Wonder why it’s cold outside? Hell froze over — the Stelly bill passed. But there’s a runoff. Mary Landrieu and Suzanne Haik Terrell are in a runoff.
It’s my second major election, and I went three for four.
Last time I voted in a major election, things didn’t turn out quite how I wanted them to. In 2000, I voted Al Gore for president, yes on the Stelly plan and Kip Holden for mayor. Needless to say, I went into yesterday’s election hoping to better my record.
The election was a nailbiter. I spend part of the night gathering election results for a judge in Iberville parish for The Advocate. My mind was elsewhere — I wanted to be watching to see if Sen. Mary Landrieu could pull it out and win without a runoff.
But most of my night was focused on the Stelly plan, the second of 12 constitutional amendments on the ballot. It proposed swapping four cents worth of sales tax for a revamped tax structure that would mean higher income winners would pay more and lower income people would pay less.
I’ll spare you the lengthy details of progressive versus regressive tax structures. I will say this — the Stelly plan is good for Louisiana. It will improve our bond rating, give us a more stable source of income and make it so families with low incomes won’t pay so much of their hard-earned paychecks in taxes.
It’s a step in the right direction — a step toward making Louisiana’s backward tax system more straightforward.
So why did it pass after tanking in 2000? I see a few reasons.
First, the plan was simplified this time around. In 2000, voters had to approve two amendments to pass the plan, whereas 2002 saw these actions combined into one ballot issue.
Second, it was explained better. Voters felt like they understood what they were voting for, and that made agreeing with it easier. People have a tendency to be against things they don’t understand, and lawmakers and activists better pushed the plan’s obvious benefits.
On a student level, LSU’s Student Government representatives impressed me with the way they handled this issue. From the Student Senate’s unanimous approval of a bill to support passage of the plan to executive branch officials’ public support of Stelly, I was pleased to see campus leaders being activists. While a small percentage of past officials and student groups continuously push political issues, this time there was a strong unanimous front against opposition to the plan.
Another important ballot issue passed as well. Amendment No. 3, which offered higher education more protection from budget cuts won voters’ approval.
Higher education often is the scapegoat when cutting time comes. As a student, I feel Amendment No. 3’s passage is like Louisiana citizens giving LSU and other schools the thumbs up. Our officials often paint higher education as a key to economic development, and voters agree.
Between No. 3 and Stelly’s passage, things look better for universities. Hopefully a more stable tax base and better bond rating will mean more money for LSU and lower costs for state improvements to the campus. Protection from budget cuts in a historically poor state is a Godsend.
One other amendment, No. 8, would have allowed universities to invest up to 50 percent of their endowments in the stock market. This thankfully met defeat. While I seriously doubt current LSU heads would have dumped money into the market irresponsibly, I think the climate was wrong for this ballot issue to pass. With the positive steps the state made last night in regard to higher education, we can’t afford to jump backward and lose money in an unstable market.
Now back to Landrieu. I had hoped the Republican vote would split three ways and she would sail easily to victory. While this wasn’t the case, last night was a big step. Landrieu fans should remain vigilant in their quest to send her back to Washington, despite the obvious outpouring of Republican support that will certainly follow Terrell.
Louisiana is a key race in determining which party controls the U.S. Senate, and for us political junkies, that mean’s the fun’s just beginning.
Good luck to both women, and remember that while attack ads may tout “liberal Washington values” as evil, there are a lot of good somethings about Mary.