Members of the Louisiana Association of Educators’ Political Action Committee Interview Gubernatorial Hopefuls

Committee Meets with Four of the 10 Candidates Vying for Louisiana’s Top Leadership Position

BATON ROUGE, LA– October 3, 2011 – Members of the Louisiana Association of Educators’ political action committee – the LAE Fund for Children & Public Education (LAE-FCPE) – met over the weekend to interview the contenders vying for Louisiana’s top office. Of those running, LAE-FCPE members met with Ron Ceasar of Opelousas, Tara Hollis of Haynesville, Androniki “Niki Bird” Papazoglakis of Baton Rouge, and Ivo “Trey” Roberts of Gretna.

“This is an extremely important election and members of our political action committee are taking this process very seriously,” said LAE-FCPE Chairperson Joyce Haynes. “The future of Louisiana relies on the decisions made and the policies enacted by the individual who is elected to this position. We would really like to see someone who is a supporter of public education – someone who is going to make the children of Louisiana a priority.”

Each candidate went through an extensive screening process where they were asked to answer a questionnaire exploring their views on such issues as teacher accountability, charter schools, teachers’ retirement, privatization and state funding. The candidates then met with nearly 20 members of the LAE-FCPE, where they were given an opportunity to elaborate on their questionnaire answers, as well as their campaign platforms. Committee members reviewed each candidate and will soon make a recommendation to the full LAE-FCPE. The decision to endorse is forthcoming.

“The candidates we met with interviewed well and we appreciate the initiative that each is taking by running for this very important office,” said Haynes. “If we do decide to endorse, we will go with the individual whose platform is most in line with our values as educators.”

The 2011 gubernatorial primaries will take place on October 22nd. If needed, a runoff is scheduled for November 19th.

For more information visit www.lae.org or contact Ashley Davis at ashley.davis@lae.org.
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