First Greens to File for State Elections in Louisiana History
by Christian Roselund Sunday, Aug. 24, 2003 at 11:24 AM
c_roselund@yahoo.com

Dan Thompson of Buras, Louisiana, and Jason Neville and Les Evenchick, both of New Orleans, became the first candidates in Louisiana history to officially run for state office on the Green Party ticket this Tuesday, even though an unannounced redistricting has placed one of the candidates’ homes outside of his district. Jason Neville, 24, became aware of the change this Tuesday after filing to run for state senate in district 3 against Lambert Boissiere, a democrat.

Jason says that he supports the change to the district’s map, “I just wish they’d told me and the rest of the voters.” District 3, the strangely shaped district that included New Orleans East, the Ninth Ward, the Marigny, and a strip of land running along Esplanade avenue to the Fairgrounds now contains some parts of the West Bank and has eliminated the part along Esplanade, including Mr. Neville’s home in the Bayou St. John neighborhood. No mention of the change, which the clerk at the Secretary of State’s office received notice of on July 24, is reflected on the Secretary of State’s web site, or on the web site of the current senator. Senator Boissiere, who won the last election with the vote of only 8% of those who were able to vote, has a web site that features a map of the district which, as of July 24, is not accurate. The change will not put Jason out of the race but will require him to move into the new boundaries of the district if he wins the race. Jason does not see this as a setback, in fact he says he plans to start campaigning in the West Bank next week.

In Plaquemines Parish the dark horse candidacy of former commercial fisherman Dan Thompson is off to a strong start, having successfully collected the number of signatures to qualify for the ballot without having to pay a fee imposed by the Secretary of State, something that very few candidates manage or even attempt. This is a change of tide for Dan, who suffered a setback in July when a deranged man burned a stack of his petitions during a collection drive. Dan attributes his success to his strong base of support among the fisherman and shrimpers in Plaquemines, where he estimates that “90% of the people here” make their living in the seafood industry.

Jason Neville commented Friday night on this historic moment for the Green Party of Louisiana, formed only three years ago during Nader’s bid for the presidency, as well as his campaign. Jason is running on the ‘education not incarceration’ ticket, along with local activist CC Campbell-Rock, who is running for State BESE board (State Board of Secondary and Elementary Education) and Renee Washington, an independent who is challenging long-time incumbent Harry Lee for sheriff of Jefferson Parish. In addition to that issue, Jason says that affordable healthcare “is becoming a bigger and bigger part of my platform because of the cuts at Charity (hospital) which were supported by 37 out of 39 state senators, including Boissiere.”

Jason added that no Senator in office had been challenged in twenty years in District 3, and says that he brings “a choice to the voters of District 3… Boissiere wasn’t planning on doing any campaigning, and now he’s going to have to earn his vote.” When asked about his age and how it affects his candidacy, Jason replied that “I think my youth is a very auspicious factor… people in New Orleans want to see new ideas. It’s time for a leadership in Louisiana that reflects the future and not the past, and that is what people here want to see.”

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