State House candidates face off

Fixing the state’s budget while providing for education and health care needs were among the major issues candidates addressed at Tuesday’s District 51 State Representative debate.
The St. Mary Parish Chamber of Commerce hosted a state representative debate Tuesday at the Patterson Area Civic Center among candidates Beryl Amedee, Howard Castay and incumbent Joe Harrison. The election will take place Oct. 24 with early voting beginning Saturday.
District 51 covers all or part of Assumption, Lafourche, St. Mary and Terrebonne parishes. The district includes Morgan City and Amelia.
Harrison, R-Gray, is seeking a third and final term.
According to Harrison, the priority for the next legislative session has to be on the budget, and the only way to fix the budget issues is to call a special legislative session. Harrison called for a special session before the 2015 regular session, but it didn’t happen, he said.
“Unfortunately, the administration didn’t want a special session because it would’ve exposed all of the ills that we’ve had with this administration,” Harrison said.
Amedee, R-Gray, is a Terrebonne Parish councilwoman and has dealt with legislators on both the federal and state levels, Amedee said. Legislators need to undedicate some of the areas that currently are dedicated in the state budget.
As a councilwoman, she helped greatly improve infrastructure, coastal restoration and protection in Terrebonne Parish, and is familiar with the legislative process, she said. She also operates an errand running business where she works as a personal assistant and event coordinator.
Castay, D-Morgan City, owns KBZE radio station in Morgan City and another station in Franklin.
Castay isn’t a politician but instead, a small business owner, he said. Castay is tired of seeing Gov. Bobby Jindal not focus on the state’s issues throughout the past eight years. Just a few people control state government effectively creating an oligarchy, Castay said.
Trying to fix the budget problems will be difficult because Jindal hasn’t had “a transparent office” during the past eight years, Castay said. The public doesn’t know how money has been spent.
Education is the most important thing the state can do to provide for the future, Harrison said. Harrison’s wife is a retired school principal, and he keeps up with education issues, he said.
In a third term, Harrison said he would pass a bill to fund education and rededicate funds to secondary education, technical schools and higher education.
Legislators need to have a closer relationship with area businesses to determine what the best careers will be during the next 30 years and then provide education that supports those jobs, Harrison said.
Castay said the district is fortunate to have an excellent vo-tech college, “and some days it looks like they’re the best kept secret in this district.”
Amedee plans to bring bills to the Legislature to correct some of the issues in the “home school community,” she said. Amedee supports school reform and wants parents to have school choice for their children. She has been a home school teacher and has worked to keep home schools from being outlawed in the state.
Louisiana lawmakers have “thrown this state into a ditch,” Castay said. People are struggling to pay their bills and pay taxes, and children are required to take “ridiculous tests,” Castay said.
Amedee supports the right to life, religious freedom and personal privacy, she said. She is against raising taxes and placing “heavier burdens on businesses.”
Harrison has a background in accounting and is responsible for investing millions of dollars of people’s money, he said. It’s important for the state to get rid of the failures and keep the successes in its budget.
Harrison is working to make sure state gaming revenues go to education as they were intended to help reduce the cost of tuition, he said.
Amedee said the state should honor all of its commitments, including retirement funds and gaming funds and she would hold the state accountable for such promises.
Amedee is supported by the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry and Louisiana Federation for Children, she said. Amedee plans to vote how she chooses and not just go along with the organizations that support her.
Harrison wants to help those who can’t afford medical expenses, especially for the 800,000 senior citizens in Louisiana, he said.
If Louisiana had passed Medicaid expansion, the state “would be enjoying trickle-down economics of almost $1 billion,” Castay said.
Teche Action Clinic, of which Castay is a board member, would have been able to provide health care to twice the amount of area residents under Medicaid expansion, he said. Castay plans to pass a Medicaid bill, if elected.
“It’s truly become a sad day in Louisiana when big money and who you know has taken control of the government,” Castay said.
Citizens haven’t had an equal chance to earn a living during Jindal’s administration, Castay said.
Castay is against giving “corporate welfare” in the form of tax breaks for big businesses as the Legislature has frequently done. Castay said he supports equal pay for women, funding teacher pay raises and cost-of-living increases for state retirees.
In the past eight years, Harrison said he wrote over 200 pieces of legislation and has proven he can work with people to continue to put forth meaningful legislation for the communities he serves.

This story was written by Zachary Fitzgerald of The Daily Review staff. Reach him at zfitzgerald@daily-review.com