Chambers sets himself apart from Barrow on being pro small business, including, “110 percent support for hair braiding license exemption.”

State Sen. Regina Ashford Barrow (District 15)

 

 

Gary Chambers, candidate for Senate District 15

Installment one of the Barrow / Chambers forum held at the Baton Rouge Press Club to sort out who will represent State Senate District 15 focused on the candidates’ take on the Johnny Anderson matter, their thoughts on Dr. Oscar “Omar”Dantzler’s claims of media racial bias having played a role in his assertion that his campaign for governor has been quashed, and what they plan to so should the City of St. George ballot initiative pass.  In fact, the St. George video has been viewed nearly 2,700 times since it was published on Monday.

Today, let’s focus on some other matters covered in the forum:


After Sound Off Louisiana founder Robert Burns revealed the fact that, at the prior week’s forum, former Congressman Cleo Fields indicated a willingness to sponsor a measure to repeal the license requirement for hair braiding (Fields is running for State Sen. District 14), Burns asked both Barrow and Chambers whether they would support such a measure.  In the video above, Chambers provides his response.

Next up was Barrow to respond to the hair braiding license abolition.  Let’s take a look at what she had to say:


Incumbent District 15 Sen. Regina Barrow provides her thoughts on abolishing the requirement for a license to braid hair.

Barrow knows she’s highly vulnerable to defeat over this one issue alone!  She states in the video above that she believes the number of hours required (500) is excessive.  That is truly ironic given that it was Barrow who sponsored SB-370 of the 2018 Louisiana Legislative Session that would have actually increased the number of required hours from 500 to 1,000!!!  All any subscriber has to do is look at item (3) of the digest of the bill just linked to confirm that fact!  The following video highlights Barrow’s bill’s fate in the Senate Commerce Committee, and we strongly encourage any voter in Senate District 15 to watch it.  The video clearly demonstrates just how anti-small-business Barrow is as this hearing, which was an unmitigated disaster for her and the bill’s supporters:


Barrow’s bill to increase the required number of hours to braid hair from 500 to 1,000 suffers disastrous consequences as it is debated in the Senate Commerce Committee.

What Barrow apparently can’t get through her thick skull (and we know of no other way to phrase it) is that people being issued cosmetology licenses are implicitly deemed to be qualified to braid hair EVEN THOUGH THEY’VE NOT SPENT ONE SECOND IN CLASS LEARNING HOW TO BRAID HAIR!!!  Thus, Barrow wants to force people who ONLY want to braid hair to expend $10,000 in tuition and attend the only school to offer a program specifically for hair braiding, with that one school being located in Monroe, Louisiana!  Meanwhile, she is apparently perfectly fine with people graduating from a cosmetology school and being issued a cosmetology license being “ordained” as qualified to braid hair even though the school they attended devoted not even a nanosecond teaching hair braiding.

Gary Chambers, despite the baggage he carries entailing his relationship with the white community (just look at the comments beneath the St. George video) clearly “gets it” far better Barrow when it comes to the hair braiding issue!


Barrow and Chambers weigh in on legalizing pot for recreational use.

Barrow and Chambers weigh in on abolishing the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE).

Barrow and Chambers get an opportunity to question one another, and more than a little animus between the two becomes evident.

CLICK HERE for the forum in its entirety.

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While endorsing Edwards at news conference and implicitly slamming former client, attorney Jill Craft fails to mention another female client whom she asserts was told by Edwards’ office to, “Shut the f— up!”

Attorney Jill Craft, speaking at a press conference called by Gov. John Bel Edwards on Tuesday, October 8, 2019.

Anyone not living in a cave is quite familiar with Gov. Edwards’ “Johnny Anderson problem.”  On Tuesday, October 8, 2019,  WBRZ (Channel 2 in Baton Rouge) investigative reporter Chris Nakamoto broadcast a succinct summation. It focused on a press conference by Juanita Washington, the alleged sexual harassment victim of Johnny Anderson.  Edwards hired Anderson for a key Cabinet position notwithstanding Anderson’s extensive past history of sexual harassment at Southern University.  Nakamoto’s feature also focused on a response press conference called by Gov. Edwards’ office.

We’d like to focus in on a 24-second video clip of the Edwards camp response press conference which we present at this time:


Attorney Jill Craft, identified as “defending the Governor” and “endorsing the Governor,” without mentioning former client Juanita Washington by name, implicitly slams her in referencing people, “who stand on a soap box when it’s convenient for them.”

We find it a tad ironic that Edwards would call upon Craft to defend him and make it known that she endorses him given that it is Craft who, in paragraph 17 of a petition CRAFT DRAFTED, accuses Gov. Edwards’ office of telling Cathy Derbonne, who asserts she was “constructively discharged” for reporting alleged illegal acts by Gov. Edwards, to “shut the f— up.”  It’s contained in paragraph 17 of the petition just linked, but let’s highlight it for everyone, shall we?

We note a few other observations about the petition linked above, to wit:

    • Derbonne claims Edwards made illegal appointments to the Louisiana State Police Commission because he didn’t follow the provisions of Louisiana’s Constitution requiring him to obtain recommendation letters from three specific colleges in Louisiana (see paragraph 12 of the Craft-drafted petition) and, instead, simply appointed whomever he wanted to appoint.
    • Derbonne claims illegal campaign contributions were made into Edwards’ campaign in 2015 and reported that fact to Gov. Edwards, after which Derbonne was “barred…..and ordered to cease any further opposition or reports” (see paragraphs 9 and 9a of the Craft-drafted petition).

We’d like to point out that, unlike Washington’s litigation which has been resolved, Derbonne’s litigation remains active (it’s on appeal to the First Circuit Court of Appeals).

Call us cynical, but it sure looks to us like it is Craft who likes to “step up on a soap box when it’s convenient for her,” even when her actions in doing so seem to defy the very claims she asserts entialing Gov. Edwards in litigation which she continues to serve as counsel for plaintiff!

We just wonder what Derbonne may think of this apparent cozy relationship Craft seems to enjoy with Gov. Edwards.  We can’t help but note the ultimate irony of Edwards calling upon Craft for his defense and for her to endorse him given what all Craft alleges in pleadings that he has done!

Common sense would dictate she’d be the last person from whom he would seek an endorsement, but perhaps the Anderson matter has Gov. Edwards and his camp a tad nervous and off its game, or else maybe they’re simply desperate for any defense of Edwards’ irresponsible action of hiring Anderson and costing taxpayers over $100,000 (approximately $34,000 of which, we might add, went to Craft)!

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State Sen. Regina Barrow characterizes “Did Gov. Edwards drop the ball on Johnny Anderson or has he been unfairly attacked?” as “loaded” as she, challenger Chambers defend Edwards’ actions.

State Sen. Regina Ashford Barrow (District 15)

 

 

Gary Chambers, candidate for Senate District 15

The meeting of the Baton Rouge Press Club (BRPC) of Monday, October 7, 2019 was a battle of contenders to represent Louisiana State Senate District 15.  The candidates are incumbent State Sen. Regina Ashford Barrow, and challenger Gary Chambers, who is the publisher of the Rouge Collection.  Let’s take a look at some of the things the candidates had to say, shall we?


Sen. Barrow characterizes as “loaded” Sound Off Louisiana founder Robert Burns’ question entailing whether Gov. Edwards “dropped the ball” entailing his hiring of Johnny Anderson or whether Truth in Politics’ attack ad featuring the victim and/or the RGA Right Direction PAC attack ad are unfair.  Chambers responds to the question after Barrow concludes her remarks.

Now, as is obvious by the video, both Barrow and Chambers staunchly defend Gov. Edwards and stress that Anderson has not been “convicted.”  Fair enough.  For the record, Johnny Anderson is black.  We wonder if Barrow and Chambers would so staunchly defend Edwards if they were aware of similar circumstances entailing Caucasian Stephen Holliday.

Here’s the deal:  Edwards’-then Secretary of Wildlife and Fisheries and former U. S. Congressman, Charlie Melancon, insisted upon the resignation of Holliday once he (Melancon) became aware of Holliday’s CONVICTION of domestic abuse for punching his 14-year-old daughter in the face with a closed fist.  What did Edwards do upon learning of the forced resignation?  He:  #1) instructed Melancon to exit stage left, and he #2) demanded the re-hiring of Holliday, who continues to be employed by Louisiana taxpayers to this very day.

Of course, both Barrow and Chambers could be excused for not knowing about Holliday’s incident because the mainstream media aren’t about to reveal it to them and, for whatever reason (perhaps saving it for the runoff?), neither have Edwards’ Republican opponents.  Nevertheless, Barrow and Chambers ought to find the contrasts of treatments of Anderson v. Holliday (and their opposite races) to be at least modestly curious!

Speaking of mainstream media, let’s see what these candidates think of Dr. Omar Dantzler’s claim that “racism” is behind the mainstream media’s efforts to quash his campaign’s existence.


Barrow and Chambers respond to Dantzler’s claims of the mainstream media attempting to quash his campaign’s existence.

Now, unbelievably, Chambers states that he is “unfamiliar” with Dantzler’s candidacy and that the fact he is not familiar demonstrates the bias in the mainstream media.  Perhaps had Chambers known of Dantzler’s candidacy, he may not have declared, “black voters have one choice on election day, John Bel Edwards.”  Here is an excerpt from Chambers’ article:

I am not the type of person to give blind loyalty. Too often in the black community we believe if we challenge someone that we don’t support them, when that simply is not true. I endorsed Governor Edwards in 2015 and I’m doing so again today. This election is too important to yield power over to Trump supporting conservatives who will implement failed policies that we’ve seen before.

We can’t speak for Dr. Dantzler, but we have to believe he would feel endorsing Edwards over him constitutes “blind loyalty.”

Nevertheless, taking Chambers’ claim of unfamiliarity regarding Dantzler at face value (and there’s no reason to suggest he did have any familiarity with Dantzler’s candidacy), we note two points that are readily apparent:

#1) the media efforts Dr. Dantzler alleges have been in place to quash his candidacy must be working if someone with the notoriety of Gary Chambers is “unfamiliar” with his candidacy, and

#2) even given the media suppression Dantzler alleges is taking place, Chambers likely needs to broaden his research on who all is running for Governor!

Perhaps subscribing to our blog may assist as he would have received this post educating him on Dantzler’s candidacy and his platforms on many issues.  We are willing to bet they are strikingly similar to positions that Chambers would take were he running for Governor.

Now, we’re going to break today’s forum into two segments, and the second will be published on Wednesday.  For now, however, let’s wrap up this first segment with the candidates’ responses on what they intend to do if the proposed City of St. George measure passes on Saturday:


Barrow and Chambers provide their answers on what they intend to do if the St. George initiative passes on Saturday.

Now, supporters of Chambers asked us to provide the segment of last week’s Fields/Smith forum where moderator Delia Taylor went to announce the speakers for today’s forum and could easily cite challenger Gary Chambers but struggled mightily to recall the “other candidate in the race.”  We’re certainly happy to oblige by instructing any such folk who may be interested in seeing that to merely advance to the 47:29 mark of this video.

We’ll get segment two of Barrow v. Chambers published on Wednesday, October 9, 2019.

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