[StBernard] Aiming for the top (NO CityBusiness)

[Westley Annis]

Aiming for the top
 
Walter Boasso puts Bobby Jindal in campaign crosshairs
 
by Jaime Guillet
 
 
 
“If I knew Bobby Jindal could handle the job,” said state Sen. Walter
Boasso, “I wouldn’t be in the race for governor. If I knew he was doing
it for the right reasons, I wouldn’t be running for governor.” 
 
 
 
Boasso delivered the essence of his bid for Louisiana’s highest elected
office with a stern stare from his Artic blue eyes. The Democrat from
Arabi promises, if elected, the office will be the pinnacle of his
political career allowing him the ability to make the tough decisions
for a state he said is “on its knees.” 
 
 
 
After one-term representing St. Bernard Parish, he has relinquished his
seat in the Legislature. 
 
 
 
“I’m all in like Texas-Hold ‘em. There’s no way you’re going to be able
to fix this state if you want a political career or you’re using it as a
stepping stone,” Boasso said. “You’ve got to have the political courage
to make a hard decision and not worry about getting re-elected. Right
now in this state, we’re at a major crossroads. 
 
 
 
“I know I’ve got 48 months to turn this state around and I didn’t get in
this race to be a ribbon-cutting governor or to run for some other
higher office,” he said. 
 
 
 
Statements like these have been par for the course from Boasso, a recent
convert to the Democratic Party who began his campaign running frequent
television ads featuring a cardboard cutout of Jindal. The genesis of
the cutouts stemmed from Jindal’s refusal to participate in monthly
debates around the state leading up to the election. 
 
 
 
“I guess I’m an idealist in the sense I thought we were going to have a
governor’s election where we weren’t afraid to answer any kind of
questions to the general public or not let them know where we stand on
the issues,” Boasso said. “When not hearing back from the congressman, I
felt it appropriate to carry him around until he agreed to show up and
tell the people what his plans are to bring Louisiana back to where it
should be.” 
 
 
 
The ads have been effective at least in terms of public name
recognition, said Pearson Cross, University of Louisiana at Lafayette
assistant professor of political science. 
 
 
 
“He went pretty much from an unknown to — I haven’t seen the latest
numbers — probably 75 to 80 percent of public name recognition,” Cross
said. “That’s huge.” 
 
 
 
Other strong points of Boasso’s campaign, Cross said, include the early
ads’ suggestion of an easygoing, down-home guy with a sense of humor and
a compelling story who is striving for the working man. 
 
 
 
Boasso’s biggest hurdle will be to corral a voting demographic spread
among the other candidates, Cross said. He identifies Boasso’s voter
base as working-class, independent and conservative south Louisianians. 
 
 
 
“When you look at Boasso, he’s doing a lot of the right things. But
where are his votes going to come from?” Cross said. “Most of his
demographic is claimed by other people.” 
 
 
 
Cross said Boasso’s best fighting chance is to target African-Americans
who account for 29 percent of statewide registered voters and aren’t
galvanized around a particular candidate but traditionally vote
Democratic. 
 
 
 
Boasso’s political party affiliation has been fodder for his detractors,
beginning with his most recent switch from Republican to Democrat and
his early 1990s shift from Democrat to Republican. Opponents claim it is
unmitigated ambition prompting his party jumps. 
 
 
 
Boasso said his flight from the Republican Party was prompted when state
GOP Chairman Roger Villere lied to him and broke rules by endorsing
Jindal. Villere said there is no such rule and he never promised Boasso
the party wouldn’t endorse a single candidate. 
 
 
 
“We thought it was important to have one Republican in the race,”
Villere said. “It worked with (Sen. David) Vitter. (Jindal) is obviously
a strong candidate. He’s leading the polls with over 50 percent.” 
 
 
 
Putting polls, ads and demographics aside, Boasso said he knows the
issues back and forth and has concrete solutions for the state’s
recovery ailments. Coastal restoration is one of his primary issues,
which he claims was one reason he did not sign on to Blueprint
Louisiana. The nonprofit reform group did not include wetlands
protection in its effort to get legislative and statewide office
candidates to commit to a five-point plan based on improved ethics,
health care and education reform, work force development and improved
transportation infrastructure. 
 
 
 
Boasso’s platform also calls for insurance and health care reform. The
former CEO of Boasso America Corp., an intermodal service company, said
his style of leadership will be “get the job done” no matter what the
issue. 
 
 
 
“We can’t afford four years of partisanship,” Boasso said. “We’re on our
knees. We’re living in a false economy, 176,000 permanent jobs were
lost. We’re a couple of hurricanes away from bankruptcy. We have an
insurance crisis like we’ve never seen before and we have nothing going
on in the way of practical solutions to coastal restoration such as
restoring barrier islands or storm surge barriers. Now it’s time to do
something.”•
 
 
 
 
 
© 2007 Jennifer Marusak – “On Track With Marusak” on-line clipping
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