Baton Rouge, La. – EASTPAC, a political action committee of the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry (LABI), today announced their first round of endorsements for the 2015 fall elections.
“Since our inception, EASTPAC’s top priority is to ensure those we elect to political office understand the business community’s needs when policy decisions are being made, “said LABI EASTPAC Chairman Milton Graugnard. “That’s why we are announcing our support for these eight house members and one senator today. We invite the broader business community to come together to support these pro-growth candidates in their re-election campaigns.”
EASTPAC covers the greater Baton Rouge region of the state and extends east along I-12 to Tangipahoa parish.
EASTPAC’s regional area committee convened a meeting this month to consider the 2015 candidates’ qualifications and make endorsement recommendations to the board.
Factors taken into consideration during the deliberation process include the lawmakers rating on LABI’s 2012-2015 cumulative scorecard as well as elements such as a legislator’s commitment to work with the business community, their communication style, work ethic, actions taken in committee and willingness to listen to concerns expressed by employers in their district.
All of these factors led the area committee to endorse the following incumbent legislators:
- Rep. John A. Berthelot (R-Gonzales, District 88)
- Rep. Chris Broadwater(R-Hammond, District 86)
- Rep. Stephen F. Carter (R-Baton Rouge, District 68)
- Rep. Valarie Hodges (R-Denham Springs, District 64)
- Rep. Barry Ivey (R-Baton Rouge, District 65)
- Rep. Stephen Pugh (R-Ponchatoula, District 73)
- Rep. Clay Schexnayder (R-Sorrento, District 81)
- Rep. Major Thibaut (D-New Roads, District 18)
- Sen. Mack “Bodi White (R-Baton Rouge, District 06)
“We encourage the broader business community to support these legislators in their bids for re-election and to stay tuned for additional recommendations, “said EASTPAC executive director Brian Landry. “This is a critical and dynamic election cycle. As the political landscape continues to develop in the weeks and months ahead, we will be issuing additional endorsements.”
In addition to the list above, EASTPAC is excited to announce the endorsement of Representative Dalton Honore (D-Baton Rouge) in his bid for the Senate District 15 seat that will be vacated by term-limited Senator Sharon Weston Broome. Representative Honore has been a great leader and communicator for his house district since winning a special election in 2010. His honesty and work ethic will be a valuable asset for Senate District 15.
In BESE District 8, EASTPAC has also endorsed candidate Jada Lewis to challenge the incumbent Carolyn Hill in the fall elections. Lewis’ background and involvement in both K-12 schools and in Louisiana’s higher education system make her an excellent choice for BESE. Lewis is an engineering graduate from Louisiana State University (LSU) and passionately works to develop STEM instruction in the public school system. She is a member of the Society of Women Engineers, the LSU AP Tureaud Alumni Association and the Louisiana STEM Girls Collaborative.
EASTPAC is a non-partisan political action committee working to recruit and support candidates who support the free enterprise market with as little government interference as possible.