As summer winds down and we approach another school year, we’re also moving into election season. Not only is there a major governor’s race, but all statewide officials are up for election, as well as the Legislature. This year more than ever, term limits are really kicking in with more than a third of legislators unable to run for their current seats.
We think this makes for a good time to ask the people who want to be our leaders – the candidates for governor and the Legislature – what’s their vision for Louisiana? What do they see Louisiana looking like in 10 or 20 years and what’s their road map for getting us there?
That’s why CABL, the Public Affair Research Council and the Committee of 100 for Economic Development have come together in a unique nonpartisan election initiative called RESET Louisiana’s Future. It’s an effort that focuses on four critical areas:
- State fiscal policy including our tax structure, constitution, and retirement issues
- Strong education policies focusing on early education, K-12, postsecondary education, and workforce development
- Improving our infrastructure
- And, building on criminal justice and public safety reforms
It is our hope that this agenda will be a way to focus the attention of candidates on some of the state’s most pressing issues and a vehicle for asking them some critically important questions. What’s your vision for Louisiana and will you make it your mission? What will you support to help increase our education attainment, strengthen our fiscal posture, modernize our infrastructure, and make us more competitive for jobs?
They’re not the only issues that impact our state, but they represent areas where we can move the needle in positive ways that can influence the trajectory of Louisiana for the future.
This is a critical time for all of us. We sit at the bottom of more lists than we can count, and though we’ve seen progress in some areas, we know we need to do more. We also know the issues we need to address. They’re the same ones that we have talked about for years.
But elections provide an opportunity to make our voices heard and issue a call to action. We believe the message to candidates this year is straightforward. The pledge they should make to voters is that they will move forward on the issues that for too long have held us back.
We know there are all kinds of ways they can distract us, but we need to focus on ways of not only getting their attention, but also their answers. We as citizens should demand that issues like these are at the heart of the conversation during this election year. That’s the way we get started on a RESET.