By Bill Decker, LSN writer
LAFAYETTE – The knives are out in Washington: indictments, investigations, name-calling tweets, intense partisanship and allegations of treason.
But Wednesday’s OneAcadiana forum for candidates who want to represent south Louisiana’s 3rd Congressional District was a kinder, gentler affair.
The format for the forum at Lafayette’s Picard Center was based on the game show “Jeopardy!” and was about as lacking in animosity and confrontation.
Final Jeopardy will be the Nov. 6 primary, and the question will be whether Republican incumbent Clay Higgins goes back to Washington for a second two-year term.
There were jokes among the candidates about going out for a beer together.
“I’ve been struck by the honesty of the madam and gentlemen who stand here with me,” Higgins said in his closing statement. “This is a room full of winners, man.”
“Really, there is no personal animosity here,” said Lafayette Democrat Mildred “Mimi” Methvin after the forum. “At least I’m here because I believe it’s about the policy, what the country stands for.”
A rare exception to the friendly tone came from Josh Guillory, the Youngsville attorney and Iraq War veteran who is trying to unseat a member of his own party. Incumbent Higgins qualified using a Lafayette post office box, but his home is widely reported to be outside the district in St. Landry Parish.
Guillory seized on that point. He took a question about whether the nation’s greatest adversary is Russia or China, and he pivoted to question Higgins’ residency.
“I know who I’m going to vote for for Congress,” Guillory said, turning to Higgins. “Congressman, who are you going to vote for?”
“I’m not either China or Russia,” Higgins replied.
The incumbent noted that the U.S. Constitution doesn’t require House members to live in the districts they serve. The founding fathers were considered with residency in states, he said.
At Wednesday’s forum:
-- Democrat “Rob” Anderson, a businessman and free-lance writer from DeQuincy, is making his first run for political office. The big infrastructure work in the district involves liquefied natural gas facilities and the development of a marine highway to facilitate shipping, he said.
Other candidates referred to projects such as a new Interstate 10 bridge in Lake Charles and the Interstate 49 Connector in Lafayette.
“The most pressing need is probably all of the above,” Anderson said.
Asked about possible sanctions against Saudi Arabia over the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khasshoggi, Anderson said, “The United States should strive to be what it once was, a leader in human rights.”
Anderson was among those who spoke of the friendly relationship among the candidates.
“We all get along famously,” Anderson said. “I find it hard to believe we can’t go to Washington and work together.”
Like other candidates, Anderson said the educational system should create opportunities to get two-year post-secondary vocational certificates that put people into jobs that need to be filled.
-- Aaron J. Andrus of Westlake is running as a Libertarian, and his answers revolved around the Libertarian philosophy of smaller government.
Asked about his priorities, Andrus talked about the I-10 corridor and cutting the federal deficit, which some forecasts say will hit $1 trillion by the end of the current fiscal year. He said it’s important to cut federal spending.
And he responded to a question about the wisdom of a law requiring the purchase of locally produced manufactured goods this way: “I tend to think we should keep the federal government out of it as much as possible.”
-- Guillory spoke of the same infrastructure priorities — the Lake Charles bridge and the I-49 Connector — that his opponents favor, and added another: dredging ship channels to accommodate maritime commerce.
He gave Higgins credit for obtaining funds for south Louisiana dredging projects but said the region needs a multi-year solution.
“We shouldn’t have to go begging every year,” Guillory said.
He came out strongly for a balanced budget and cast doubt on the idea of a raise in the national minimum wage that doesn’t account for different costs of living in different parts of the country.
And Guillory said he supported the cut in personal and corporate income tax rates pushed by President Donald J. Trump.
He said he favors a private sector health care solution to government involvement.
-- Higgins said he’s been willing to work with Democrats in Congress but said the minority party has been an obstruction to good legislation. Higgins has generally supported Trump on the tax cut and the need for a border wall.
“Nothing comes across our southern border, criminally, without being touched by the cartel,” Higgins said.
The incumbent gave Trump credit for an economic revival that he said could achieve a 4 percent growth in gross domestic product for three consecutive quarters.
And he said it’s important to rebuild the military, which he said slipped to such a state during the Obama administration that 70 percent of aircraft were unable to fly.
Higgins may have flipped the statistics there. An analysis by the Military Times, a respected defense news source, indicates the readiness rate for the entire military air fleet was at about 74 percent in 2014, the middle of President Barack Obama’s second term, and fell to 71 percent in 2017, the first year of the Trump administration.
-- Methvin, a former federal magistrate, was asked about the merit of lawsuits filed by local governments against the energy industry over its contribution to coastal wetlands loss.
Methvin said the industry has already accepted 30 percent of the responsibility because of work performed without permits and for waterways that cut through coastal areas. The industry would get good public relations by stepping up, she said.
“What we learned in kindergarten is you should take responsibility for the harm you do,” Methvin said.
She spoke in favor of a move toward a single-payer health care system, which is generally understood to put the federal government in the role of the single payer. Americans currently pay twice as much for health care as other advanced nations and yet have worse health outcomes in areas including infant mortality and the incidence of diabetes.
“We are not getting our money’s worth,” Methvin said.
-- Verone Thomas, a Navy veteran and Democratic businessman from Lake Charles, said it’s important to look ahead to infrastructure developments such as driverless cars.
He’s not a big fan of the state’s $50 billion coastal restoration plan, which he said doesn’t hold the energy industry accountable for its role in subsidence, which some consider to play a role in wetlands loss.
Thomas spoke in favor of tuition assistance and of a move toward Medicare for all.
He has doubts about plans to build a border wall based on his experience as a sailor in San Diego.
“I saw tunnels being dug while the wall was being built,” Thomas said.
Larry Rader, an Iberia Parish Democrat who is running, didn’t attend Wednesday’s forum.
Early voting opens Tuesday and runs through Oct. 30, excluding Sunday.