Republicans Face Off at Republican Women’s Candidate Forum

By Dave Freneaux

    Monday evening all area Republican candidates seeking election on October 22nd were invited to speak at a forum held at Pit Crew Steak House & BBQ here in Central.  After a meal and informal conversation each candidate was given four minutes to share their qualifications, their platform and their vision for the office they seek.  In races most closely affecting Central, six candidates (above and left) all spoke.  See below for a summary of their statements.  Also speaking were Lt. Governor challenger Billy Nungesser, Secretary of State Tom Schedler, Attorney General Buddy Caldwell, State Representative Clif Richardson, State Representative Dist. 63 candidate Barbara Thomas, BESE Board incumbent Chas Roemer, EBRP Sheriff Sid Gautreaux, EBRP Coroner incumbent Dr. Shannon Cooper and challenger Dr. Beau Clark and Zachary Police Chief Candidate candidate David McDavid.  The video of the forum will be available on Central Speaks TV.

Derek Babcock – Senate District 13

    Derek Babcock has spent the last eight years serving at the state and local level.  He is the vice chair of the Board of Directors of the Louisiana Family Forum, supporting pro-life and pro-family legislation. 

    Mr. Babcock has served on the board of the National Association of Insurers and Financial Advisors and is the treasurer of the Republican Parish Executive Committee in Livingston Parish.

    He serves as the chairman of the Livingston Parish Citizens for Highways and Infrastructure, lobbying for improvements in the parish.  Mr. Babcock owns a health insurance agency, was raised by parents who were small business owners, and understands the concerns of small businesses.

Dale Erdey – Senate District 13

    Dale Erdey is the incumbent in Senate District 13.  He attended LSU and has a Degree in Business Administration and is the President of Erdey Insurance Agency.  Senator Erdey is the former Mayor of Livingston Parish and served as a State Representative for two terms.

    Erdey Serves on Senate Committees for Revenue & Fiscal Affairs, Health & Welfare, and Environmental Quality, and is the Vice Chair of the Senate Transportation Committee.  In that capacity he has, and will continue to, fight to improve the roads in District 13.

    Senator Erdey worked with Representatives Bodi White and Donald Ray Kennard to help create the Central School District and is supportive of teacher pay raises.  He is pro-business and has been instrumental in creating many jobs in his District.  Finally, Erdey is anti-loop and led the charge to block Senate funding for the loop.

Bodi White – Senate District 6

   Bodi White graduated from Southeastern where he studied Criminal Justice and the law, he then served in law enforcement and now has spent the last two terms in the House of Representatives writing the laws.  Working closely with the Attorney General, he has helped 500 families in this area recover their retirements lost in the Stanford Group scam.

    Representative White is a life-long resident of Central and has always been a community activist but never ran for any political office until his successful election to the House in 2003.  He was instrumental in the effort to create the City of Central and in passing the legislation to create the Central Community School District.  Both the City and the School System now have budget surpluses and Central has set the standard for saving taxpayer dollars through privatization.

Mike Mannino – Senate District 6

    Mike Mannino shares that he is not a career politician and that he is a citizen’s advocate, fighting for citizen’s rights.  He is a 33 year employee of Exxon.  He states that he is a life-long anti-tax, small government, Christian conservative and a founding member of Tax Busters.  He seeks to get government back into the boundaries of limited powers, and feels that government has strayed beyond its legitimate powers.

    Mr. Mannino opposes increased taxes and government waste, and supports the right to bear arms and integrity in government.  He feels that his work experience at Exxon qualifies him to manage the tax dollars of the State of Louisiana.  He pledges never to vote for increased taxes and never to vote for a pay raise.

Barry Elkins – House District 64

    Barry Elkins graduated from LSU and taught school for three years, then spent 15 years selling high end medical equipment to hospitals throughout the southeast.   In 1991 he enrolled in law School at Southern University and graduated in 1994. Since then he and his wife have operated Magnolia Title, closing residential and commercial transactions.

    Mr. Elkins has volunteered with the Boy Scouts in this area for the last 15 years and served on the Board of Directors of the Istrouma Area Council. He was one of the founding members of the Governor’s Sporting Clay Shoot, and as Chairman of this group for two years raised over $100,000 for the Boy Scouts and Camp Avondale.

    Mr. Elkins is very involved in the housing industry and is acutely aware of the problems of falling property values and high property taxes.  He also is committed to improving education and roads in the District but opposes the loop.

Valarie Hodges – House District 64

    Valarie Hodges stated that she has spent 28 years dedicating her life to being active in the community and serving others.  She is on the Executive Board of the Republican Party of Louisiana.  She is a founder and past president of the Livingston Parish Republican Women’s Club.

    Ms. Hodges has volunteered for Senators Vitter and Cassidy and Governor Jindal.  Ms. Hodges is very involved with CASA and the WOW organization (Women Outreaching Women) and works with the Coroner in a suicide prevention program she helped to start.

    She and her husband, a pastor and homebuilder, also run an international nonprofit organization.  She was a missionary for 18 years and thus understands working with those who are disadvantaged.   Ms. Hodges shared that she is tired of seeing jobs go overseas and is committed to infracsructure improvements in the District.