Congratulations to Kip Holden for winning the Baton Rouge mayoral race. He's got a lot of great ideas on how to get Baton Rouge moving in the right direction and I think he will get it done!
I know Kip personally, and one thing he'll do is help Baton Rouge on a legislative level. He'll also quickly control the fiefdoms going on within the Metro Council. He's an excellent strategizer, and he's got a clarity of mind that is sorely lacking amongst his contemporaries in the Louisiana Senate & House, whom mostly all believe that the decibel level and the "passion" of their speeches equate to their level of intellect in the House & Senate chambers. Melvin has a sharp mind, and knows his way through the back channels of the Legislature to begin to get Baton Rouge it's fair share of the pie from the State. He's also a helluva a guy, very fun loving, and willing to swap stories and dirty jokes with the best of 'em... ;-)
I also know Kip personally and would have voted for him if I still lived in BR. He is a remarkable individual who really cares about Baton Rouge. CONGRATULATIONS KIP!
I guess this is a good thing. Although I voted for Simpson, I can see that he has done absolutely NOTHING for BR while he is in office. I am just wary of voting for any democrat. Things I DON'T want to see happen while KH is in office: EBRP property taxes raised, for any reason Industrial taxes or economical sanctions levied on the chemical plants
An editor who I sometimes write for from The Dallas Morning News has suggested that while Republicans are usually good for national office (in that they control the size/expansion of government), Democrats can be good for local government because, then, their programs do actually affect you personally. That's as opposed to federal government "programs" that never affect me...unless it's a tax cut!
Who ever was going to be Mayor was going to have to deal with the budget. The current retirement system is a huge burden on the budget and has to be changed in order to pay the police. Campaign promises are just that without a plan to fix the budget (unless the plan is to raise taxes). Bobby and Kip both know this and I hope Kip has a plan, other than raising taxes. Heck Kip’s plan to increase traffic flow during rush hours is to have police work street lights like they do for LSU football games. That will get old quick, but at least it is a plan.
