On Sept. 27 Loyola University hosted a moderated question-and-answer forum on environmental issues in Louis J. Roussel Hall for the candidates running in the second congressional district race. The event aimed to provide open discussion on environmental issues affecting Louisiana. Although all seven of the congressional candidates were invited to attend, only three participated in Saturday’s forum.
Moderated by Dennis Woltering of WWL, Democratic candidates Cedric Richmond, Kenya Smith and James Carter appeared before the audience to answer questions ranging from protecting the wetlands to increasing the number of green jobs in Louisiana.
Loyola University Community Action Program co-sponsored the event with the Gulf Restoration Network and the Alliance for Affordable Energy as part of a national Day of Action initiative by the organization Green for All. “GRN is extremely well known in the Gulf Coast area, especially among the environmental crowd. A very large number of Loyola students intern with them each year,” sociology sophomore Chad Carson, who helped coordinate the event for LUCAP, said.
The candidates frequently agreed on many of the issues. In his opening statement, Richmond, currently a state representative for Louisiana, said, “We have for too long taken our environment for granted, just as we took our coast for granted,” a sentiment shared by his opponents.
When asked how the current economic crisis will affect the nation’s drive towards a green economy, all three candidates agreed that it should expedite it. Smith, a former aide to Democratic New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, said the crisis has made the public realize that it is “time for us to change our basic behavioral patterns”, while City Councilman Carter similarly said the crisis is “causing this country to look closely how we deal with our spending patterns.”
When confronted with the issue of energy independence, all three candidates stated they were in favor of creating tax incentives for proponents of environmentally friendly practices, such as green building and exploring alternative energy sources. Additionally, the candidates highlighted the critical role they believe universities play in developing the technologies needed to create a greener economy and stated they are in favor of an increase in funding to such institutions.
On the issue of storm protection, particularly the role of the United States Army Corps of Engineers, all three candidates agreed strengthening the levee system is imperative, although Smith made it explicitly clear he is “no great fan of the Army Corps of Engineers.” He did confirm that he would direct them in the rebuilding efforts.
In his response, Richmond said that while he believed the Corps is in charge of the master plan, Louisiana as a state would need to put up money and use its own technology and research in the strengthening process.
In their closing statements, all three candidates thanked Loyola for hosting an event aimed at bringing attention to environmental issues.
“I felt they knew the issues a little more than I thought they would. For being a state senator and a city council person, it seems they had a fairly good grasp of the issues,” Bob Payne, A’08, said.
Elizabeth Shepherd of the Gulf Restoration Network said she would have appreciated more distinct solutions from each candidate.
“At this point I was comparing rhetoric and style. I wanted to compare substance,” she said.
Sarah Goodwin can be reached at [email protected] and Rachel Buhner can be reached at [email protected].
