Court of Appeals Election
It?s the Saturday before the election and the negative campaign is in full swing. I?ve received three pieces of mail from Barrie Byrnes? campaign and one from Roland Belsome?s (I think the disparity is because I?m a registered Republican, Democrats may not have received the same pieces I did). Let?s look at the Byrnes? pieces first.
The first piece is a double-size postcard. The front side is a blurry picture of a court house, I don?t think it is the Court of Appeals building, but I can?t confirm it. There is a small blurb reminding everyone to vote since they are expecting a very low turnout. Imposed over the building is text listing the names of Lynn Dean, Fmr. Cong. ?Lindy Boggs?, Fmr. Gov. Dave Treen, Fmr. Cong. Bob Livingston, Sen. Diana Bajoie, Sen. John Hainkel, and Peggy Wilson as supporters of Barrie Byrnes. She is also endorsed by SOUTHPAC, a political action arm of the
Louisiana Association of Business and Industry. The back side of the card is a letter from Lynn Dean urging everyone to vote for Mrs. Byrnes.
The second piece features the same front with the exception of the names endorsing Mrs. Byrnes. The back side lists all the names that were listed on the front side and includes a picture of each (Lynn Dean is the only one in black and white). The text is addressed to ?Republican Voter.? The text states that Mrs. Byrnes is also endorsed by New Orleans District Attorney Eddie Jordan.
As a plea to vote in this election, a statement is made in reference to the
American Tort Reform Associations 2003 Annual ?
Judicial Hellholes? report which lists New Orleans is the fifth worst in the nation and a repeat offender. The report is available on their web site and is an interesting read. Be sure to read the foot notes also.
* Note: The cover of the Judicial Hellholes report features the same Court House as Mrs. Byrnes ads.
The third piece is tabloid side folded over and is a series of six blurbs on the inside. Each blurb containing a statement about Judge Belsome.
- Belsome is support by L.I.F.E., the political organization headed by Marc Morial.
- Belsome has been reversed over 59% of the time by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.
- Belsome has stated in his commercial the too often arrests result in a jail sentence and time in jail. Belsome?s criminal experience has been as a criminal defense lawyer.
- Both the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals and the Louisiana Supreme Court found that Belsome committed ?misrepresentation.? He appeared drunk at his client?s home confessing that he ?did not know what he was doing? and later sued the client for more money.
- The Louisiana Ethics Commission fined Belsome $10,000 for violating Louisiana Campaign Finance Disclosure Law.
- Belsome refused to step down as the presiding judge in the lawsuit over Marc Morial?s attempt to run for a third term in New Orleans.
The one piece I received from Belsome?s campaign is a trifolded tabloid size flyer. The front piece attacks Byrnes on the fact that she has never served as a judge before.
The first page on the inside flap strikes against Byrnes stating he ?prosecutor? experience has been as a part time assistant New Orleans City Attorney who processed traffic tickets.
Belsome also tries to reverse the charge against him, stating that Byrnes got her job as a political favor from Mayor Morial ages ago.
Belsome continues the charges against Byrnes claiming her only legal experience consists of being a defendant in lawsuits filed against her.
He then quotes an article from the March 2, 2004 Times-Picayune which discusses a bankruptcy filing by Mrs. Byrnes and her late husband in 1993 regarding real estate properties they own.
Finally, he lists some of her other political supporters which have not received as much recognition as the others she?s listed in her campaign literature US Congressman William Jefferson and Sherman Copelin. He continues to try to reverse the Morial connection he has by restating she received her first appointment from Dutch Morial and was reappointed by Marc Morial.
The back side of the flyer refutes Mrs. Byrnes claim that he has been reversed frequently by the Court of Appeals, claiming the Appeals Court has written that no such records exist.
The flyer then lists his supporters as ?attorneys of our region, y rank and file police officers, prosecutors, the Alliance for Good Government, and the Times-Picayune? along with the Police Association of New Orleans.
I have to say, you look at these ads and you really don?t want to vote for either of them. You?d like to have an outsider you can vote for, but since we don?t have that opportunity, I will continue to support Mrs. Byrnes for the position.
One thing that does come to mind is how much to some of these endorsements help? After the parish elections we had last year, I don?t have any faith at all in the endorsements made by the Alliance for Good Government. Other than a logo, there is no information on who they are and how they decide who they are going to endorse. Searches on the Internet always turn up empty.
In my post from March 4, I mentioned the race for Republican State Central Committee, Sub-District 103B. In that race, incumbent Mike Bayham is running against three challengers. I urged everyone to vote for anyone but Mike Bayham due to his appearance of trying to be a career politician.
At this time, I?d like to narrow things down. If you are undecided in that race, please vote for Robert ?Bob? Schneida. He has been involved in the community through the Red Cross of St. Bernard and Our Lady of Prompt Succor Church. He is current working as an Information Technology Program manager at Lockheed Martin. A newcomer to the political scene, he has received the backing of Senator Walter Boasso.
Please remember to vote this Tuesday, March 9.
Be good to yourself,
Westley Annis
westley@da-parish.com
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posted by Westley at 3/06/2004 06:06:01 PM
