You would think we are still several months out from the upcoming elections in Louisiana by the tone and activity going on in every race from governor to councilman. Ask any political person and they will tell you it’s eerily quiet out there. However, if you ask an average citizen they will probably respond that they are happy “all that political stuff is not so crazy” because they usually are getting hit by two to three pieces of mail every day at this point in the campaign cycle and tons of phone calls.

People go to the polls in two and a half weeks! In less than 20 days, voters across Louisiana will choose their elected officials and decide who will represent them. The reason things are so quiet this election cycle is due to the silence coming from the top. Usually, if there is an active governor’s race then the other races get cranked up earlier. However, with Gov. Bobby Jindal walking into re-election easily this time around, the temperature has been kept relatively cool in most down ballot races.

The only race that is getting any attention is the fight between current Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne and current Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser. These two politicians aren’t holding back any punches as they fight to claim the No. 2 spot in state government. The reason the fight is so heated is probably due to the expectation that Gov. Jindal will be swooped up by a presidential nominee for vice-president or a Cabinet position, making the sitting lieutenant governor the governor overnight. So, both Dardenne and Nungesser know they are not only fighting for the No. 2 spot, but the chance to automatically become the governor of the great State of Louisiana.

Locally, there are several parishwide elections that should bring the voters to the polls on Oct. 22; however, if things don’t get exciting soon we might see a low turnout in the River Parishes.  In St. Charles Parish, the sheriff went unopposed, and in St. John the assessor went unopposed. In the other parishwide races, there aren’t many races sparking much interest except for the sheriff’s race in St. John and the assessor’s race in St. Charles.

As the weeks turn into days, expect to get several knocks on your door on the weekends and watch the mailbox fill up soon with flyers from every candidate running for every office as they try to reach as many voters as they can in such a short time. Early voting starts Oct. 8, and Election Day is Oct. 22.

The last bite,

Courtney and I recently went to GUSTO inside Canal Place in New Orleans. It’s next to the Canal Place movie theatres and serves the same menu that you can get inside the theatres. We tried to be healthy by ordering hummus except for the fact that I ate a pound of pita bread with the hummus. So, to balance off the carbs, I ordered a great salad topped with grilled chicken and grilled parmesean crisps. As my mom taught me, everything is better covered in parmesean cheese! I give parmesean cheese on top of anything 5 (out of 5) crumbs!

Buddy Boe, a resident of Garyville, owns a public relations and program management company and is well known on the local political (and food) scenes. His column appears Wednesdays in L’Observateur.