Lieutenant Governor
Candidate for lieutenant governor, J.F. “Rick” Ankesheiln, a Republican from New Orleans, is determined to develop Louisiana into a premiere retirement state.
Ankesheiln plans to build the retirement community by eliminating state income taxes on all retirement and earned income.
Kirt Bennett, a Republican from New Orleans, is running to make Louisiana a better place for young people to grow up by developing the economy.
Bennett also plans to eliminate income taxes for senior citizens.
Clyde Holloway, a Republican from Forest Hill, plans to “sell” Louisiana to the outside world, increase the state’s tourism industry and fight to repeal the state business taxes.
Holloway served as a U.S. Congressman from 1987 to 1993.
Mitch Landrieu, a Democrat from New Orleans, plans to become the “chief marketer” of Louisiana by focusing on job creation and state economic development.
Landrieu has been a state representative since 1988.
Melinda Schwegmann, a Republican from New Orleans, is determined to concentrate on the state’s economic development, but not lose sight of the state’s educational problems.
Schwegmann served as lieutenant governor from 1992 to 1996 and is currently in her sixth year as a state representative.
Additional information about Republicans Karl Schorr and “Silky Sullivan was unavailable.
State Treasurer
John Kennedy, a Democrat from Baton Rouge, has served as state treasurer since 1999.
Secretary of State
Albert Donovan is a Democrat from River Ridge. Additional information about Donovan was unavailable.
Scott Lewis is an Independent from Baton Rouge. Additional information about Lewis was unavailable.
Fox McKeithen, a Republican from Columbia, is planning to merge the Department of Elections with the Department of State to help elections run more smoothly.
McKeithen is currently serving in his sixteenth year as Secretary of State.
Attorney General
Candidate for attorney general Charles Foti, a Democrat from New Orleans, is focusing his campaign on expanding the role of crime victims in the system of justice, improving safety in area schools, and eliminating the legal barriers that keep new businesses from the state.
Foti also is working to improve issues including crimes against the elderly and crimes involving public corruption. Foti’s community service projects include art programs, after school programs for kids, employment and meal programs for the elderly, community clean-up efforts, renovations of schools.
Foti has been Orleans Parish criminal sheriff since 1974.
Republican Suzanne Haik Terrell stresses personal safety in her campaign. Terrell has been commissioner of elections since January 2000. She is pursuing attorney general because she wants to develop law enforcement education.
“It is important to assure that there is coordination between law enforcement agencies. I would establish a Law Enforcement Coordinating Commission that seeks to tackle crime where it starts: in our communities and neighborhoods,” Terrell said on her campaign Web site.
Terrell’s goal is to ensure that local law enforcement has the resources it needs. She will dedicate herself to the education of law enforcement officers at every level.
Commissioner of Agriculture
Bob Odom, a Democrat from Haynesville, is running for re-election for his seventh term in a position he has held since 1980. He has been with the Department of Agriculture since 1960.
Don Johnson, a Republican from Transylvania, is also a candidate for commissioner of agriculture. A farmer, this will be the third time Johnson runs for commissioner of agriculture against Odom.
Commissioner of Insurance
Current commissioner of insurance James Robert Wooley is running for re-election. He served as executive counsel and first assistant in the secretary of state’s office in Ferriday as well as an attorney from 1977 to 1990 and political consultant from 1993 to 1999.
Wooley said the primary issue in this election is the high cost of health insurance.
Edward “No-Fault” Fletcher, a Democrat from Baton Rouge, wants to install no-fault, a plan where damages to the insured’s vehicle are payed by an individual’s insurance company.
Also running for commissioner of insurance is John “T-T” Fontenot, a Republican from Baton Rouge. Fontenot is a retired Insurance Department attorney.
Dan Kyle, a Republican from Baton Rouge originally from Magnolia, Arkansas, is campaigning for Commissioner of Insurance. An associate LSU professor from 1968 to 1989 and a legislative auditor since 1989, Kyle vows to “create an economic climate for growth, and get this state off the bottom.”
Jim R. Bell, an Independent from Alexandria, is stressing worker’s compensation as his primary focus in the commissioner of insurance election. Among other initiatives, Bell wants to lower health insurance rates and support hospitals.
William “Coach” Johnson, a Democrat from Ponchatoula, is running to bring new leadership as insurance commissioner.
A former market director for Patterson Insurance Co., Johnson was a state Education Department administrator in the 1960’s and worked with banks in land agreements and bankruptcies.
–Information compiled from interviews and candidates’ Web sites.