My name is Gilda Reed. I am a life-long resident of Louisiana’s Katrina-burdened First District and a Democratic candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives. I am determined to make a positive difference in the lives of my people.
Representatives are NOT supposed to bend over backwards for big businesses allowing their interests to take precedence over the welfare of the rest of us. Representatives ARE supposed to fight tooth and nail for their constituents like I have done for years for my children and my community. Beat on doors when your people are hurting! Leave no stone unturned when your people need you! Be a thorn in the side of those on Capitol Hill until the plight of your people is reconciled!
Where have you been, Bobby Jindal, and why have you not delivered? You obviously do not want this seat. Do you owe big insurance, oil and pharmaceutical contributors so much that you must tread lightly? Why did Mississippi get more funds for fewer victims and less extensive damage? Is it true, as 1 of your gubernatorial opponents has stated, that you have accepted a donation from ICF, the very corporation in charge of distributing Road Home funds? ICF received its profit off the top. Where are the remaining funds physically located so that they can be distributed to whom they were meant to serve? What is the delay? Who gets the interest accruing? So many questions, Mr. Jindal—why have you not attempted to get the answers? District 01 does not have a representative while you are campaigning for governor. Yet, our district is better served when you are not in Washington to cast your consistent Bush puppet votes.
To complaining constituents unhappy with the Iraq War, like myself, you send letters citing the hard work of the U.S. House in passing H.R. 63, failing to note that you voted AGAINST it and thus FOR the war. How dumb do you think we are? And you voted against allowing our military to stay home for the same amount of months spent in combat before being sent back. You voted against health care benefits for our returning veterans in deference to big insurance companies who wanted more profit. You voted against negotiating for lower prescription prices for senior citizens. You voted against the minimum wage increase but voted for an increase in your own salary. You voted against the Employee Free Choice Act and have a horrible record on environmental issues. You voted against ethics reform in Washington yet now claim to be all about ethics while falsely accusing opponents of corruption in ads. You voted for teaching intelligent design in Louisiana schools. You oppose universal health care and did a lousy job at the helm of the Department of Health and Hospitals. To balance a budget back then, which you seem to conveniently forget now, you heartlessly put so many vulnerable citizens out of nursing homes, denied benefits to tens of thousands, and fired so many employees.
You are a transplant, Mr. Jindal, and do not understand the needs and concerns of our district. Buying a home to qualify for candidacy does not make you one of us. (Branding justice-seekers as "outside agitators" does not make you one of the northern Louisianians either.) You run and hide from us when we attempt to confront you on issues. You stifle opposition by selectively choosing your audience and throwing anyone out who is suspected to differ. I have a vested interest in what happens to us because I have lived here all of my life. I will not abandon my people to seek any other office, and I will certainly not avoid them or muzzle them. Your bosom Republican buddy, Senator Hypocrisy Vitter, needs to be replaced as badly as you need to be. Some other dedicated Democrat will have to come up to the plate for that race in 2010 as I am committed to District 01.
Mr. Jindal, District 01 does not need a career politician who is also an extreme Republican partisan. You had your chance and muffed it. Now it is someone’s turn who is a real friend of labor, a strong Democrat with backbone, a proud patriotic American with a voice and not afraid to use it, a person who appeals to Republican constituents because she can be trusted to listen to everyone. (Even Republicans deserve to be represented.) Your money blitz will not help you this time because I plan to win the hearts and minds of the people. I do not know any rich folks, but I am getting smaller donations from countless others. $50,000 in my first 2 quarters is not nearly enough but it is a good start. A pizza deliverer donated $100 of hard-earned tips and has since donated more. 2 weeks ago a busboy in a sandwich shop spontaneously (without being asked) gave a wrinkled $5 bill when we stopped for lunch on the campaign trail. A retired priest gave me $100 last week. I cannot let them down!
$2 million was spent to win this seat in 2004 and $8 million has been raised to seek the governor’s seat. I am not afraid of your millions, Mr. Jindal, and am fervently hoping you lose on October 20th, so that I can beat you next Fall. Politically, it would be better for me to have an open election this Spring, but I love my beautiful Louisiana too much to fathom you as her governor.
You received over 210 maximum donors ($5,000) at least 90 of which are from business and large corporations. They are as follows---
Pharmaceutical & Insurance Industry related
• Casey & Casey NPS Inc. – Metairie, LA.
• Central Management Co. LLC – Winnfield, LA.
• Children’s Clinic - Lake Charles, LA.
• Doctor’s & Doctor’s Inc. – Metairie, LA.
• Fidelity Insurance – Metairie, LA.
• HLR Service Corp. – Austin, TX.
• Hammerman & Gainer Inc. – LaPlace, LA.
• Louisiana Commerce Association – Baton Rouge, LA.
• Louisiana Medical Company – Metairie, LA.
• McKesson Corporation – Carrollton, TX.
• National Association of Chain Drug Stores – Alexandria, VA.
• Pamlab LLC – Mandeville, LA.
• Pharmaceutical Research America – Washington, D.C.
• Red River Pharma LLC – Covington, LA.
• ReliaGene Technology Inc. – Harahan, LA.
• United Healthcare Inc. – Minneapolis, MN.
Oil, Chemical & Energy Industry related
• Diamond Offshore Company – Houston, TX.
• Dow Chemical Company – Midland, MI.
• Dauterive Contractor Inc. – New Iberia, LA.
• Ernest Breaux Electric Inc. – New Iberia, LA.
• Helis Oil & Gas Company LLC – New Orleans, LA.
• Hub City Industries LLC – Lafayette, LA.
• Industrial Fabrics Inc. – Baton Rouge, LA.
• Justiss Oil Co. Inc. – Jena, LA.
• Keller Oilfield Services Co. – New Orleans, LA.
• Louisiana Federal Electric Association – Lafayette, LA.
• Louisiana Generating LLC – Princeton, NJ.
• Louisiana Plastic Inc. – West Monroe, LA.
• New Orleans Copper Inc. – New Orleans, LA.
• Petron Inc. – Alexandria, LA.
• Quail Tools LP – New Iberia, LA.
Other Industries
• American Phone Systems – New Orleans, LA.
• Annunciation Enterprises LLC – New Orleans, LA.
• Ashok Enterprises LLC – Kenner, LA.
• Assured Title Agency Inc. – Metairie, LA.
• Barge Link LLC – New Orleans, LA.
• Beevers & Beevers LLP – Gretna, LA.
• CDP Inc. – Bay St. Louis, MS.
• Cahaba Disaster Recovery LLC – Mobile, AL.
• Casey & Casey NPS Inc. – Metairie, LA.
• Celtic Management Corporation – Baton Rouge, LA.
• Centennial Communications – Belmar, NJ.
• Dryades Commercial Enterprises LLC – New Orleans, LA.
• Dumaine LLC – Metairie, LA.
• Dynasty Transportation Inc. – Lafayette, LA.
• Emergency Services LLC – Mobile, AL.
• F/V Diversified LLC – New Orleans, LA.
• Frantzen/Voelker Investments LLC – New Orleans, LA.
• Galvez Commercial LLC – New Orleans, LA.
• Global Industrial LLC – Broussard, LA.
• GoTech Inc. – Baton Rouge, LA.
• Gulf Fleet Holdings LLC – Lafayette, LA.
• Helianthus LLC – Metairie, LA.
• Home Place Batture L Inc. – Luling, LA.
• Hub Enterprises Inc. – Lafayette, LA.
• Iberia Marine Service – New Iberia, LA.
• Imperial Distribution Inc. – Sugar Land, TX.
• Industrial Support Inc. – Gonzales, LA.
• Innovative Emergency Inc. – Baton Rouge, LA.
• JAJ Ventures LLC – Metairie, LA.
• JSC Management LLC – New Orleans, LA.
• Jake’s Auto Parts – Avondale, LA.
• Jambon & Associates LLC – Golden Meadow, LA.
• L.C. Cane LLC – Lacassine, LA.
• Lakeshore Estate Inc. – Slidell, LA.
• Lho 2003 LLC – Baton Rouge, LA.
• Luv N’Limited Inc. – Monroe, LA.
• M. Matt Durand LLC – St. Martinville, LA.
• Management Seven LLC – Many, LA.
• Maritech Commercial Inc. – Kenner, LA.
• Mblx Inc. – New Orleans, LA.
• Pacorini Global Services – Jacksonville, FL.
• Premier Concrete Pro M Inc. – Baton Rouge, LA.
• RLT LLC – Slidell, LA.
• Rampart Development LLC – New Orleans, LA.
• Rampart Real Estate LLC – New Orleans, LA.
• Rathborne Properties LLC – Harvey, LA.
• Rental Fishing Tools Inc. – Lafayette, LA.
• Savoie’s Alligator Farm LLC – Cut Off, LA.
• Securtec Inc. – Baton Rouge, LA.
• Sigma Delta LLC – Metairie, LA.
• Southern Hardwood Company – Baton Rouge, LA.
• St. Charles Holdings LLC – New Orleans, LA.
• T.T. Management LLC – River Ridge, LA.
• Tammany Holding Corporation – Slidell, LA.
• The Mapp Group LLC – Baton Rouge, LA.
• Urban Systems Associates Inc. – New Orleans, LA.
• Vatican Ventures LLC – Metairie, LA.
• Vessel Management Inc. – New Orleans, LA.
• Voelker Management LLC – New Orleans, LA.
• Wal Mart Stores Inc. – Bentonville, AR.
So Louisiana's First District needs someone who is not Bobby Jindal. A rundown follows of those hopefuls who are rumored to want the U.S. House, Louisiana District 01 seat. Most have already publicly voiced intentions to run, as long as Jindal is no longer there, but none are FEC-registered official candidates and not one is any better than Jindal.
Federal Prosecutor Jim Letten (R) goes after Democrats who break the law, while selectively overlooking Republican friends who may be guilty. He side-stepped the law to protect federal judges A.J. McNamara and Tom Porteous in the "Wrinkled Robe" cases. Letten also ignores the real estate fraud securities activities of Freddie Mac. A former assistant of Eddie Jordan, Letten was not fired by Alberto Gonzales, like other U.S. Attorneys who did not follow the GOP party line. This speaks volumes. He was instrumental in keeping the Canal Street brothel list secret which protected David Vitter as a U.S. House Representative of District 01. With Vitter’s help, Letten was appointed by Ashcroft and George W. Bush. Vitter glowingly quotes, "I am proud to be Jim’s strongest advocate in Washington for a full appointment. As acting U.S. Attorney, Jim is the toughest, most effective prosecutor of public corruption that we’ve ever had in Louisiana."
Kevin Davis (R) is the president of St. Tammany Parish and a political opportunist who has been accused of neglecting the Slidell area for richer areas in the north of the parish. He is cozy with the Tenet Health Systems. He was fined by the State Ethics Board for inaccurate campaign finance reports and receiving illegal hotel lodging and gifts from Tenet while it was seeking parish contracts. Though he has a high approval rating in his parish which put aside term limits to keep him in office, he has publicly stated that he will run for LA-01 if Jindal becomes governor. He cannot be trusted and is more concerned with big business than with the little guy.
Steve Scalise (R) is term-limited as a state representative and is running for a state senate seat. If elected, he plans to ditch the state office to seek the LA-01 position. He was forced out of the 2004 bid for the seat by the Republican Party and a White House call. Jindal had already been chosen as their golden boy. Scalise is pro-business and pushes bills to reduce corporation taxes. He has stated on his website that he has a 92% pro-business voting record. He wrote and pushed a marriage amendment that would define marriage as only between a man and woman. He publicly made statements in support of hiring illegal immigrants to do hurricane repair work and publicly stated that companies should not be punished for hiring illegal immigrants. He supports shutting down the Charity Hospital system and voted for Labruzzo’s bill that would prevent charity hospitals and other state agencies to bargain for rebates by buying in bulk. He strongly supports school vouchers and wrote and passed a bill that gives a tax break to parents that send their children to private schools. He was the only Congress member to vote against the recent Louisiana budget and is more worried about state spending and partisan politics than hurricane recovery.
John Young, Jr. (R) is a wealthy Jefferson councilman running for Councilman-at-Large. If elected, he will ditch the office to run for LA-01. He has been accused of having an affair with a state senator named Julie Quinn, which led to both of their divorces. He is alienated from his oldest son, John Young, III, who signed up to run against him and has since withdrawn. He is a career politician, political opportunist and extreme partisan. He is a corporate and insurance industry defense lawyer for Hailey, McNamara, Hall, Larmann & Papale Law Firm of New Orleans, which proudly boasts on its website that the firm has represented nearly every major corporation and insurance company. Young pushes legislation with a bias for the upper class areas of Jefferson Parish. He worked on the David Vitter Campaign. He accepted a campaign contribution from Stantec while it was seeking a contract with the parish which was subsequently awarded. He should have acted, as Council Chairman, to ensure that the Parish Council keep pump operators at the pumps during Hurricane Katrina instead of evacuating them to Washington Parish. (The parish president does not deserve all the blame.) He spearheaded the effort to install red light cameras, in which a percentage of public fines collected go to a private company in Phoenix, AZ.
Ben Morris (R) is mayor of Slidell and has already begun planning for the possible open election for LA-01 in the event Jindal is elected governor. Last May, he came up to me at a public function to meet what he called his "opposition". He has labeled the ACLU as "tyrants", "book-burning Nazis" and "this American Taliban, who seeks to destroy our culture and heritage." This conflict resulted from a case involving a picture of Jesus Christ in the Slidell Courthouse. Morris is quoted as crudely saying on national television that trying to get any relief from FEMA "is like urinating on a violin to make it sound better". Although I have no praise for the handling of Road Home, we need a better spokesperson for the district.
Julie Quinn (R) is running for re-election of her state senate seat and has been rumored to want the LA-01 seat. To qualify as a resident in the state senate district, her then husband Patrick Quinn, bought several hotels in the district for her. She is involved in a very public relationship with Jefferson Parish Councilman John Young, Jr. She blocked the appointment of Patricia LeBlanc to the Causeway Commission because the law firm, for which LeBlanc works, represents Quinn's ex-husband's hotel company. She is a vengeful, partisan Republican and a political opportunist climbing the political fame ladder. She is under investigation by the State Board of Ethics for failure to disclose certain campaign expenses in 2005. She pushes legislation that is biased for upper class areas.
Ashton Ryan (R) is the president of First National Bank of Commerce. He is a board member of two publicly traded companies, OCA and Stewart Enterprises, and is a part owner of the Palace Theatre Chain. He is mega-rich and out of touch with the average voter. The most pro-big business of the bunch, he is very close to Kenner Mayor Ed Muniz. Both are 100% anti-union.
Ben Nevers is a Democrat in name only. He is a big supporter of Bobby Jindal and won his latest state senate term unopposed. He drew up and supports legislation that takes property from citizens in Washington Parish under imminent domain in order to construct reservoir lakes in the parish. The papers have claimed that he uses intimidating practices to silence citizen opponents of the bill. He has further stated that once the government seizes the property, it does not have to use it to build the lakes, but can use it for other purposes. The reservoir is modeled after the Poverty Point Reservoir recently implicated for corruption and its commissioner arrested. The new reservoirs will cost taxpayers over $1 billion. Nevers is abusing imminent domain for a land grab. He is involved in several companies that would directly profit from the construction of the lake. He has been attacked for his support of a $75 million "sick tax", which would effectively price out thousands of Louisiana families from affording health insurance. He has publicly stated that Louisiana should rely less on federal recovery money and should pull itself out of the hole.
Look out, Washington, here I come! It is simply not acceptable to allow any of the tarnished above to represent Louisiana District 01. We need an outspoken progressive, a fiscally responsible Democrat, whose only intention is to make life better for the everyday citizen. We need someone who understands the whole picture beyond profit margin. We need someone with an unblemished, squeaky clean background owing nothing to anyone. We need someone who is one of us to fight for our needs. We Need Reed!
From 1 loyal American to another---Gilda
Our possumJerry Northington and our CanYouBeAngryAndStillDream Ron Shepston are also strong Democrats running for Congress in '08.