ELECTION NOTES . . .

The Oct. 2 election is history, and it was an interesting one.

Locally, Sammy Kershaw was a heavy favorite in the lieutenant governor’s race, collecting 34% of the parish vote. But he didn’t make the cut, and the runoff will pit Jay Dardenne against Caroline Fayard. They finished second and third, respectively, in SM Parish with 22% and 21% of the local vote.

Native son Jeff Landry outpolled Hunt Downer 5-to-1 among local Republicans and also scored a big victory across the 3rd Congressional District, collecting 65% of the vote.

He’ll face Democrat Ravi Sangisetti, a Houma attorney, in the Nov. 2 general election. If Landry wins, he will be the first parish native to serve in Congress since the late Edwin Willis, who represented the old 3rd District for 20 years, from 1948 to 1968.

And his election would make it 7-of-7 Republicans from Louisiana in the House of Representatives.

In school board races, three of the four challenged incumbents were re-elected, with only Floyd Knott of District 9 forced into a runoff against J.J. Angelle. Newcomer Robert Hollier was a big winner for the District 6 seat being vacated by Rodney Ledoux.

Veteran Breaux Bridge Police Chief Charley Thibodeaux lost his bid for another term. P.J. Hebert led the three-man race and will face Rollie Cantu in the runoff.

Veteran Parks Mayor John Dugas held on to his seat, as challenger Kevin Kately fell 35 votes short.

The library tax millage was approved by a healthy margin of 4,978 for to 2,787 against.

OBSERVATIONS . . .

I had predicated a parish turnout of about 8,000. The actual count was 9,028, so I don’t mind being wrong. But that’s still only 25.6% of the 35,278 registered voters.

Republicans turned out in larger numbers, with almost 42% of the 7,666 registered casting ballots in the 3rd District race.

My analysis shows that (roughly) only about 17% of the registered Democrats turned out, although that might be a little high. The turnout of voters not affiliated with either of the major parties was probably up close to 40%.

This pretty much goes along with what we’re seeing across the nation. Republicans and others (read Tea Party) are really cranked up about the political situation in Washington, while Democrats appear comparatively apathetic.

Further proof of the ascendency of the Republican Party (and independents) in Louisiana is the fact that if Landry wins the 3rd District seat, if Charley Melancon fails to unseat David Vitter in the U.S. Senate race, and if Dardenne tops Fayard for lieutenant governor ... Attorney General Buddy Caldwell will be the only statewide elected official who is a Democrat.

THIS & THAT . . .

Lake Fausse Pointe – We headed out to Lake Fausse Pointe last Monday to spend a few days enjoying the cool weather and the park. As usual, there were only a handful of campers during the week, and none of the cabins were occupied. It sure was relaxing, although the mosquitoes were a bit bothersome, even though park workers sprayed each night.

With our trips to Oregon and Montana this past summer (we flew) and a week on the beach at Destin, we haven’t gotten much use out of the motorhome, so we really enjoyed taking it out again.

We’re hoping to take more mid-week excursions to LFP and other state parks throughout the fall and winter.

Anniversaries – Friends and subscribers who celebrated wedding anniversaries during the past week included:

Sept. 29 – The 10th anniversary for Albert “Bert” and Kimberly (Mouton) Bienvenu of St. Martinville.

Sept. 30 – The 43rd for Kenneth and Anne (Bienvenu) Broussard of Lafayette; and the 5th for Terry and Tenneal Latiolais of Arnaudville.

Oct. 2 – The 4th for James and Louise Savoy of Lafayette; the 39th for Lee and Aline Champagne of St. Martinville; the ?? for Jerry and Jackie Broussard; and the ?? for Carol and Emmeline Deville of Breaux Bridge.

Oct. 3 – The 12th for Brady and Cari Theriot of St. Martinville.

Oct. 5 – The 47th for Harry and Audrey Latiolais of Cecilia.

New subscribers who have joined our family of readers in recent weeks include Priscilla Carleton, Brenda Benoit and Vickie Guchereaux, all of Breaux Bridge; Mike and Donna Robin of Pineville; and Reggie Hollier and Quinn Hebert of Houston, Texas.

Clair comme le jour: The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who do not.

–Thomas Jefferson

henri.bienvenu@techetoday.com