Voter split to decide 6th Congressional District
October 16, 2012
Public utilities vacancy sought by field of 6
October 17, 2012
Nearly 19 months since congressional redistricting was approved by the Louisiana Legislature, voters will cast ballots among fields of candidates in a Nov. 6 primary election.
With the 1st Congressional District now including southern sections of Lafourche and Terrebonne parishes, electorates will select between a Republican incumbent they had not previously voted for and challengers including a second Republican, a Democrat and two candidates claiming no party affiliation.
The candidates’ biographies follow:
NAME: GARY KING
AFFILIATION: Republican
HOME: New Orleans
WEBSITE: yourvoiceincongress.org
Having grown up in Plaquemines and Lafourche parishes, Gary King, 55, has been a New Orleans resident since 1976. He is owner of Progressive Guitar Studios and although making his political opinions known on regular radio broadcasts he has never before sought elected office.
King identifies himself as a self-taught historian and political activist. He claims citizens have been misled by Congress and wants to correct that. “The Restore Act is one of my main concerns,” he said. “The Restore Act has nothing to do with restoring the coastline.”
Taking on the law designed to distribute 80 percent of BP fines among Gulf Coast states impacted by the April 2010 Macondo oil release and Deepwater Horizon disaster, King contends the bill is filled with false promises and only benefits the federal government and international interests. “The whole Restore Act is a fraud,” he said. “There is nothing in it for fishermen, oystermen or crab fishermen.”
King is concerned about illnesses experienced by people following the largest oil spill in North American history and contends that continued use of dispersants is to blame. He holds this argument as part of his political platform – to expose the misdeeds of current office holders.
“I’m more awake and more aware than the current congressman because of my radio show,” King said. “I’m more about getting information out.”
This candidate is concerned citizen rights are being slowly taken away from them and blasted the Defense Authorization Act and Disclose Act as tools for the federal government to detain Americans without cause and restrict free speech.
“My mission is to expose the attempts of our government, including Mr. [Steve] Scalise, to systematically strip us of our constitutionally designated and protected, God-given fundamental rights,” King said. “Public elected officials are supposed to be preserving our freedoms, not clandestinely robbing us of them along with our future.”
King’s main concerns include making the Gulf Coast culture whole by using BP monies to rebuild land, sea, livelihood and a way of life for Louisiana’s coastal residents.
“I want to educate our citizens about the oil dispersant used in the Gulf, Corexit, and stop it from being further introduced into our environment, which is still being done to this day,” he said.
This candidate advocates educating the public regarding coastal erosion and property rights, as well as freedoms he said have been lost to legislation.
King wants a repeal of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) in favor of what he said should be more practical and acceptable solutions. He offered no specific recommendations.
King said that he views the nation’s capital as being a place that changes well-intended people and transforms them to being interested in maintaining membership among an elite class. “I don’t know what happens when you go to Washington,” he said, “but I hope it doesn’t happen to me.”
NAME: M.V. “Vinny” Mendoza
AFFILIATION: Democrat
HOME: Ponchatoula
WEBSITE: vinnymendoza.com
The only Democrat running for Congress in Dist. 1 is M.V. “Vinny” Mendoza. Originally from Guatemala, Mendoza, 54, is a naturalized citizen who retired from the U.S. Air Force after 20 years of service. The Ponchatoula resident is now an organic farmer and has developed hybrid moringa trees, the leaves of which are used to make vitamin supplements.
He unsuccessfully ran for the 1st Congressional District seat in 2004 and 2008. Mendoza’s platform for a current bid centers on promoting international trade. “I want to make Yokohama, Japan a sister city with New Orleans,” he said. “That way we can bring investment to New Orleans and Port Fourchon. The only way we can create more jobs is to increase trade and improve our infrastructure.” He would also like to lift trade embargos against Cuba.
Mendoza is upset that Louisiana coastal communities have not yet seen financial restitution from BP following the April 2010 Deepwater Horizon incident. He blames Congress and the incumbent in this race for not properly enforcing fines.
“The incumbent has not done his job and he is a spokesman for BP,” Mendoza said. “He is taking money from them and anytime you take money from somebody you are committed to them. I’m not asking any oil company for money. I’m not falling into the same trap.”
Mendoza is a supporter of President Obama and contends problems the current administration faces are directly caused by former President George W. Bush. “The GOP increased the deficits and debt during George W. Bush’s administration, then blamed President Obama for spending after 2009, aimed at stemming economic collapse,” he said. “They claim to be concerned about deficits and debt, yet propose to create large deficits over the next decade even as they severely cut Medicaid and other programs that aid ordinary Americans.”
This candidate said he supports fair taxation and said after having a decade of tax cuts he wants the wealthiest Americans to pay more. He also calls for moderate spending cuts to address the national deficit and the debt.
Mendoza supports the Affordable Care Act and wants to reduce military spending while increasing veteran benefits.
As for energy and environmental concerns, Mendoza supports effective regulations for the oil and gas industry. “The role of the federal government is enforcing those [rules],” he said. “We need science and understanding, not ideology, to address the serious problems of environmental damage and climate change. The incumbent has shown himself to be scientifically illiterate and unwilling to accept any information that does not conform to his ideology or the priorities of his campaign contributors.”
Mendoza said in terms of drawing together the congressional district he views the coastal reaches as his focal points. “Terrebonne, Lafourche and Plaquemines parishes are creating most the jobs,” he said. “That’s why Port Fourchon is more important than the area of New Orleans.”
NAME: Steve Scalise (incumbent)
AFFILIATION: Republican
HOME: Jefferson
WEBSITE: stevescalise.com
Incumbent Rep. Steve Scalise was first elected to Congress for Dist. 1 during a special election in May 2008. During the regular November election cycle that year, voters gave him the nod to serve his first full term in that office. He is now seeking a third term.
Scalise, 47, is described as a rank-and-file Republican who serves on the House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee. He has sponsored or co-sponsored such bills as the Restore Act, which, once fines are settled, promises funds for the restoration of coastal Louisiana and other Gulf Coast states. He has been active in tax code revisions and backed legislation that extended the National Flood Insurance Program.
Between May 2008 and Sept. 2012, Scalise missed 49 of 3,609 recorded or roll call votes in Congress. That placed him at a 1 percent absentee level in comparison to the median 2.5 percent among members of Congress.
Since redistricting was finalized in April 2011, Scalise has made multiple appearances in Lafourche and Terrebonne parishes and promised residents they would not be lost to the already established parts of Dist. 1 or their divided parts that now are joined to the 6th Congressional District.
“Unfortunately, we are losing a congressional seat in Louisiana,” Scalise said. “There is a strong bond between [Terrebonne and Lafourche] parishes. Both work closely on coastal restoration and flood protection. If I’m honored to be elected to represent this area I’m going to represent the interests of both parishes.”
Scalise said he views the division of Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes as an opportunity for residents of the region to double their influence in Washington, and said he would work with the elected representative from Dist. 6 to make sure that happens.
As for issues, Scalise said coastal erosion is the most immediate problem facing Louisiana. “My top priority for this Congress is making sure when BP is fined for the damage it did back in 2010, to make sure the lion’s share of that money stays along the Gulf Coast.”
The incumbent said the Restore Act was signed with 80 percent of yet to be determined BP fines dedicated to Gulf Coast states. “Louisiana will see the bulk of that money, and that money is going to be used for coastal restoration,” Scalise said. “It will be the first significant major money to restore our coast in the state’s history [and] may be up to $10 billion.”
Scalise warned that Louisiana has in the past received federal funds, but wasted them. This time, he said, measures are being taken to make sure money is spent on specific projects for which it is intended.
Nationally, the congressman said the economy is the biggest challenge. He said he is joining a fight to reduce debt and establish a balanced budget. Scalise wants a repeal of the Affordable Care Act and increase domestic oil production.
“If you look at what is broken in Washington, it is that you don’t have enough people fighting for the conservative values that I’ve championed,” Scalise said. “You’ve got to work to achieve solutions to big problems. I have the experience, and I’m working hard to make sure Obama is a one-term president.”
NAME: David “Turk” Turknett
AFFILIATION: No Party
HOME: Galliano
WEBSITE: Facebook.com/#!/david.turknett.5?fref=ts
Lafourche Parish native and resident David “Turk” Turknett has had a long career in the maritime industry and said he is running for Congress because he does not like what he sees taking place in Washington, D.C.
Turknett, 56, said he has no party affiliation, so he is not beholden to any group of people other than those he would represent.
“My main issue is coastal restoration,” Turknett said. “Everybody says that, but I live it. We used to have 30 miles of marsh islands. Now, I am about a mile away from the Gulf of Mexico.”
This candidate said he has been working five years on a project to push fresh water back into the lower reaches of Lafourche and Terrebonne parishes, and that just bringing in sediment would not be enough to solve the problem of saltwater encroachment.
Turknett said with federal funding, his idea of funneling fresh water into natural estuaries could be accomplished. He declined to reveal exactly how his idea could be implemented.
A second issue Turknett would like to address is improved cellular telephone service in lower Lafourche and Terrebonne parishes. He contends doing so is a matter of public safety and could reduce rumor and panic during hurricanes.
“[During Hurricane Isaac] there were rumors that the pumps were out because the parish brought in generators,” he said. “The generators were there to help operate things like lights and computers. The pumps were working fine, but there were rumors. Those could have been stopped with working cell service. First responders need cell phones as backups. We have the technology. There is no reason we can’t do it.”
Turknett has never before sought public office. He contends this gives him a fresh perspective in contrast to those that have already been in elected positions.
NAME: Arden Wells
AFFILIATION: No Party
HOME: Ponchatoula
WEBSITE: Facebook.com/pages/Arden-Wells-For-Congress/157984484219781
Arden Wells ran for the 1st Congressional District seat in 2010 on the Tea Party ticket. Now with no party affiliation, the 54-year-old law enforcement retiree said he wants to represent the working class.
“I think I can do a better job than Steve Scalise. I think Scalise only represents international corporations and the Republican Party,” Wells said. “The Republicans are only interested in serving the super-rich … and the Democrats seem to represent nobody but the poor and every fringe group and freak group that comes along.”
Wells said he would like to see the United States eliminate its military presence in other countries and pull out of the United Nations. “Unless a sovereign nation attacks us I don’t think we should get involved in foreign wars,” he said.
When asked if he supports the concept of energy independence, Wells said the automobile industry had prevented Congress from looking into alternative energies because of its dependence on petroleum.
“Oil is a non-renewable source,” Wells said. “It is expensive and it is dirty. Imagine what this country would have been like if we had harnessed hydro-electric and put a mass transit system across the country instead of highways, but that’s never going to happen.”
When it comes to international trade, Wells wants to impose a tariff on any product imported to the United States, with the exception of those that can be proven to have been produced to the same labor and environmental standards and products made domestically. “If we would to that, you wouldn’t see so many things made in China in this country,” he said.
Wells would like to abolish the federal tax code and implement a 10 percent flat tax on the gross income of every corporation doing business in the United States. “I would like to see non-profit corporations abolished, because there is no such thing,” he said. “It’s all a scam. If you are not making a profit you are not in business.”
Addressing technology, Wells said he is leery of it. “I don’t use the [Internet] much because I don’t like the fact that anybody can put something on the net without identifying themselves.”
Wells said he wants the 1st Congressional District seat because those already in office are out of touch with the average constituent and mostly interested in getting re-elected.
