continuing until his transition in his late nineties.  Early on, he was one of those who understood that we needed unity in a community that was divided by fear.  Mr. Reed and Belton and a quiet lady named, for the sake of this article, Mrs. Williams.

 

Mrs. Williams, an 84-year old widow who lived in the area near the current location of Capitol High School on 26th street decided that she was going to vote.  Her parents had been enslaved and one of her dreams was to be able to vote.  "I'm too old to be afraid" was her attitude. She "flunked" the test twice but was determined to return.  We went over that form again and again until she was certain that nothing would stop her.

 

During that time, my uncle Gene in Lafayette and the brothers Siler in California had determined that I needed protection and had provided me with a few items to take care of myself after a few threatening calls to the office.  They bolstered my courage and provided me with an escape plan if drastic action had to be taken.  It may be noted that I had forgone nonviolence in favor of aggressive self-defense.  I had a chance to shake hands with Dr. King at the NAACP Convention and felt his warmth and sincerity but was already leaning toward Malcolm X's point of view when it came to self-defense. Religion, in my personal life was being replaced by a search for something else.

 

I mention the philosophical shift because I accompanied Mrs. Williams down to the courthouse to make her third try.  She closely resembled Mary McCloud Bethune physically, dark skinned with silver hair.  Dressed in a dark suit and white blouse with ruffles, the hint of a confident smile played on her face when she told me that everything was going to be all right.  I didn't tell her that I was prepared to be violent if necessary. One of those items of protection was clipped to my pants at the small of my back beneath my coat.  If anyone had done wrong I would have been a part of the evening news that day.

 

They knew we were coming.  There was a gauntlet of sheriff deputies (the cooler heads in local law enforcement) lining both side of the hallway.  I'm certain that everybody wasn't on break.  I have rarely witnessed the level of dignity that she exuded that day.  Head held high, purse in hand, face firmed against the obvious efforts of intimidation she smiled at me and entered. I was told to wait outside. I stood against a wall across from the door where I could see inside.  She breezed through the form and was smiling when she came out of the office.  She had correctly completed the form and was a newly registered voter.  She had intimidated the cops and those in the Registrar's office.  We walked out of the door and to the car awaiting our return.

 

I was ready to dance.

 

I had a few more minor incidents after she was registered but had been bolstered by her display of courage.  The attempt to get me for violation of a federal injunction happened a few months later when I took some children to a local elementary school where its principal, who called me a communist, outside agitator and the like before the cameras, was embarrassed when I explained that I had grown up less than a mile away and his face turned redder than his neck.

 

I returned to Southern and managed to break every rule of the "social probation" that I was suppose to observe in order to remain in school.  I was allowed to return to the newspaper and yearbook staff where I managed to fluff the President's powder.  I was allowed to edit the Southern University Digest during my final summer.  I later found that one administrator, thought to be an enemy, had quietly helped keep me in school.  That information came when I worked at the university for two years following my return from the military.

 

The point of all this conversation is to underscore how I learned to value the need for African Americans to exercise their right (I'm not going to b.s. about privilege - rights, to me, trump privilege) to vote.  I cite my wife on our need to register, educate and become active in exerting these rights.

 

The day that I walked into that office I had Ms. Williams' spirit with me and the spirits of all of those who had sacrificed to try to gain those rights that we were just beginning to gain via the legislation pushed thru by the Johnson administration.  I was newly twenty-one, defiant, proud of what I had attempted to do when walking the streets knocking on doors two years before and still warmed by the experience with a dignified 84 year old who refused to be denied her right to vote and accomplished that before her life ended.

 

It has been 50 years since I registered to vote.  I have called folk who refuse to use that right by a variety of names, none appropriate for publication.  I refuse to hear from folk who have given up thinking that the fight is over or who have become so enamored of their Eurocentric indoctrination that they have forgotten that the battle continues.  That is even, more so, true of what the tea potty, Republicrats and others who call themselves conservative and hawk religion as if some Deity prefers them to the rest of humanity.  Those who have inculcated themselves into government and are seeking to destroy democracy while creating a Corporatocracy that bodes ill will to all of those who are not a part of the minority percentage whose theft and ruthless behavior has made them wealthy.

 

If you don't believe that your vote counts you may know that there's one person out her - me - who is going to call you one of those cowardly (to use a Lou Rawls euphemism) Maryland farmers who deserve the ills that will continue to befall you.  I don't have to curse you.  You are cursed by your actions or lack thereof.

 

Thank you to all of those who had the courage to stand up and be counted.  My fall partners, Bill Bradford, Thomas Peete, Ronnie Moore, Theda Ambrose, Janetta Gilliam, Dave Dennis, Jerome Smith, Morris "Skipper" Rowe, Weldon Rougeau, Roger Banks, Dennis Stewart, and too many more to name who are still in the fight.

 

I also have to thank the folk who have given me space to express my feelings as the 50th anniversary of a significant moment in our history has arrived.  If you are "for real" when it comes to the exercise of your rights.  If you want to have an impact on history, exercise that right to VOTE.

 

 

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For a complete list of the locations of parish registrar of voters offices and designated early voting locations, please refer to early voting locations.

Orleans Parish Early Voting Locations:

 

City Hall
1300 Perdido St., Room #1W23
New Orleans, LA 70112

Algiers Office (Courthouse)
225 Morgan St., Room #105
New Orleans, LA 70114
504.658.8323

Voting Machine Warehouse*
8870 Chef Menteur Highway
New Orleans, LA 70127
504.658.8300

Lake Vista Community Center*
6500 Spanish Fort Blvd
2nd Floor Meeting Room
New Orleans, LA 70124
504.658.8300                                                    
 

The registrars of voters will open their offices from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. for each day of early voting. When you go to cast your vote early, you will be asked to identify yourself with either a photo ID or signature on a voter affidavit. You may use a driver's license, a Louisiana special ID or some other generally recognized picture ID that has your name and signature. 

 

 

See Louisiana R.S. 18:1303 for more information about voting early.

 

Proposed Constitutional Amendments on the Ballot

 

Proposed Amendment No. 1 Do you support an amendment to authorize the legislature to create the Louisiana Medical Assistance Trust Fund, for the payment of Medicaid reimbursement to the health care provider groups paying fees into the fund? (Adds Article VII, Section 10.14)

 

Proposed Amendment No. 2 Do you support an amendment to create the Hospital Stabilization Fund to stabilize and protect Medicaid reimbursements for health care services by depositing assessments paid by hospitals, as authorized by the legislature, into a fund to support Louisiana hospital reimbursement? (Adds Article VII, Section 10.13)

 

Proposed Amendment No. 3 Do you support an amendment allowing an authorized agent of a tax collector to assist in the tax sale process, including the sale of property for delinquent taxes and that the fee charged by the authorized agent be included within the costs that the collector can recover in the tax sale? (Amends Article VII, Section 25(A)(1) and (E))

 

Proposed Amendment No. 4 Do you support an amendment to authorize the investment of public funds to capitalize a state infrastructure bank and the loan, pledge, guarantee, or donation of public funds by a state infrastructure bank for eligible transportation projects? (Amends Article VII, Section 14(B))

 

Proposed Amendment No. 5 Do you support an amendment to remove the constitutional requirement that a judge retire upon attaining the age of seventy or, if his seventieth birthday occurs during his term, that he retire upon completion of that term? (Amends Article V, Section 23)

 

Proposed Amendment No. 6 Do you support an amendment to authorize the governing authority of Orleans Parish to increase the annual millage rate levied for fire and police protection, to require that the revenue from the fire and police millages be used for fire and police protection service enhancements, and to require that any increase be approved by the voters of Orleans Parish? (Amends Article VI, Section 26(E))

 

Proposed Amendment No. 7 Do you support an amendment to provide that the homesteads of veterans with a service-connected disability rating of one hundred percent unemployability or totally disabled by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, and their surviving spouses, shall be exempt from ad valorem taxation for up to one hundred fifty thousand dollars, and that a parishwide vote shall not be required to implement this change in qualification for the exemption? (Amends Article VII, Section 21(K)(1) and (3))

 

Proposed Amendment No. 8 Do you support an amendment to establish the Artificial Reef Development Fund in the state treasury by depositing in to the fund monies that have been received by the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries in the form of grants, donations, or other assistance to provide funding for programs dedicated to managing an artificial reef system, the wild seafood certification program, and inshore fisheries habitat enhancement projects? (Adds Article VII, Section 10.11)

 

Proposed Amendment No. 9 Do you support an amendment to exclude owners who are permanently totally disabled from the requirement that they annually certify to the assessor the amount of their adjusted gross income in order to receive the Special Assessment Level on their residences for property tax purposes? (Amends Article VII, Section 18(G)(1)(a)(iv))

 

Proposed Amendment No. 10 Do you support an amendment providing for an eighteen-month redemption period in any parish other than Orleans, for vacant property sold at tax sale which is blighted or abandoned? (Effective January 1, 2015) (Adds Article VII, Section 25(B)(3))

 

Proposed Amendment No. 11 Do you support an amendment to change the maximum number of departments in the executive branch of state government from twenty to twenty-one? (Amends Article IV, Section 1(B))

 

Proposed Amendment No. 12 Do you support an amendment to require that two members of the Wildlife and Fisheries Commission be electors from parishes located north of the parishes of Beauregard, Allen, Evangeline, Avoyelles, and Pointe Coupee? (Amends Article IX, Section 7(A))

 

Proposed Amendment No. 13 Do you support an amendment to authorize the governing authority of the city of New Orleans to sell at a price fixed by the legislature property located in the Lower Ninth Ward of the city of New Orleans? (Amends Article VII, Section (14)(B))

 

Proposed Amendment No. 14 Do you support an amendment to provide that legislation relative to tax rebates, tax incentives, and tax abatements may not be introduced or considered by the legislature in a regular session held in an even-numbered year? (Amends Article III, Section 2(A)(3)(b) and (4)(b)(introductory paragraph)) 

 

Click Here for in depth analysis of constitutional amendments by Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana (PAR).

 

 

 

Orleans Parish Local Propositions

 

 

In addition to the state constitutional amendments, voters in New Orleans should familiarize themselves with two proposed amendments to the Home Rule Charter of the City of New Orleans and one Orleans Parish tax proposition.
 
Orleans Parish Law Enforcement District Millage - 2.9 Mills - Sheriff - 10 Years
Currently, the Orleans Parish Law Enforcement District levies a 2.9 mill property tax that is dedicated to debt service. This proposition would rededicate a portion of the existing millage that is no longer needed for debt service to pay for jail other purposes, such as operations and maintenance.
 
Home Rule Charter Amendment Sec. 3 - CC - Sec. 3-102 & 4-201: Inauguration Date
This proposition would move the inauguration date of the mayor and members of the City Council from the first Monday in May to the second Monday in January. This gives the mayor and council members more control over city finances by aligning the inauguration date with the beginning of the fiscal year.  
 
Home Rule Charter Amendment Sec. 6 - CC - Sec. 6-308(1) & 6-308(5)(b): Contracting
This proposition would incorporate into the Home Rule Charter a set of executive orders that Mayor Mitch Landrieu instituted in 2010 regarding executive branch professional service contracts and the city's Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program.  
 
For more information about the local propositions on the 2014 Orleans Parish ballot, please click here to view the Bureau of Governmental Research's report "On the Ballot: November 4, 2014." The report contains a detailed analysis of each local proposition on the Orleans Parish ballot.
 

 

 

Click to review SAMPLE BALLOT
 

 

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The New Orleans Agenda: Mary Landrieu is the right choice for us  

 

By the Editorial Board of The New Orleans Agenda  

  

NEW ORLEANS -  Beginning on Tuesday, October 21 through Tuesday, October 28, 2014 registered voters of Louisiana will have the opportunity to cast their ballots for the November 4, 2014 Elections.  Among others races and ballot initiatives is the race for the United States Senate.  The New Orleans Agenda wholeheartedly recommends the re-election of United States Senator Mary Landrieu.

 

Senator Landrieu has earned the vote of our readers and deserves our support for many reasons. 

 

Each time the Voting Rights Act of 1965 has been challenged by Bill Cassidy's Republican supporters, Mary Landrieu has stood firm with us to make certain that we not lose the gains of 50 years ago.  In 2006, she co-sponsored legislation to reauthorize the landmark civil rights law adopted to ensure that no person shall be denied the right to vote because of their race.  She again demonstrated that commitment in 2013 by strongly criticizing the Supreme Court's ruling that invalidated parts of the Voting Rights Act.

 

And when the Tea Party talks about impeaching our President, we know that we can count on Senator Landrieu to stand with us.

 

Senator Landrieu has not been fearful of including every segment of Americas to participate fully in the leadership of government.  She is the only U.S. Senator with an African American Chief of Staff, former Louisiana State Senator Donald Cravins serves in that capacity.  She has made more nominations of African Americans for federal judges and U.S. Attorneys than any other senator, those includes; U.S. Attorney Nannette Jolivette Brown, the first African American female to hold that post for the Eastern District of Louisiana; U.S. Attorney Brian Anthony Jackson of the Middle District of Louisiana; U.S. Attorney Kenneth Allen Polite of the Eastern District of Louisiana; and U.S. Attorney Stephanie A. Finely, the first African American female U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Louisiana. 

 

Several of her other nominations have also been historical first for African Americans; Henry Lee Whitehorn, U.S. Marshall for the Western District of Louisiana; Clarence Hawkins, Louisiana State Director for Rural Development; and U.S. Fire Administration Kelvin Chochran.

 

When our farmers needed someone to fight for them, it was Senator Landrieu who help secure over $1 billion for African-American farmers; just compensation for our hard working men and women who keep this nation fed.

 

When Congress threatened to shut the doors to higher education, Senator Landrieu fought back and secured billions for our schools; including nearly $800 million for HBCUs like Southern, Grambling, Dillard and Xavier universities while also fighting to increase the maximum Pell Grant amount available for all students. 

 

When the Tea Party endangered the security of our seniors, it was Mary Landrieu who protected Social Security and Medicare programs by opposing an increase of the retirement age to 70 which would be most devastating to our elders.

 

Mary Landrieu has done a remarkable job in fighting for our State, including leading the way to recovery from the wake of hurricanes' Katrina and Rita by securing more than $120 billion in recovery dollars for the Gulf Coast.  She led the effort to pass the RESTORE Act which dictates that 80 percent of the fines from the BP disaster is allocated to the Gulf Coast states for environmental and economic recovery.   As the first woman ever to chair the Senate Energy Committee Mary Landrieu will continue to bring good jobs to Louisiana.

 

As a mother and wife Mary brings a sense of compassion to the male dominated Senate, fighting for passage of the "Violence Against Women Act". Her Republican opponent opposed the legislation. Mary fought for equal pay for women, her opponent voted against the bill.  Mary's support for Affordable Healthcare gives women unprecedented access to medical procedures and medicines that prolong and sustain lives.

 

These are but a few of the reasons why we recommend the re-election of Mary Landrieu for Senate.  

 

We are with Mary and urge you to join us!

 

 

-END- 

 

Where Do I VOTE?
 

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EARLY VOTE! 

 

 

 

 

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