Melancon vs. Romero congressional showdown

3rd District candidates face off exclusively in the St. Charles Herald-Guide

EDITOR’S NOTE: Louisiana State Sen. Craig Romero, republican, hopes to unseat incumbent U.S. Rep. Charlie Melancon, democrat, as the congressman respresenting Louisiana’s 3rd District in Nov. 7 election. To help you make an informed choice, the St. Charles Herald-Guide asked Romero and Melancon to respond in 50 words or less to three questions as follow on this page. In the interest of fairness, and to determine which candidate’s answers would appear first, we flipped a penny.

Herald-Guide reporter: Will I, as a law-abiding, taxpaying citizen of St. Charles Parish, benefit financially from your election. If so, how? If not, why not?

Sen. Romero: In the state senate I opposed Gov. Kathleen Blanco’s attempts to increase taxes. I fought to end the Death Tax and I have signed the Taxpayer Protection Pledge to oppose any and all new federal taxes. Melancon voted to end our federal tax cuts and therefore increase taxes.

Rep. Melancon: I believe in the American middle class and I have supported tax cuts for middle class families. I will work to rebuild our coasts and help Louisiana recover from the hurricanes, which will drive down skyrocketing insurance rates, increase property value, and give businesses the confidence to rebuild in and come to South Louisiana.

Herald-Guide reporter: How will my children benefit from your election? What’s in it for them?

Sen. Romero: I am a father to seven children. I understand the need to protect and educate our children. I will work to keep our children safe from terrorism and crime. I will restore our coast so our children have jobs close to home and I will work to improve education.

Rep. Melancon: Every child deserves a strong education. I have support full funding of the No Child Left Behind Act to improve accountability in our schools. I secured $6,000 per pupil for districts that took in hurricane evacuees. I have fought against student loan rate increases because college should be affordable for everyone.

Herald-Guide reporter: How will St. Charles Parish benefit from your election? What, specifically, can you do to make our home an even better place to work and live?

Sen. Romero: Well, first by protecting your values. I will not vote with liberals like Charlie Melancon has done, raising taxes and supporting Nancy Pelosi to be Speaker of the House. I will support traditional Pro-Life, Pro-Family conservative values and second, work to stop illegal immigration that costs taxpayers millions.

Rep. Melancon: I will continue to work to bring jobs and economic development to St. Charles and the River Parishes. I have voted for legislation in the House to protect American jobs from illegal immigrants and believe that businesses who do not favor American workers should be punished rather than rewarded.

You’ve read our report – now you meet the candidates in person

St. Charles and St. John Business Associations will host a question-and-answer forum for the 3rd Congressional District Race Monday, October 30 from 8am until 9:30am.

All four candidates have confirmed their attendance: James Lee Blake (L), Olangee “OJ” Breech (D), Congressman Charlie Melancon (D), and State Senator Craig Romero (R). The forum will be held at the Quality Inn in LaPlace located at 3900 Highway 51.

It is open to members of the St. Charles and St. John Business Associations who may bring up to two guests each. Members of the River Region Chamber of Commerce are also invited. Those planning to attend, please RSVP to info@scbabuylocal.org

 

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