3 governor candidates field questions at Teche Theatre

Fixing the state budget would be the first priority in office of both Scott Angelle and Jay Dardenne, Republican candidates for Louisiana governor.
Angelle, District 2 Public Service Commissioner, and Dardenne, current lieutenant governor, were joined by candidate Jeremy Odom in a forum Thursday at Teche Theatre for the Performing Arts hosted by the City of Franklin and the St. Mary Chamber of Commerce.
Odom provided little information about himself but according to a March 6, 2014, article in the New Orleans Times-Picayune he is a Baptist minister from Natchitoches and a registered Democrat.
“The first thing I would do is call the Legislation to special session to begin to look at getting our fiscal house in order,” Angelle said. He added that last year’s $1.6 billion deficit made it difficult to take care of the affairs of the state.
“Something is structurally wrong with the way the economy operates and the way we budget and tax in this state,” he said. “It is absolutely critical that first thing we must do is gather together in Baton Rouge in special session and provide solutions on how we might do that.”
Dardenne said, “The budget that the state is operating under right now is built on fiction, a house of cards, voodoo, smoke and mirrors whatever you want to call it.” He also said he would call a legislative special session on the budget that would first have to look at the current fiscal year that does not end until June 30.
Both Angelle and Dardenne said they would make use of the state’s Revenue Estimation Conference to make better budget projections and examine business tax credits and incentives.
Dardenne said, however, that REC projections should be made conservatively.
“Where we’ve gone wrong is this governor (Jindal) has chosen to use one time money to fund recurring expenses,” Dardenne said. “You can’t do that.”
Odom said he would focus on putting more funds into education and revitalizing the TOPS college grant program.
The other two candidates added that they also support TOPS.
“The best way out of the poor house is through the school house,” Angelle said.
Odom said his first priority would be on creating new legislation to combat poverty.