Sangisetty talks local issues with Tri-parish officials

Ravi Sangisetty walked across the creaking hardwood floor on the second story of Franklin’s renovated town hall and shook the hand of Mayor Raymond Harris Jr. He introduced himself and the two men sat at a six-seat wooden table in the mayor’s office to discuss Sangisetty’s congressional candidacy.

Sangisetty’s crunch-time campaign itinerary had him in Franklin Oct. 21, 12 days before the mid-term elections. The Houma native will appear on the ballot opposite Republican Jeff Landry as the Democratic candidate for the 3rd district seat incumbent Charlie Melancon vacated when he announced his campaign for the U.S. Senate.

Harris told Sangisetty of his plans to enhance economic development in the area, a conversation that hinged on two focal points: revamp the town’s infrastructure and attract businesses.

Life in small-towns across South Louisiana is appealing in many ways, whether it is the proximity to the open Gulf of Mexico or the laid-back, slow-moving atmosphere, but a town needs to have reliable roads to sell prospective businesses on the area, Harris said.

Sangisetty believes Franklin can grow economically if it is given the chance, but he understands that it will take considerable time or federal funds. The mayor said the town needs $2 million to $4 million to complete the street repairs.

“[Economic development] is something I definitely want to see happen,” Sangisetty told the mayor. “We have a lot of natural advantages in South Louisiana.”

The mark of a good politician, depending on perspective, is the ability to tell people what they want to hear. Frequently, senators and congressmen dismiss their platform once they enter office and begin to push their own agendas while they keep their seats, knowing that incumbents have advantages in campaign funding, name recognition and voter apathy. Get in and stay in.

It’s tough to say whether or not it is purely political, but Sangisetty maintains a genuine personality on the campaign trail. The story he tells of how his political aspirations came to light does little to harm this perception.

Sangisetty graduated Vandebilt Catholic High School, and then went on to Princeton University before getting his law degree at LSU. He wasn’t exactly sure as to what he wanted to make of his career, but he knew that he had no interest in politics.

Then he started work for U.S. District Judge Stanwood Duval in New Orleans, who he called his mentor and phoned for support when debating whether or not to run.

“I worked at the federal level post-Katrina when we dealt with some of the major litigation and major issues that came up after the storm,” Sangisetty said. “We dealt with FEMA, the Stafford Act, flood insurance, the Army Corps of Engineers. We did health care issues, federal criminal law. We did a whole slate of things that gives me the confidence to say I have the aptitude for this job.”

After the first-hand experience of dealing with Louisiana issues, Sangisetty’s eyes were opened to the problems plaguing the people and the lack of help they received from the federal government.

He campaigned for Senator Hillary Clinton’s run at U.S. presidency throughout the state in 2008.

His previously apathetic nature toward politics is evident in his voting history – until he entered his name into the Congressional race, he didn’t have one. It’s a substantial blemish on his otherwise clean record. The GOP released a statement speculating that he can’t be counted on to voice his opinion in Congress if he didn’t do it in a private booth.

“I felt like my voice didn’t matter, but now I realize I was wrong and I’ve jumped in with both feet and put myself at financial risk to try to make a difference,” Sangisetty said. “It was a mistake to think like that, but I realize that, and I’m here now.”

Another quality that may hamper Sangisetty’s chance to land a seat in Washington, D.C., is his party affiliation. The Democratic Party has come under fire recently, with the announcement that the Bush Tax Cuts will not be renewed and anger stemming from the new health care bill.

Sangisetty will be listed on Tuesday’s ballot as a Democrat, but he says he has conservative principles such as his pro-life, pro-gun and social conservatism beliefs.

“Fiscal responsibility, issues like that. I’m for limited government,” Sangisetty said. “I believe that’s what the Constitution stands for – limited government. I certainly believe in free markets and capitalism, but I do understand that markets can fail sometimes when people cheat the system. Some of the things they did on Wall Street, I think are corrupt.

“But I also believe in our obligation to help those that we owe, like our soldiers and veterans and senior citizens.”

He says he was driven to run for Congress because he realizes Washington is broken. He says D.C. is upside-down, with Wall Street getting bailed out while institutions of higher education are dealt budget cuts.

“We live in a district where there are real needs,” he said. “St. Bernard Parish doesn’t even have a hospital. Chabert Medical Center in Terrebonne is on the chopping block. Nicholls State University has got a 38 percent budget cut. Fletcher Technical Community College in Terrebonne is getting significant cuts as well.

“We are not in a rich district where we can live at this 10,000-foot level and postulate about whatever is going on in the world. We live in a working-class area where there are real problems, and the federal government needs to have some participation in addressing those problems, especially with regard to the coast and this BP oil spill and lack of adequate hurricane protection.”

Local issues are his concerns, Sangisetty maintains, and that is one of the traits that differentiates him from his opponent.

“If you ask [Landry] about the BP oil spill, he’ll go into issues like deep-water drilling versus shallow-water drilling,” Sangisetty said. “What about the spill? What about the fact that fishermen are out of work and that we have this ecosystem that we don’t know what the future is going to hold for it? What about those businesses all along the coast that have been affected in a negative way?

“He doesn’t want to talk about that because he still wants to talk about the Republican Party and how he’s a rubber stamp for the Republican Party and how much he hates the president. That’s what his message is: I’m a Republican. That’s it.”

Sangisetty said his first priority is to make sure the rigs are safe to resume drilling operations in the Gulf of Mexico, and his first legislative priority will be to construct a new G.I. Bill.

Mayor Harris said he appreciated the visit and told Sangisetty his interpersonal skills compared favorably to his opponent’s. He told of an instance when he and Landry were at the same function, and both were announced to the crowd. Instead of reaching out to the small-town leader, Landry never spoke to Harris.

“I’ll tell you straight up,” Harris told Sangisetty. “I don’t know Landry. You’ve got my vote. I’ll tell my friends and family to vote. I’ve seen Landry at two functions and haven’t had any contact. You came by my office, and that goes a long way.”

Community development at the mayor’s office was the third conversation at the third location Sangisetty undertook in Franklin Thursday.

At 9 a.m., the congressional candidate arrived to the Teche Action Clinic, shook hands with and handed out literature to about 20 people in the waiting area before he made his way to Dr. Gary Wiltz’s office.

On the agenda: campaign strategy and a discussion on charity hospitals with Dr. Wiltz and St. Mary Parish Councilman Craig Mathews.

They agreed on local health care for the underprivileged, and it’s deployment. Dr. Wiltz disparaged the LSU/VA hospital being constructed in New Orleans. He said it’s too expensive, and the charity hospital system needs to be a network of smaller, specialized locations to better serve its patients.

Sangisetty agreed.

Mathews led the convoy to the St. Mary Community Action Center. Sangisetty toured the facility, which holds classrooms for 120 students before sitting down to speak with Franklin councilman Eugene Foulcard.

Again, Sangisetty struck common ground with the officials at a small-town community assistance office.

“I’m working for the little guy,” Sangisetty told Foulcard. “My family came to the United States as the little guy and achieved the American Dream. We need to make sure everyone has that opportunity.”

The first two stops on his schedule showed why Sangisetty is running as a Democrat – he believes in helping the underprivileged. Since he began his campaign, he’s toured small towns in District 3, making friends with local officials, who will in turn assist in his campaign.

“I think it’s a high probability that he can pull the votes that he needs in this area,” Mathews said. “I can’t speak for the entire St. Mary Parish, but I believe he has the qualities and personal characteristics that we are looking for in terms of a Congressional candidate.”

Sangisetty believes he has a chance to pull off the upset with the help of these small communities and the furthered popularity he has gained from television advertisements. As long as people show up to the polls.

“We’ve been on TV now for some time, and my name recognition has gone significantly higher. It’s going to be close. It’s going to be all about turnout coming to the end of it. We’re working hard on that as well. It’s not a secret, you know, you just have to work really, really hard. You just get out there and you can’t take any vote for granted.”