District 20 State Senate election Saturday

After a two-month campaign, the candidates have not separated themselves much on the major issues facing voters in the district, which includes most of Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes.

The three have expressed nearly identical priorities – coastal restoration, hurricane protection, levee construction – and political philosophies – lower taxes and limited government.

They have declared this the most important local election for the next 10 to 15 years because billions of dollars in Outer Continental Shelf oil revenue will flow to Louisiana starting in 2017.

With the difference in the contenders so nuanced, what makes any of them stand out among the others?

Will The Legacy Go Unbroken?

Norby Chabert has been raised on politics.

From age 8 to 19, he spent a lot of time on the floor of the Louisiana State Senate. He is the son of Leonard J. Chabert and brother of Marty Chabert, both of whom held the position he is trying to win.

Despite his family’s political legacy, this is his first run at an elected office. The former Nicholls assistant marketing director insisted he has the experience to be an effective leader in the state Senate.

“I served as a governmental advisor to (U.S. Sen.) Mary Landrieu, and congressmen (Hunt Downer and Billy Tauzin), gubernatorial candidates and governors of both parties,” he said. “I think that says a lot about my ability to serve.”

“I learned from an early age not to get star-struck when the big power players are there and to speak truth to power,” he added. “When you’re in Baton Rouge, nobody else is fighting for you. That’s what the voters send you to do, so you better do it.”

Besides his family, Chabert counts as one of his biggest political influences former South Terrebonne High teacher Carol Davis.

In 1989, Davis, currently the assistant schools superintendent, led the 42-day teacher’s strike in Terrebonne Parish.

“At a time when raising teachers’ salary wasn’t important in the state, she taught me if you’re fighting for the right reasons, then no matter what it takes you need to get the job done.”

Chabert views himself as a regular guy just trying to make a difference. He said he got into the race because people in the district asked him to run.

“They watched me grow up and my years of service in government, and they said after the storms we’ve been through, it was time for me to take a leadership role in this community,” Chabert insisted. “I’m not a high-powered attorney or a high-powered businessman. I’m just like everybody else, struggling to pay a high insurance premium and my healthcare.”

“Like so many citizens of southern Terrebonne Parish, my family’s home flooded,” he added. “I know the struggle to rebuild and what it’s like to have to deal with bureaucratic red tape. I wasn’t there for a one-day photo op. I was there for it, during it, after it, the days and months, years that followed it. When your home floods, there’s not a quick fix. We’re still dealing with the emotional scars of having that happen to our home.”

Chabert said one of his other big issues is diversifying the local economy while still ensuring the prosperity of the offshore oil and gas service industry.

That includes marketing local fairs and festivals to become major economic engines just as in New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Lafayette. Also, he wants to attract more jobs for college-educated workers to the local area.

“We need to create a business environment where our new college graduates have a place in this economy. We need business incentives that give new college grads that entrepreneurial experience that other young adults have around the country. We need to make our area more tech friendly.”

Chabert has the most contributors and raised the most money from donations, $115,000 as of Monday, during the campaign.

More than $440,000 has been raised by all three candidates.

Half of Chabert’s cash is from contributors – many in the offshore industry – giving the $2,500 maximum.

Chabert still has less than half of Baldone’s total. He is also the only candidate not to lend himself money to his campaign.

When he’s not on the trail, Chabert is an avid athlete who enjoys flag football and paintball, but he is also into gardening and Cajun cooking.

Chabert said people are not supporting him simply because of name recognition. But having a political family legacy behind him can help get out voters.

“Public service is instilled in me. Whether I win or lose, I’m still going to be in public service,” he insisted. “It is not about benefiting the few, but helping everybody to prosper.”

The Conservative Seeks A State Format

While most 23-year-old college graduates were trying to decide what to do with their life, Brent Callais made his first run for elected office.

In 2003, he was the youngest elected member of the Lafourche Parish Council, representing Larose and Cut Off in District 8.

“I was one of those sitting around and griping to people about what’s wrong in our community and our state,” Callais recalled. “Finally, someone said, ‘Why don’t you run?’ I always liked history and government, so I decided to run. It was an extreme experience, but I won with 77 percent of the vote.”

In his four years as a councilman, Callais considered his biggest accomplishment the reopening of Fourchon Beach. The only habitable beach in Lafourche Parish was closed to the public for years by the landowners.

“As a kid, I grew up on Fourchon Beach,” Callais recalled. “I led the charge to create the Beachfront Development District. They have master plans to make it like a state park and give this jewel of a beach back to the public. In 20 years, it’s going to be something we are really proud of.”

Being the youngest of four boys, Callais learned to defend himself from an early age. He also credits his parents and former Cut Off Elementary teacher Don Arabie for instilling in him a drive to succeed.

“Their whole thing was as long as you have an education you can go anywhere in the world, even a boy from Cut Off,” he said.

Callais’ political philosophy was shaped by his parents, who were conservative Democrats, and reading Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense” in the 10th grade, which advocates for a small central government to defend to the people.

As the sole Republican in the race, Callais has positioned himself as the true conservative option.

If elected to the state Senate, Callais said he would push for the gradual elimination of the personal income tax. He claimed it would relieve the burden from working class families and small business owners.

“Without a doubt, Louisiana is the most taxed state in the union,” he said. “Business taxes are always talked about, but personal income tax is an even bigger problem.”

He also plans to bring reform to the state insurance commission and Education Department.

To bring insurance premiums down, he suggests the Gulf Coast states create a catastrophe fund to spread out the risks for storm damages.

In education, Callais wants to remove restrictions that he claims force teachers to teach to the LEAP and GEE tests.

“I want to take the handcuffs off the teachers and allow them to do their job. Teach students the fundamentals – reading, writing and arithmetic and they will be able to pass the tests.”

Callais has raised the least money of the three candidates. Most of his $66,000 total comes from personal loans ($25,000) and family members donating the $2,500 maximum.

Callais had to give back $10,000 earlier this month because four of the contributions, three from his own businesses and one from Thibodaux contractor Ronald Adams, were double the state limit.

“The accounting went wrong, and I wrote checks for $5,000 from three of my LLCs (limited liability corporations),” he explained. “The campaign had to give me half of it back and I loaned it back to the campaign.”

“There was a married couple who each promised $2,500, but they gave it to me as a corporation check,” he added. “If they had given it to me from their joint checking account it would have been perfectly fine. We refunded the money, they rewrote the check and everything has been taken care of.”

When not on the campaign trail, Callais enjoys hunting and fishing. He lost his Golden Meadow camp to Hurricane Ike last September. He recently got into golf, but concedes, “I’m trying to get good, but it’s not working.”

Even as Saturday’s vote nears, Callais is already preparing for an Aug. 29 runoff.

“We’re ready for Aug. 1. We’ll see how it turns out,” he said. “I’m sure this is going to a runoff and we’re already gearing up for that battle.”

State Rep Ready For The Next Level

The state House of Representatives has often been a training ground for the state Senate. Baldone hopes to follow that path to the District 20 seat.

He is relying on his experience as a lawmaker and attorney, and the hundreds of millions of dollars in local projects he has supported as the selling points to move to the upper chamber.

“I think by far I’m the best qualified candidate,” Baldone insisted. “I’ve worked with Reggie Dupre for the last eight years. We have a great team in Terrebonne and Lafourche. I think I can continue that.”

“I’m an honest guy. Your word is the only thing you have in Baton Rouge,” he added. “Without it, you can’t be an effective legislator. I have a very good reputation in the legislature.”

He considered his biggest success in the House to be authoring legislation dedicating the state’s portion of offshore oil revenue to coastal restoration and hurricane protection.

“Me and Reggie Dupre passed that bill before we ever thought we would get any money from the federal government,” he said. “But now we’re going to get over half-a-billion dollars a year dedicated to coastal restoration and hurricane protection. That’s a huge chunk of money coming in starting in 2017.”

Having a voting record also means taking hits for some of the votes cast. During the 2008 session, Baldone supported the bill to increase state legislators’ annual base salary by 150 percent, from $16,800 to $37,500.

He understands the perception people had of the vote, but insisted it was needed to ensure representation in state politics.

“I heard back from some constituents on that one. But when I sit down and explain it to them, they realize what we were making wasn’t enough to live on,” he explained.

“The House of Representative is supposed to be a representative sampling of the people,” he added. “At $16,800 a year, 95 percent of people can’t afford to go to Baton Rouge and do that. You have to pay for your own apartment and living expenses. I voted for it to ensure politics is not just a game for the wealthy. Everybody should have the opportunity, if they want, to serve their state.”

Baldone doesn’t point to a singular source that shaped his political philosophy. Instead he views it from the totality of life experiences, whether it’s influences from family and friends, playing sports as a kid, going to church or seeing both sides of an issue as an attorney.

“Government is there to aid our people and businesses by providing adequate infrastructure, healthcare and education,” he said. “The investments we made in those areas have produced one of the best economies in the country.”

The attorney and real estate developer said he got into public service in 2001 because he wanted to give back to his community after many successful years in business.

“The only reason I do this job is because I love this community and I want to save it,” he explained.

Besides coastal issues, crime prevention has been a passion Baldone has focused on in the House. He has sponsored legislation strengthening laws against drunken driving and sexual predators.

Baldone has raised nearly $270,000 for this campaign, $200,000 out of his own pocket. Only two donors have given him the $2,500 maximum amount, Houma attorneys Craig Landry and Berwick Duvall II.

While politics takes up most of his time, Baldone likes to hang out at his Pointe-aux-Chenes camp, fishing and crabbing when he can. He also enjoys basketball, racquetball and tennis.

If Baldone doesn’t win this election, he will maintain his House seat. However, he feels ready to step up to the senatorial chamber.

“I think we’re leading, but I’m campaigning like I’m in last place,” he said.

District 20 State Senate election Saturday