I actually wrote this yesterday, but am just now getting a chance to post it. I have one more article planned before Saturday, but due to time constraints I may not get to it.
In case that happens, I do want you to know that you can tune in the Government Access Channel, Channel 6 on Cox Cable, to get the latest poll results starting at 8:00 PM.
It won't be presented exactly in the format I was hoping for, but at least it will be presented. You can also get the results from the Parish web site.
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November 12, three days to the run-off election and the media blitz is on. Although most polls show a close election, usually within the margin of error, it does appear that Republican Bobby Jindal will defeat Democrat Kathleen Blanco. The general consensus among callers to the David Tyree Show on WWL 870 AM radio is that Blanco is running a losing campaign. Fearful of the poll numbers she has gone negative often and early, which has turned off most callers.
With no public polls to speak of, the race for Senate District 1 has been remarkably quiet after all the hoopla surrounding the primary election. The two candidates, Walter Boasso and Wayne Landry have both run clean, positive campaigns. They have both focused on their own qualifications and have made no mention of any shortcomings of their opponent.
I think this speaks volumes, not only about the integrity of these two gentlemen, but also of the lack of integrity of the third candidate that was running in the primary. Since the resounding defeat of Wayne Mumphrey, this campaign has been a refreshingly clean campaign.
The Senate race has been a stark contrast to perhaps the most important election in St. Bernard, that of Parish President. Businessman Scott Wolfe and current Councilman-at-Large East Henry "Junior" Rodriguez have been trading barbs with each since they both qualified for the run-off election.
The interesting aspect of this is the television commercials that both have run. Wolfe ran the first ad that featured him against a black backdrop speaking while the camera panned around him. Nicely done and elegant, it portrayed a favorable picture of him.
Wolfe followed that ad with a campy commercial featuring current State Senator Lynn Dean and St. Bernard Parish Sheriff Jack Stephens, two political rivals. In the commercial, the two gentlemen are seated opposite each other in a diner while Scott Wolfe is carving a turkey to serve to them. The two then begin to argue over who will get which piece of the turkey. Wolfe jumps in to solve the matter with Dean and Stephens agreeing that Wolfe is the best candidate for Parish President.
Although the ad was intended to portray Wolfe as someone that could bring warring factions together, the feedback I’ve received from it was not positive from anyone. Besides the campy aspect of it, most felt the ad made Dean and Stephens look silly. Even worse, they thought that Dean looked frail and in no physical state to hold another political office. At best, the ad will work for Wolfe. At worse, it will work against Dean in his campaign for Councilman-at-Large.
Junior Rodriguez has run three different ads himself. The first ad showed various snapshots of Junior over the years with him doing a voice over. The concept of the ad was well conceived, but Junior lacks the broadcast quality voice to make it work. The ad is pure Junior, but in today’s climate of slick media campaigns, it didn’t do him any favors, especially compared with the well-trained voice of Wolfe.
In the two other ads run by Junior, it is more snapshots, but it also has someone in front of the camera explaining why they are voting for Junior. These ads work a lot better since you can only see Junior and don’t actually hear him say anything.
The other parish-wide race is to fill the Council-at-Large East seat being vacated by Junior. The race is pitting State Senator Lynn Dean against Councilman Joe Gallodoro. This race has not seen the same heat that the Parish President’s race has, but it does have its own interesting facts.
Dean is running on his record as past Parish President for four years and state Senator for eight years. Gallodoro is challenging that record, saying Dean has not been an effective representative for St. Bernard Parish and will be virtually ignored by the rest of the council if elected to the at-large seat. What makes the race so interesting, is the ties back to the Parish President race.
Dean was Parish President the same time that Scott Wolfe was on the Parish Council. During that tenure, the two were political enemies, with Wolfe running negative ads about Dean even after he was no longed on the council. Today, they are the best of political friends.
Sheriff Jack Stephens has never hid the fact that he does not like Lynn Dean politically and has always worked against Dean and his company, Elevated Boats, Inc. The latest round was several weeks back, before the commercial was filmed, when Stephens attempted to have Dean’s 911 Emergency Service transferred to Plaquemines Parish. Stephens has always contended that Dean’s residence is in Plaquemines Parish and not St. Bernard Parish as Dean contends. Adding further fuel to the fire, Stephens announced his endorsement of Joe Gallodoro last week.
Be good to yourself,
Westley Annis
westley@da-parish.com
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posted by Westley at 11/13/2003 12:53:01 PM
