We urge our readers to use these endorsements as a guide to assist you in making your decisions in the upcoming election. We urge you to take time to conduct your own research into the backgrounds, records and positions of each candidate before making your final decision.
U.S. Senate Race: Sen. Mary Landrieu
Our choice in the U.S. Senate race is an easy one. We categorically urge all of our readers to vote for U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu.
And it’s an easy decision because it is not about Mary. It is about us.
As we look at the qualifiers in this race, we truly believe she is the only candidate with any desire to work on behalf of and represent our community. Republican Bill Cassidy simply cannot be trusted to fight for our interests. In fact, Cassidy has yet to show up for a debate in New Orleans at the time this editorial was written. And it is with good reason. He quite correctly surmises that he will not win (nor does he need to win) the popular vote in a largely Black, urban center like ours to pave his path to the U.S. Senate. If he doesn’t need your vote, don’t expect him to fight for what you need.
We believe that Sen. Landrieu has a genuine concern for the people of New Orleans and for our state. She has made several progressive judicial nominations, including U.S. District Judge Nannette Jolivette Brown, our state’s first Black woman U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District, and Kenneth Polite as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District—a move we still believe has the potential to restore integrity and a true sense of justice to that office. We recognize what she has done to protect voting rights, strengthen Black colleges and universities, and to help our city and region recover after Hurricane Katrina.
Yes, when it comes to this U.S. Senate race, Mary Landrieu is the only choice. And she is the right choice. But it’s not about her . . . It’s about us.
Civil District Court, Domestic Section II: Monique Barial
We strongly urge our readers to vote for Monique Barial. She has the experience and energy needed to serve as an efficient and effective family court judge.
Juvenile Judge, Section E: Ernest Charbonnet or Desiree Cook-Calvin
We believe that either of these candidates would be a hard-working, fair, but compassionate juvenile court judge.
PWP/School Board Maintenance Millage Proposition: Vote NO
Why is it so easy for The New Orleans Tribune to urge—no beg—each and every one of its readers to vote NO on the parish wide proposition to approve this school building millage?
Simple, this isn’t about our children. And it isn’t about the facilities where they attend school. It is about control, money, power. It is about demanding real accountability. It is about insisting on the fiscally-sound use of current resources. It is about taxation without representation. It is about promises made and broken. It is about seizing this opportunity in the one arena in which you still wield some power (your vote) with regard to local schools and using it to say “NO”—NO more, NO longer, NO fair, NO way!
As far as we are concerned, the answer has to be “NO” because far too many of the schools that operate within Orleans Parish do so outside of any direct oversight of a governing body comprised of representatives elected by the voters of New Orleans—also known as taxation without representation.
