Hopefuls target spending, ethics

• By VIC COUVILLION
• Special to The Advocate
• Published: Sep 20, 2007 - Page: 2B

• Print
• Email
• Save
• Twitter
• Social Media

• Del.icio.us
• Digg
• Facebook
• Reddit
• 

HAMMOND — Seven candidates hoping to represent Tangipahoa Parish in the Louisiana House of Representatives joined Wednesday night in criticizing past state spending and what several termed questionable ethical conduct in Baton Rouge.

Four of the candidates, Michelle Aycock, Tony Licciardi, Scott Ploof, and Steve Pugh are running for election in House District 73, which covers much of the parish.

Colleen Hawley, Angelique Lacour and John Schroder are seeking election to the House District 77 seat which includes St. Tammany Parish and a portion of the eastern edge of Tangipahoa Parish.

Whoever is elected will be new to the House of Representatives. Incumbents Henry “Tank” Powell, District 73, and Diane Winston, District 77, could not seek re-election after completing the number of terms allowed by the state constitution.

Asked by a panel of news media representatives whether or not they favored full disclosure of all income from personal sources, political backers and business interests, the candidates all said they would support measures in the Legislature that would require more “public transparency” of the source of campaign funds.

Licciardi, who served eight years on the Hammond City Council, said that he had signed the Blueprint for Louisiana, a plan advanced by a private group that seeks to have candidates running for state office commit to a number of promises. Licciardi called corruption in Louisiana “a plague” and called for full disclosure of all finances by all candidates.

Lacour said she would propose a bill that would prohibit the acceptance of any campaign contributions during the time the Legislature is in session.

Aycock said that “transparency” in campaign funding should extend even to the relatives and business associates of candidates.

Schroeder, who said that he also signed the Blueprint, observed that full disclosure of campaign finances is not a cure-all for Louisiana’s long association with corruption, but he called it a start. “Ethics are important to all facets of our society. We must, as a state, decide that corruption will no longer be tolerated in Louisiana,” he said.

The candidates offered various opinions on what the state’s role should be in assisting with the recovery of New Orleans from Hurricane Katrina.

All agreed that the Road Home program should be fully funded and that the state can assist in that area.

All the candidates also agreed that the state needs to improve its roads and highways and Schroeder and Ploof both called for the widening of Interstate 12 to six lanes from Slidell to Baton Rouge.

Several candidates said that they would establish dedicated funds for road improvements and stop the practice of putting most state monies in the general fund where it is spent on “pet” projects brought forth by legislators.