![]() That same voter guide ended its recap of Carter Peterson with these words: “Ultimately, Peterson is an establishment politician through and through. He seems content enough with the slow pace of governmental inaction, and has yet to put forth an aggressive stance or plan to change anything.” For critics of the two-and there are plenty of them-their insider backgrounds are essentially undifferentiated and suggest that there is little meaningful distinction between the two of them.Īs Antigravity’s always well-researched voter guide concluded its analysis of Carter: “Overall, it’s hard to trust Carter’s positions or his ability to get things done in a timely manner…We have concerns about his funding sources. She has served in the State Senate since then and has been chair of the Louisiana Democratic Party and remains a Vice-Chair of the Democratic National Committee.īoth Carter and Carter Peterson are well-connected with significant constituencies and have demonstrated capabilities that would facilitate transition to functioning in the U.S. Carter Peterson served in the state House of Representatives for more than a decade and was House Speaker Pro Tempore in her last two years. ![]() ![]() ![]() Carter was executive assistant to New Orleans Mayor Sidney Barthelemy, served in the state House of Representatives, and on the New Orleans City Council before being elected to the Louisiana Senate, where he has been Minority Leader. Both are seasoned politicians and experienced elected officials. The other two serious contenders are State Senator Troy Carter and fellow State Senator Karen Carter Peterson. Any one of them approaching even ten percent of the vote would qualify as a massive upset. The other twelve are essentially vanity candidates. Of the 15 candidates, only three have any serious chance of qualifying for an April 24 runoff, and one of those, Gary Chambers, is a long shot. That said, let’s look at the field in the race that is before us now. In the case of the Louisiana 2 nd, where it’s quite possible that the winner of the race will be in a position to stay in the seat as long as they like, these calculations become especially paramount. Although protest candidacies can make sense at least sometimes, for the candidate to be able to represent constituents’ interests he or she must first win election. The other main consideration should be whether the candidate can win. That’s especially the case for Congressional candidates, as the winner will be tasked with representing the district’s interest in law-making at the highest and broadest level. We believe this is the most important basis for differentiating them. That is, not necessarily what lies in their heart of hearts but what interests they feel the need to represent-whether because of their deep underlying commitment or because of their own calculation of self-interest is relatively unimportant. Or perhaps more to the point, what they can be made to stand for. Political assessment that rests on personality or character can be demoralizing because any candidate can be made to appear deficient, bereft, or inconsistent and because that focus tends to crowd out consideration of what different candidates actually stand for. And that approach is often frustrating, both because allegations of taint easily can be exaggerated by partisans for one or another camp and because there’s a broad gray area between what counts as generally accepted horse-trading, back-scratching and quid-pro-quo exchange of favors on the one hand and corruption or misfeasance on the other. These often pivot on the search for, or charges of, “scandal,” broadly defined. As is common in New Orleans and the various parts of other Parishes gerrymandered into the District, questions of personality or character so often rise to the fore. ![]() We thought it could be useful to reflect on considerations that go into voters’ candidate selection. It’s a crowded field with 15 candidates in the race. Early voting has begun for the March 20 primary in the special election to replace Cedric Richmond in the 2 nd Congressional District, which means chatter evaluating the candidates has intensified. ![]()
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