EBR Influencing Central Elections?

Election Central

      Central Republican candidates are questioning the legitimacy of the East Baton Rouge Parish Republican Party Executive Committee’s interest in the April 5th Central elections.  The questions center around the involvement of two members of the EBR Committee, called the PEC, who have a conflict of interest in the process, as well as the timing of the PEC’s whole endorsement process.
    Up until the last few elections the EBR Republican PEC took the stance that it would not take sides in municipal elections within the Parish, refusing to endorse one qualified Republican over another.  The current committee is composed almost exclusively of political insiders who do not live in the City of Central.  Now, after years of staying out of local elections, the EBR Republican PEC is suddenly picking its favored candidates in all elections.
        Central Republican candidates are asking why.
    Mayoral Candidate Dave Freneaux points out “EBR tried to tell Central not to become a City, then EBR tried to tell Central not to create a School System, now EBR is going try to tell us who to elect as our next Mayor.  I would question the motives of any Central candidate who accepts an endorsement from the EBR political insiders.  They have proven that they do not have Central’s best interests in mind.”
    Email documents and newspaper clippings from RPEC chairman Woody Jenkins may give an indication for the reasons behind the sudden change of committee policy.  Records show that Jenkins, whose company was paid $7,425 by the Junior Shelton campaign in 2010, participated in writing the questionnaire for the City of Central candidates and is asking that the responses be returned by Feb. 3 for review by himself and Shelton – a questionably timed deadline that is a full 11 days before the end of qualifying.  The questionnaire includes questions specific to the candidates’ strategies for competing for voter support in Central.
    City Council candidate Jason Ellis, when asked whether he would be seeking the PEC endorsement, stated “I am not a politician but I have been a lifelong Conservative Republican. The only endorsement that I am seeking is that of the citizens of Central on April 5th.” Republican Council candidate Eric Frank stated “I am uncomfortable with an endorsement process that requires candidates to turn in a questionnaire almost two weeks before qualifying ends.  I will look to the voters of Central to decide this election, so I will not be participating in this process.” 
    Mike Gardner, another Republican candidate for City Council, stated “I object to this process and will not participate in any connected politics. I choose to remain independent of groups like this that have no idea what Central wants and needs. The people making these endorsements are not residents of OUR town.  I want to bring a fresh face to Central politics.  If I participated in this I would be compromising my independence.”
    In the email announcing the EBR PEC’s endorsement process, Woody Jenkins said “all 17 members of the Republican Parish Executive Committee will carefully review your resumé and your answers to the Endorsement Questionnaire.”  These 17 members who would then have access to the “campaign strategies” of all Central candidates, include mayoral candidate Shelton, and Jenkins, whose company is once again receiving money from Shelton in his current campaign effort.
    Mayoral candidate Dave Freneaux said he does not think the process can be fairly managed under the current set up.  “Why should I be required to give a breakdown of my political strategies to someone who is working with my opponent, and indeed to my opponent himself?  That would be a corruption of the election process,”  Freneaux said.
           Freneaux continued, “I’m a life-long Republican who believes in the conservative values that our forefathers intended for our form of government.  In fact my cousin, Dave Treen, became the first Republican Governor elected in Louisiana since the reconstruction era.  You can’t find a more conservative Republican, Christian family than ours.  I’m simply not going to participate in an endorsement process that clearly has been hijacked.  Besides, why do I want the blessings of the East Baton Rouge political elite who have no legitimate ties to Central?  Why would I be beholden to any Political Action Committee for that matter?  I will not sell out my loyalty for the City of Central for an endorsement from EBR.”
    Legitimate organizations that endorse candidates typically wait for qualifying to end to receive an official list of candidates from the Louisiana Secretary of State’s Office in order to proceed with their endorsement process.  This is the only way to ensure that all candidates have an equal opportunity for endorsement.  Candidates deciding after February 3rd to run could still qualify through February 14th, but would be ineligible for an EBR PEC endorsement under the process put in place by Jenkins and Shelton.
    A review of the members of the East Baton Rouge Parish Republican Executive Committee shows that none of the members are residents of Central, except for Shelton, who has announced he will again run for mayor in Central following his 2010 defeat.  PEC rules state that Shelton would have to recuse himself from voting in a potential endorsement procedure for the City of Central Mayor, but the rules do not recuse him from viewing all the questionnaires and discussing them with other PEC members or the candidates themselves. He also could vote on the endorsements of City Council candidates with whom he has publicly aligned himself.