2019 Louisiana Democratic Socialist Voting Guide

State Senate District 1

St. Tammany, Orleans, Plaquemines

4-year term, limited to 3 terms

Sharon W. Hewitt (R) is running unopposed for reelection, so for now, the people of Senate District 1 are stuck with the 2018 ALEC National Legislator of the Year. This honor bestowed by the corporate legislation factory destroying American democracy places her in the company of other notable ALEC members such as un-baggaged David Duke (Steve Scalise), horsebite story-maker-upper Mike Pence, Iowa white supremacist and Nazi-admirer Steve King, and John Bel Edwards. She cosponsored SB184, the bill criminalizing abortions after 6 weeks, and has voted for every abortion restriction. Hewitt has endorsements from conservative lobbies LOGA (oil and gas), LABI (business and industry), LCA (chemical industry), and LMOGA (more oil and gas). She voted against restoring voting rights to people convicted of felonies who have served all of their time, and she voted against prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

Hewitt considered running for governor this cycle but left it open for the future. Her lone bright spot has been aiding the Louisiana opposition against the One Lake project in Jackson, MS, which would dam the Pearl River and cut off valuable freshwater flow to our coast. But it’s always easier to fight a project when none of your donors or constituents have a financial stake in its outcome. Anyway, since she’s unopposed this time, nobody has to actually vote for her. And nobody should.

State Senate District 3

New Orleans East and the West Bank

4-year term, limited to 3 terms

John Bagneris (D) was representing District 100 in New Orleans East but wasn’t term-limited when he decided to run for Senate. He’s connected to the Charbonnet political and funeral home dynasty. Bagneris has voted to abolish the death penalty but drew boos from the Step Up candidate forum crowd for not refusing to take money from charter school champion Leslie Jacobs. He has been taking in big money from a wide range of donors such as Republican donor Lane Grigsby and PACs representing student financial aid administrators, river boat captains, and lobbying firms.

“Doc” Joe Bouie (D), a retired college professor and administrator, currently represents District 97 in the House. He has a long list of endorsements from the likes of Cedric Richmond, organized labor, and Step Up Louisiana. He serves on eight committees in the Legislature and reliably introduces some of the more progressive legislation, such as equal pay for women and mandatory air pollution monitors for chemical facilities just this year.

Brandon Gregoire (D) is a retired Marine officer who has been endorsed by Democrats for Education Reform, a pro-charter group. Gregoire worked for former Missouri Senator and current centrist MSNBC blowhard Claire McCaskill. Most of his modest fundraising has come from out-of-state donors.

“Kay” Doody (R) is a career teacher with 34 years experience. She hasn’t done much fundraising and this is her first time as a candidate.

State Senate District 5

Uptown, 7th Ward, Mid-City, CBD

4-year term, limited to 3 terms

The incumbent is political heavyweight and Louisiana Democratic Party Chair Karen Carter Peterson (D). Peterson has held the position since 2010, and before that had been the State Representative for District 93 since 1999. Senator Peterson was an early proponent of expanding Medicaid via the Affordable Care Act, supports criminal justice reform including easing marijuana restrictions, raising the minimum wage to a “living wage,” automatic voter registration, and generally sticks to the Democratic Party line. She is also quite cozy with charter schools. Her brother-in-law, D’Juan Hernandez, served as CEO for troubled charter Milestone Academy for less than a year, during which he managed to rack up $13,000 of unauthorized expenses on a school credit card, and she received an Inspire Charter Schools award in 2016. For the 2019 campaign, Peterson is promoting a larger investment in mental health services.

Peterson is the sixth-highest ranking member of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and was recently pressured by the New Orleans chapter of the Sunrise Movement and our endorsed candidate Marguerite Green to support a climate debate in the Democratic primary for president. Peterson signaled her approval of the idea on Twitter and at that point was the highest ranking member of the DNC to support a climate debate. Ultimately we didn’t get to see if she’d follow through and break with DNC leadership when it was time to vote because she left the DNC meeting early to attend former Gov. Kathleen Blanco’s funeral.

The only challenger on the ballot, Allen Borne Jr. (D), was nearly disqualified due to a paperwork error, but was reinstated as a candidate by the state supreme court after the district and circuit courts ruled against him. The district court judge who wrote the 5-4 majority opinion against Borne is a close political ally of Peterson’s, raising some ethical questions regarding the common Louisiana practice of eliminating candidates outside the political establishment over trivial things like a signature dispute.

Borne is a personal injury lawyer and longtime member of the Orleans Parish Democratic Executive Committee. His campaign is promoting a larger investment in infrastructure (fixing roads and drainage in particular), and issuing low-blow attacks on Peterson based on her admitted gambling addiction. While it would be great to vote for a candidate who is not in bed with the destructive charter school industry that further segregates our “public” education, Borne’s positions do not seem to be more progressive than Peterson’s.

State Senate District 7

West Bank

4-year term, limited to 3 terms

Troy Carter (D) is running unopposed for his second term. Carter has an extensive record in politics including terms as City Councilmember and State Representative. He ran for Mayor Of New Orleans in 2002 and lost.

Carter has expressed strong support for Medicare for All, equal pay, abortion rights, and some increased social services (like housing and welfare). However, he also has expressed support for welfare work requirements, the charter/voucher school system, restrictions on immigration, and making English an “official language.” His record on criminal justice reform is mixed; he supported unanimous juries and voting rights for felons as well as more educational/training programs in prison, but is against decriminalizing small amounts of marijuana and against reducing sentences for nonviolent drug crimes. He is also cozy with the NOPD, supports Joe Biden for President, and has a troubling environmental voting record.

State Representative District 91

Irish Channel to Central City to Carrollton

4-year term, limited to 3 terms

District 91 was previously occupied by Walt Leger III, who was termed out.

Carling Dinkler IV (D) has spent his professional life in “government relations” for Oschner and historic preservation groups. This is political speak for “healthcare lobbyist” and “advocate for tax breaks for rich people.” Dinkler IV is endorsed by the oil and gas industry and previously donated to arch-conservative David Vitter’s 2015 gubernatorial campaign. Dinkler IV is the scion of an old family of hoteliers renowned for observing "accepted business practices" with regard to racial segregation right up until the US Attorney General pressured them to stop during the 1960s. Carling is the son of Carling Dinkler III, a hospitality baron who helped make New Orleans a convention and tourism destination in the 1970s. During Moon Landrieu’s time as mayor, Carling Dinkler III was among the founders of the New Orleans Convention and Visitors' Bureau (recently rebranded "New Orleans and Company”).

Pepper Bowen Roussel (D) is the only candidate outside of Marguerite Green who asked DSA if she could address our chapter, and you can read an interview with her on our website at dsaneworleans.org. Pepper is the Founding Director of Culinaria Center for Food Law, Policy, and Culture and sits on a number of boards connected to justice, food, and the arts. Her work involves environmental advocacy and cultural preservation in a time when both are badly needed. She has written for Paper Monuments and the Southern Food and Beverage Museum about food and history in New Orleans. She is endorsed by the Erase the Board coalition, an educational advocacy group fighting charter schools in Louisiana.

Pepper got her political start clerking for former New Orleans Councilmember Stacy Head. She is raising the issue of the 2020 redistricting and how the process will affect voting rights and the allocation of federal funds for infrastructure projects. She is in favor of marijuana legalization but wants to make sure black and brown people who have suffered from mass incarceration and the drug war are the first to benefit. Pepper wants to work to increase voter turnout and is in favor of allowing municipalities to set their own minimum wage.

Robert McKnight (D) is a passionate advocate for criminal justice reform. He told at least one audience this year that, "there's no reason a court should be funded on the backs of poor people," referring to the gratuitous use of fines and fees to fund court operations and indigent defense. McKnight responded to our candidate survey indicating he supports the right of all Louisianans to vote regardless of a criminal conviction, the elimination of money bail for the entire state and a “ban the box” policy preventing employers from asking about prior conviction on a job application. McKnight adds, “Since 1 in 4 adults in the U.S. has a conviction history, the impact of this discrimination is widespread and affects other aspects of life in addition to employment opportunity.”

He has experience with political clerkships in state legislatures and in D.C. but has served the past two years with the famously overworked Orleans Public Defenders office. McKnight is also active in several political advocacy and legal societies. McKnight has the backing of Step Up Louisiana and U.S. Rep Cedric Richmond.

Mandie Landry (D) is an attorney who has represented Lift Louisiana in abortion cases and is framing her campaign around women’s rights. She came out of Emerge Louisiana, a liberal group dedicated to getting more women to run for office. At the Step Up forum, she sounded unsure about the possibility of passing a $15 minimum wage though she does agree the minimum wage needs to be raised. She also wouldn't fully commit to repealing Act 91, the law that empowers the charter school experiment in New Orleans. We consider the repeal of Act 91 an essential step toward strengthening the bargaining power of teachers. Landry highlighted her support for organized labor and is endorsed by the Greater New Orleans AFL-CIO, even if her professed ideals and positions didn’t appear to match up the way we would like. On the other hand, Uptown Messenger quotes her as having expressed support for “rent control” which we would like to hear more about. It isn’t mentioned elsewhere in her campaign materials. During a forum at the First Unitarian Universalist Church, Landry was quoted as saying, "I never thought I would know so much but also know so little about charter schools before this year" which suggests to us she has at least been listening.

State Representative District 94

Lakeview, City Park, Bucktown, Causeway Boulevard

4-year term, limited to 3 terms

Incumbent Stephanie Hilferty (R) made headlines in the most recent session as one of the only legislators to give birth during the session in Louisiana history. Hilferty has been labeled by the media as a fairly moderate Republican: she has a 100% anti-abortion record and many of her donations have come from real estate, housing construction, and the oil and gas industry. Hilferty was considered the committee swing vote on an important Industrial Tax Exemption Program bill earlier this year and sided with industry interests.

Tammy Savoie (D) unsuccessfully challenged Steve Scalise for the Louisiana Congressional District 1 seat in 2018. She’s been talking about climate change, infrastructure, and protecting reproductive rights and bodily autonomy. She’s also talked about forming an independent commission to address gerrymandering in Louisiana by creating fair state and federal legislative districts. Savoie has also picked up on some of the Step Up Louisiana demands for economic justice, although her language is a little more watered down. She supports local control over the minimum wage and pay transparency, and while her website mentions a livable wage and pay equity, it does not define “livable.” Her positions have earned her endorsements from Indivisible in New Orleans and Metairie, AFL-CIO, State Senator Karen Carter Peterson, and former New Orleans City Councilmember Susan Guidry.

Savoie is retired from the military and shamefully went to Texas to do “volunteer” border patrol work. Her platform also includes the incredibly vague “Spotlight on crime prevention and safety,” and she wants to “protect residential areas from encroachment,” which is troubling.

Challenging Hilferty from the right is Kirk Williamson (R), a residential developer from Lakeview who got a little too excited about an offhand “endorsement” from President Trump in May 2019. He’s gotten plenty of money from real estate and developers. He’s also running on a platform of school choice and charter schools. He’s one of the very few candidates on the left or right to explicitly campaign against the Medicaid expansion, citing it as waste and abuse of taxpayer money. As far as we can tell, Saudia Marcha Broyard (No Party) isn’t really campaigning for this race.

State Representative District 97

Gentilly, Pontchartrain Park, parts of Mid-City

4-year term, limited to 3 terms

This is an open seat vacated by Rep. Joe Bouie who is running for State Senate this year.

Ethan Ashley (D) is currently an Orleans Parish School Board (OPSB) member elected in 2016. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Ashley presents himself as something of a whiz kid, boasting of having graduated high school at age 16 and earned his juris doctorate by 22. His resume runs long with lists of clubs, charities and civic associations including the Boy Scouts of America.

The problem here is Ashley is part of the pro-charter movement that currently runs things at OPSB. He has publicly opposed repealing Act 91, the charter-school-enabling legislation that limits the school board’s role. Among his largest campaign donors this year are pro-charter activists and profiteers Leslie Jacobs and Stephen Rosenthal. Ashley received loud, widespread, and well-deserved jeers for not swearing off donations from Jacobs at the Step Up candidate forum.

Eugene Green (D) has been in and around local government and politics for decades, having served on the Industrial Development Board, the City Planning Commission, and the Levee Board among various other appointments. He was also former Congressman Bill Jefferson’s Chief of Staff. His campaign message focuses mainly on his experience and qualifications. His agenda includes increased infrastructure funding and a proposed cap on property tax assessments. He also says the Orleans Parish School Board should be required to operate schools “that have for many years failed,” which is not the full commitment to abolishing charter schools we would prefer to see. Green has endorsements from former City Councilmembers James Gray and Nadine Ramsey. All of the above information has led his opponents to charge that he is running as part of a political “machine.” While the bulk of his donations have come from small donors and a small handful of churches and local banks, Cedric Richmond has now endorsed Green.

Matthew Willard (D) hails from a well known political family. His uncle Ben is a Criminal Court judge and his aunt Cynthia was a New Orleans City Councilmember. He is the grandson of former educator and school board member Elliot “Doc” Willard. His campaign finance report shows his largest contributions come from various family members. Willard’s platform is relatively social justice-forward but moderate. He proposes to end money bail, but only for nonviolent offenses. He wants the state to set a minimum “living wage,” but he puts that off to 2025 in order to “allow small businesses adequate time to prepare.” He says on his website he wants to see “more police walking and biking through neighborhoods.” which isn’t so great.

Durrell Laurent (D) is an insurance broker and President of the Einstein Charter School Board. Einstein was cited in June by the school board for failing to administer the social studies portion of the LEAP standardized test to students this spring, and has previously been cited for failing to abide by the school board’s admissions process. Einstein has also been involved in a dispute with the district and parents over transportation issues. So it’s been rough going for Laurent at Einstein in recent years. He previously ran for school board in 2012 and lost.

The major difference in this race is two of the candidates are downright unacceptable with regard to education policy (Ashley and Laurent), while the other two are slightly less bad. Willard and Green each have favorable recommendations from AFL-CIO. Willard has been endorsed by Step Up Louisiana.

State Representative District 98

Uptown & Riverbend

4-year term, limited to 3 terms

This is an open seat being vacated by term-limited State Rep. Neil Abramson (D) who played a central role in brokering the Republican takeover of control in the House in exchange for a chairmanship of the Ways and Means Committee. That might have made a different sort of person a key player in the ensuing years of chaotic budgetary battles, but Abramson generally chose not to exercise whatever power he might have had. Neil was master of a kind of politics of avoidance. Rarely taking an identifiable public position on any high profile matter, he was more interested in writing obscure and specific tax breaks into the state law. He managed to be absent for 15 of the first 17 votes taken on abortion bills during this term. He even appeared to have gone AWOL during one critical budget vote, leading State Senator Dan Claitor to spend an afternoon on Twitter pretending to search the capitol grounds for him.

Abramson had a knack for double talk and plausible denial, frequently pointing out to critics the alternate “good” versions of bills he supported instead of the “bad” ones he voted against or the bills he voted for before he voted against them or the bills he voted for in the full knowledge that they would never become law anyway. Outgoing State Senator JP Morrell once called Abramson “the person I trust the least in the legislature.” District 98 voters are hoping to do a little bit better than that this time around.

Aimee Adatto Freeman (D) is likely the most Abramson-esque candidate in the field. She is an independent business consultant who is associated with the usual circle of upper crust New Orleans charitable nonprofits and political clubs including the Arts Council, Women Of The Storm, the Bureau of Governmental Research and a police booster organization known as the New Orleans Police and Justice Foundation (NOPJF). Among the projects NOPJF highlights on its website is an effort to install 4,000 private security cameras as well as an initiative to make the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) “more efficient and effective by providing real time data and cutting edge crime analysis software” all of which sounds pretty ominous to us. NOPD has already come under repeated scrutiny for its use of intrusive surveillance and so-called “predictive policing” techniques. Freeman’s campaign website tells us she is calling for “Coordinated, effective, and efficient use of the latest technology in criminal investigation” as part of her “Public Safety and Criminal Justice Reform” platform.

Freeman is an adjunct professor at the Tulane business school which happens to be named for A.B. Freeman. And, yes, as it turns out, she is indeed married into that Freeman family which makes her an heir to at least part of a sizeable Coca-Cola bottling fortune. Among Freeman’s financial contributors are real estate developer Sean Cummings, charter school activist Leslie Jacobs, and Mardi Gras float empire heir Barry Kern. Among her public supporters is former New Orleans City Councilmember Stacy Head.

Interestingly, Carlos Zervigon (D) descends from a different branch of the same Freeman family. He is Aimee’s husband’s cousin. His grandparents, Charles and Rosa Keller were two of the city’s most famous patrician philanthropists. Rosa is remembered for working to desegregate the city’s libraries and public facilities while Charles’ development of the Pontchartrain Park neighborhood reinforced segregationist land use patterns in mid-century suburban housing. So Zervigon is heir to a legacy of liberal capitalist contradictions. His platform endorses many standard progressive causes such as equal pay for equal work, a “living wage,” LGBTQ rights, and marijuana legalization. Among his financers and backers are former mayor Moon Landrieu, Senator Mary Landrieu, and former City Councilmember Susan Guidry.

Kea Sherman (D) is a small business lawyer who, along with her husband, owns the trendy Freret Street craft cocktail bar Cure. Her campaign website doesn’t have an issues section. Instead visitors are required to sift through a diary of weekly “messages” in order to get a sense of the candidate’s priorities. From those we gather Sherman cares about early childhood education, tourism, equal pay, and “working across the aisle in order to get things accomplished.” Even her post about climate change stresses the need for “bipartisan” solutions. In any case, Sherman has some heavy hitters from among “both sides” of the political establishment on her team. She has obtained support or endorsements from former school board member Seth Bloom, current City Councilmembers Jared Brossett and Jason Williams, State Senator Troy Carter, Republican megadonor Boysie Bollinger, restaurateur Donald Link and U.S. Rep. Cedric Richmond.

At a campaign fundraising event this spring she talked about her desire for an “incremental small” increase in the minimum wage while supporting historic tax credits and other subsidies for real estate development. She also says we need to “do a better job of attracting a middle class to New Orleans” which sounds exactly like something someone whose family business is a symbol of post-Katrina gentrification might say.

Evan J. Bergeron (D) is an adjunct constitutional law professor at Loyola University. If elected, he would become the first openly LGBTQ person elected to the Louisiana Legislature in history. His legal background and prior experience as a legislative aide suggest he would have little trouble adjusting to the job. Some of Bergeron’s answers to our candidate survey were also encouraging. He indicated support for single payer health care, a $15 minimum wage, and the “Green New Deal” resolution. On the other hand, Bergeron disagrees with our push for publicly owned utilities and writes that, “the charter school system may be (somewhat) working for New Orleans.” The most notable name we found among his financial supporters was former Municipal Court Judge Desiree Charbonnet.

Marion “Penny” Freistadt (D) is running as the environmental candidate focused on climate change. Freistadt is a retired microbiologist and teacher who is active in 350 New Orleans, a climate activist organization. She has marched against environmental racism in Cancer Alley and Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court confirmation, while also advocating for abortion rights. She doesn’t have a website or a campaign infrastructure to speak of, but she did fill out our candidate questionnaire.

Though we agree on much, Freistadt told us in response to our questionnaire she is opposed to providing free school lunch for all children, suggesting instead a means-tested eligibility threshold. But proof-of-income requirements for programs that should be universal end up placing a heavy burden on families to prove that they are poor. Participation is lower in means-tested school meal programs, and the costs of administration can make them more expensive than just providing lunch to everyone.

Basic necessities like food and medicine are human rights, and the proper way to provide these benefits is for all to share in their provision. If a child is hungry, then give them lunch. If the child is wealthy, then their family should pay its fair share to the school via higher taxes. Means-tested programs are a scourge of Clinton-era liberal politics and need to be tossed into the dustbin of history.

Max Hayden Chiz (D) filled out our questionnaire, and we also heard from him in person at the Step Up forum. He talks about “innovation” and “bold new policy” but according to his answers to our survey, we might describe him as a pragmatic Democrat in an Andrew Yang wrapper. Chiz tells us he favors school vouchers, opposes a $15/hr minimum wage for “strategic” purposes, opposes publicly owned utilities, and opposes measures that would make it easier for unions to organize.

Chiz’s campaign Facebook page features banner images of people fencing and the slogan, “I’d rather be fencing...but I’m fighting for you.” He is apparently a professional, internationally licensed fencer and fencing referee. His self-written biography on his Ballotpedia page lists his prior experience as a self-employed statistical researcher and working for Dixie Tobacco and Candy Co. His biography also lists his involvement in a lengthy list of student honor societies and fraternities.

Ravi Sangisetty (D) is a prominent Uptown civil litigation lawyer (the type that advertises on NPR) who previously lost a U.S. Congressional election to Jeff Landry in 2010. From our interactions at the Step Up forum and our candidate questionnaire, Sangisetty is saying all the right things even if his actions sometimes indicate different priorities.

Though Sangisetty mentions environmental justice as a top concern on his website, he serves on the commission of the Audubon Institute, a green-washing nonprofit funded by oil and gas and by public money via a dedicated Orleans Parish property tax millage that converts that public investment into private profit through the tourism assets it controls. His website promises to address poor health outcomes for black women, but he’s an adviser for the redevelopment project at Charity Hospital which is in the process of turning the shuttered public health facility into boutique retail space and short term rental apartments. Sangisetty’s website mentions a slew of leftist priorities such as bail reform, abortion access, and equal pay for equal work. But he said at a candidate forum he was not overly partisan and could work with Republicans behind the scenes to have the broadest impact. In sum, Sangisetty can talk a good game, but we’d be more comfortable if we saw more evidence that his words translate into action.

State Representative District 99

Ninth Ward, Bywater, St. Roch, parts of New Orleans East

4-year term, limited to 3 terms

This suddenly became an open seat when incumbent Jimmy Harris unexpectedly decided to run for State Senate instead. Three candidates are running to represent House District 99, and it will be the first elected office for whoever wins.

Jameel Shaheer (D) is a former firefighter and current owner of Mr. Uniform, LLC and Lagniappe 7 Property Management. Shaheer has been an accountant, auditor, teacher at Booker T. Washington, and a financial services specialist in the Air Force. His expressed priorities are a $15 minimum wage, funding TOPS, Lower 9th Ward infrastructure funding, jobs for youth, more police, and more early childhood education.

Candace Newell (D) is the manager of board relations at the Sewage and Water Board, with previous experience as a financial analyst for the City Health Department. She was a legislative assistant to State Senator Wesley Bishop, performed intake interviews at Juvenile Court, and interned for Magistrate Judge Harry Cantrell at Criminal District Court while she attended Southern University Law Center. Newell is Councilmember Jay Banks’s niece and has the support of his Central City-based BOLD coalition even though her district is centered in the Lower Ninth Ward.

In our candidate questionnaire, both Shaheer and Newell got perfect scores. Although Shaheer unequivocally supports decriminalizing sex work and eliminating money bail, Newell told us with regard to sex work, “while I do not condone the work, it is not going away,” and said she’d also keep money bail for innocent people accused of felonies and those offenses the legislature deems violent (a throwback to her Harry Cantrell days).

Adonis C. Exposé (D) is endorsed by the Louisiana Chemical Association, a lobbying group responsible for perpetuating environmental racism and spreading the myth that Cancer Alley isn’t real. This is troubling considering that Gordon Plaza, the site of one of New Orleans’ most egregious acts of environmental racism, sits in District 99. Almost all of Exposé’s contributions have come from industry groups like the Louisiana Manufacturers PAC, Entergy, and Harris, Deville & Associates, the Louisiana chemical industry’s most odious hatchetmen. Exposé is backed by U.S. Rep Cedric Richmond. As a recipient of more than $125,000 from the chemical industry over his own career, it’s logical to conclude that Cedric has been helping direct their support to Exposé’s campaign.

Exposé actually does have a prior elected office: King Zulu 2017. Councilmember Banks was also King Zulu in 2016, and Newell’s father is former Zulu Big Shot Bunny Newell, so this race has been billed as a “Battle Of The Kings” by some. Exposé did not respond to our questionnaire. He has worked for Capital Access Project, Inc., a nonprofit that helps disadvantaged businesses land public contracts, and TransDev, the private company that manages all Regional Transit Authority daily operations. He did two prior stints at the Housing Authority of New Orleans during the period right after Katrina when the “Big Four” public housing developments were permanently removed. He told the Advocate his experience in government means he knows whom to talk to in order “to get answers and get things done." Exposé is also the CEO of Funkshuns, an event management LLC.

At the Step Up Candidate Forum, Exposé told us in a side conversation that he was in favor of more affordable housing in the city, but not “the bad kind” like Section 8. When we told him we thought government-supported housing was a good thing that needed to be improved and expanded, he quickly reassured us that he agreed.

State Representative District 100

New Orleans East

4-year term, limited to 3 terms

Louisiana House District 100's incumbent state representative is John Bagneris, who is running for state senate and leaving the seat up for grabs. There are two Democrats running for the position: Anthony Jackson Jr. (D), a 22-year-old criminal justice major at Southeastern Louisiana University, calls himself “the young man with the plan.” Jackson's priorities for his district are encouraging large employers to set up shop in the district through promotional and educational efforts and offering new job training and apprenticeship programs.

Jason Hughes (D) says his priorities are the state budget, education, economic development, healthcare, and criminal justice. Hughes previously worked on legislative policy in the offices of Senator Mary Landrieu and Governor Kathleen Blanco. Until recently, he was vice chairman of the City Planning Commission, where he voted to recommend stricter rules for short term rentals. Hughes has endorsements from the New Orleans Coalition and the AFL-CIO.