Electing the most effective senator

Polls open this Saturday in Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes for an open primary to fill the vacant District 20 state Senate seat. The position became vacant when former-Sen. Reggie Dupre resigned to take the position of Terrebonne Levee and Conservation District director.

Term limits and the demands of the job have many effective state legislators wondering whether they should continue to serve. Meanwhile, three Tri-parish candidates in Saturday’s election say they have considered the ramifications and are asking for your vote.

If you want to know why people run for political office, ask a candidate. However, if you want to know why people don’t run, ask the person who gets elected.

Many former elected officials describe their experience like Jerry Reed described his marriage in his song “She Got the Gold Mine (I Got the Shaft).”

“Well, she said she would, so I said ‘I do.’

“But I’da said I wouldn’t if I’da just knew

“How sayin’ ‘I do’ was gonna screw up all of my life!”

Being an effective state senator can be very demanding on a person and a family. Although it is promoted as a part-time job, full-time hours are required to be effective. While other people go to ballgames with their families or spend a quiet night with their wives, effective senators are attending banquets, meeting with constituents, talking on the phone or attending meetings.

Part-time senators aren’t effective senators.

So when you go to the polls Saturday, consider who you think will devote the most time to the job. Odds are that person will be the most effective if elected.