Louisiana Elections Bring Big Wins for School Choice

Louisiana Federation for Children celebrates reform candidates' victories in state legislative and school board races

BATON ROUGE, La., Nov. 21, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Louisiana Federation for Children (LFC) today celebrated the bipartisan victories of numerous school choice supporters to the Louisiana Legislature and state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) during the Saturday, Nov. 19, statewide general elections.

Under the leadership of Baton Rouge businessman and LFC PAC chair Eddie Rispone, the LFC PAC played a decisive role in the campaign, working to grow Louisiana's coalition for school choice while electing supporters, defeating opponents, and raising the profile of school choice throughout the state.

In Saturday's high-profile BESE runoff races, LFC-supported pro-school choice candidates Chas Roemer (R), Carolyn Hill (D), and Kira Orange Jones (D) joined Oct. 22 primary winners and school choice supporters Jim Garvey (R), Jay Guillot (R), and Holly Boffy (R) as elected board members. These critical BESE victories give Gov. Bobby Jindal a supermajority to advance his bold education reform agenda, which has included strong support for expansion of school choice, in the 2012 legislative session.

Senate candidates supported by LFC PAC and winning election on Saturday include incumbent Senator Elbert Lee Guillory (D) and former Senator Greg Tarver (D). Senator John Smith (R), who was endorsed by the LFC PAC, also won re-election to the Senate. House of Representatives candidates supported by the LFC PAC and winning election include Lenar Whitney, Kenny Havard, Clay Schexnayder, Chris Broadwater, and Ray Garofalo.

"Louisiana voters have sent a loud and clear message that they are no longer willing to tolerate failure in our state's public education system, and they refuse to put the interest of adults ahead of our children," said Lauren Perry, LFC government affairs associate. "These newly elected school choice supporters—both Democrats and Republicans—are united in their commitment to transforming education and providing high-quality opportunities for all of Louisiana's children. They know that we cannot accept anything less."  

The LFC PAC provided some of its strongest support to a staunch Senate District 24 ally, Democratic Senator Elbert Lee Guillory. Challenged by former seat holder and current Opelousas mayor Don Cravins, Guillory handily won re-election with 56 percent of the vote, aided in part by an aggressive, targeted communications strategy from LFC PAC that generated nine direct mail pieces totaling more than $61,000.

In the 2011 primary and general elections combined, the LFC PAC spent more than $321,000 in support of 44 state-level candidates. In total, 77 percent of LFC PAC-supported candidates were elected, and the LFC PAC's independent voter contact expenditures were evenly divided between Democratic and Republican school choice supporters.

Candidates in Louisiana's primary and general elections were evaluated by LFC PAC on the basis of their support for preserving and expanding the highly successful school voucher program in New Orleans—which provides private school choice for more than 1,800 children from low-income families—and for Louisiana's thriving public charter schools, as well as other related education reforms.

The Louisiana Federation for Children PAC is a bipartisan political action committee whose mission is to ensure that every child has access to a quality education. For more information, visit www.Louisiana4children.org.

SOURCE Louisiana Federation for Children