Candidates cite issues in District 1

• By STEVEN WARD
• Advocate staff writer
• Published: Sep 12, 2008 - Page: 1B - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.
• Editor’s note: This is the fifth in a series of stories about the candidates for the 12 Metro Council seats in the Oct. 4 primary. Due to coverage of Hurricane Gustav, the Metro Council stories are not being published in chronological order. The interviews were conducted before the hurricane hit Louisiana.

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All three candidates for the Metro Council District 1 seat think the city-parish can play a role in spurring economic development in East Baton Rouge Parish, but they have different positions on other key issues.

Candidates Pat Fuller and J.E. Trae Welch think there are traffic problems they want to fix, if elected, but candidate Brenda Bennett Carter said there’s no real major traffic issues in the district.

“We don’t have them. No congestion, just typical rush hour problems everyone has,” Carter said.

Fuller and Welch both said the proposed Baton Rouge Loop would help traffic congestion in District 1, but both men said traffic synchronization would be a big boon to traffic woes.

In addition to traffic lights, Fuller wants to try and synchronize the times that city-parish and state employees travel to and from work. Fuller said city-parish and state employees could be staggered in 15-minute and 30-minute intervals so everyone is not headed downtown for work at the same time of day.

Crime
On the issue of crime, both Fuller and Welch support the construction of a new Parish Prison because the jail is old, out of date and overcrowded. That is part of Mayor-President Kip Holden’s proposed 30-year, $989 million bond issue to improve infrastructure, public safety and quality of life.

Carter, who is not sure a new Parish Prison is needed, wants to study the issue some more, she said.

Carter wants to push for stricter truancy laws, which would help curb crime. “When you get an education, you can eliminate the crime problem,” she said.

Fuller and Welch want to step up community policing and community awareness by creating more neighborhood watch programs.

Fuller said the growth in District 1 requires more federal funding to hire new police officers.

District 1 is represented by Wayne Carter, who is running for mayor-president against Holden and two other men.

District 1 covers the northern part of the parish, including the cities of Baker and Zachary.

Taxes, economy
Carter said the key to bringing new businesses to the district is offering more tax incentives and seeking federal grant money.