U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu, the only statewide elected Democrat in Louisiana, will seek a fourth term in 2014, and her chief of staff says the senator is the best person for office no matter who her opponent ends up being.
Landrieu’s Chief of Staff Jane Campbell touted Landrieu’s accomplishments and said she hopes to continue them into another term.
“She keeps Louisiana first in her mind,” Campbell said.
“When she says she is fighting for the people of Louisiana, it’s true. She feels like her work is not done. She came to the Senate with some particular hopes and dreams for the people of Louisiana and the country.”
Some of Landrieu’s main goals include coastal restoration and education reform, and when Hurricane Katrina devastated the state, Campbell said Landrieu was forced to focus her attention on disaster recovery.
While Campbell doesn’t know who will compete with Landrieu for the position, she said Landrieu’s goal is “not to focus on her opponent, but her work at hand.”
One of Landrieu’s major goals is to work with Guatemalan
President Otto Perez Molina to speed up the adoption process for 350 American couples who continue to wait to hear more about the status of their potential adoption.
Campbell said Landrieu has made “significant progress” working with Molina in recent months, and she will remain in contact with officials from the Guatemalan embassy.
Guatemala, which was one of the major sources of adopted children for American couples, suspended adoptions in 2007 after several allegations of fraud and baby theft arose.
A decree issued last year ended the suspension, but the cases for American couples who had pending adoptions at the time of the decree remain unsolved, according to a August 2011 article from Fox News Latino.
After Landrieu’s last visit to Guatemala in April, Campbell said several steps have been taken to speed up the adoption cases for several American couples who had been seeking adoption prior to the incident. Many of these families who have remained connected with Guatemalan families have been waiting for three to four years.
On April 11, Molina said he hoped to continue to meet with
Landrieu and solve the issue, according to the Associated Press.
Samuel Ayers, history and political science sophomore, said he understands why Landrieu is seeking a fourth term.
“If she keeps doing a good job, she should get another term and keep doing her work,” he said. “With the system we have, she is entitled to run again, and it’s just up to the voters to decide.”
____ Contact Kate Mabry at [email protected]