Face off in Dist. 3 heats up

To say that the Congressional contest for Louisiana’s Third District Senate seat is heated would not only be an understatement, it would be misleading. Ugly advertising has left the public feeling wearisome of politics in general.

Yet Rep. Charlie Melancon, hoping to serve a second term in Washington, is standing his ground and is focused on the challenges still facing the people of south Louisiana.

“The list of things yet to be taken care of is a longer than the list of what has been done,” admitted Melancon, though his term hasn’t been unsuccessful by any means. Helping secure an energy and water bill that would authorize $1.3 billion aimed for coastal restoration remains on the table and finalization will be his first item of business.

Some $841 million of that is set aside for Morganza-to-the-Gulf. Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes, 2 of 13 parishes a part of the third district which stretches from the Iberia-St. Martin parish line to St. Bernard Parish, are waiting on the federal government to match funds in order to complete Morganza. A $30 million section in South Terrebonne is currently under way.

First things first, Melancon will have to secure his position by fending off State Sen. Craig Romero of New Iberia in order to proceed.

Because of the uncertain future facing District 3 parishes, Melancon’s focus will be on passing legislation to preserve coastal regions and ensure that citizens devastated by the 2005 hurricane season find their way back to normalcy. “WRDA” is only one component of a larger need. Melancon says that getting Louisiana’s fair share of oil and gas revenues is something Louisiana has needed for sometime, but it’s more critical now than ever.

“We need to reform laws that pertain to recovery after hurricanes so we can get things done a lot quicker with less red tape, to move things along,” he said.

Before his time in Washington, D.C., Melancon headed the South Central Planning and Development Commission in the 1970’s and helped assemble the beginnings of Port Fourchon and the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port – one of the nation’s top Gulf Coast oil hubs and a vital Louisiana resource. Its main artery, La. 1, becomes increasingly vulnerable each year without protection from flooding as it continues to sink.

Melancon also served the in Louisiana’s state legislature as a representative from 1987 until the time he left to head the American Sugar Cane League in 1993, serving as president and general manager for 11 years. Melancon left his mark with passing two pieces: Louisiana Workers Comp Corporation and the Louisiana’s tourism taxing districts.

“I understand the reluctance of the citizens to put up money,” said Melancon of the failed one-cent sales tax for levees in Terrebonne. Officials theorize voters were against the tax because federal funds have been promised. “Hopefully, we will get that done,” he said.

Coastal restoration is just one item on the “Washington, D.C., to-do list.” Other work that remains undone: Securing affordable healthcare for people who work, reinstating veterans benefits and passing higher education standards and providing continual funding for successful programs like the ‘No Child Left Behind’ Act, Melancon said.

“We need to work on the basics that we are neglecting when it comes to our schools. If we don’t educate our children, we will not have a prosperous country for long,” the senator said.

Offering a hands-on approach, Melancon says he will work for all people of America regardless of class, race or party – and that he’s willing to break party lines to do so.

The senator still resides in his hometown of Napoleonville, where he first began his entrepreneurial endeavors after graduating with an agri-business degree from the University of Southwestern Louisiana.

Of the current media campaigning, Melancon said, “I don’t like it and I never have. But I will not have my opponent run negative ads and make negative speeches throughout the district for the better part of the year and not respond to them. I will not be rolled over.”

With the risk negative ads might play on derailing his campaign, Melancon remains optimistic and is encouraged by the numbers, focusing on his plan for a better Louisiana.

“We are just looking forward to getting Nov. 7 and getting back to working fulltime for the people,” he said.

Andrea Carlson can be reached at (985) 876-3008 or andrea@tri-parishtimes.com.

Romero focuses on coastal protection, immigration

By JARED BAILEY

If elected next Tuesday to the state’s 3rd Congressional seat, State Sen. Craig Romero said there will be some pretty weighty issues he intends to help resolve.

Romero’s primary concern is coastal protection. “We are washing away at such a rapid rate,” he said. “We need a lot of money to start protecting ourselves in terms of where we live… if we don’t do that, nothing else really matters.”

Securing as much as Louisiana can through the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) revenue sharing deal is of great concern to Romero. He said the best thing to do is to work with the committee as well as convince others throughout the country of Louisiana’s need for more funding to protect the coast.

“Look what happened in the wake of the storms,” Romero said, alluding to hurricanes Katrina and Rita. “We put the whole county on their knees when we lost that $1.5 billion a day in oil production. The price of fuel went through the roof throughout the country.”

The Republican candidate believes that people started realizing for the first time the importance of Louisiana’s oil production. Twenty percent of the nations oil is produced on Louisiana’s coast, he said.

Romero expressed disappointment in current U.S. Rep Charlie Melancon when he failed to sign on to Congressman Bobby Jindal’s bill for royalty sharing in May. The incumbent hadn’t signed onto the Louisiana-generated legislation because he said he was working with a New England lawmaker on a similar bill. Romero called Melancon’s actions “divisive” and said they hindered the state’s delegation.

If elected Romero said, “The first thing I would do is join the team. I would be in sync with the rest of the delegation for the sake of the people in Louisiana.”

Were Louisiana to receive the OCS revenue royalties, the first thing Romero would do would be to “assess all of the projects that the Army Corps of Engineers has on the drawing board,” he said.

The Louisiana Legislature passed a resolution asking the Corps to look at the state’s coast from the Texas to Mississippi border to figure out where levee protection would be best installed, according to Romero.

“We need class 5 levees” he said, “and you can’t just build them anywhere.”

Romero believes the government should work actively with the Corps and that town hall meetings should be formed to ensure that the people of this state are informed on the issue of levee placement.

“We’ve had studies on top of studies until now,” Romero said. “I think we have had enough studies, we need to start building levees.”

The state legislator said that in the past he has fought to protect the Louisiana seafood industry, and even if elected to Congress he will continue along the same path.

“We have got to do something to protect our domestic seafood industry just like we do our oil and gas industry,” Romero said. “We have created all sorts of incentives for oil companies in terms of tax relief and royalty relief so that they can still create production in Louisiana and off the coast.”

Another issue that Romero plans to tackle if elected is the influx of illegal immigrants into Louisiana. According to Romero, there are between 11 and 12 million in illegal immigrants in Americas right now.

“I went to Wal-mart in New Iberia the other day and I thought I was in Mexico City,” he said. “It was about eight o’clock at night and if they didn’t have 150 Mexicans in there then they didn’t have a one. Everywhere I turned I said, ‘Jesus, it’s bigger than people would imagine’.”

Romero said he believes that our entire nation is at risk by letting people come into this country as freely as we do.

The District 3 Congressional race pits Orlangee Breech, a Laplace Democrat, James Lee Blake, a Franklin Libertarian, and the incumbent Charlie Melancon D-Napoleonville against Romero.

“I’m sure we all qualify for the job,” he said, “It’s just a matter of how effective we can be at doing it.”

A seasoned state senator, Romero said he has gained the knowledge and interpersonal skills that it takes to get the job done. “I’ve worked under three different governors – two Democrats and one Republican – and it has made no difference,” he said. “I’ve been successful in helping the Senate over the last 14 years with projects in our district.”

Romero said that politicians must learn to sell themselves to get the job done. And that’s what he’s been doing for the past 20 years in government, he said. “Selling myself.”

“It’s just a matter of working with people,” Romero said. “I know how to talk, when to talk, but most of all I know how to listen.”

The lawmaker acknowledges the negative turn that the campaign has taken on in recent weeks and said he doesn’t like it at all.

“I worry about the person doing that [negative campaigning],” Romero said. “When I go to church I will say a prayer for him. I know I won’t see him in church if he has got that type of mentality.”

Jared Bailey can be reached at (985) 876-3008 or jared@tri-parishtimes.com.

Face off in Dist. 3 heats up