Dear Editor:

The political season here in Bogalusa, and Washington Parish, is now in full gear. And it’s kind of interesting being on the outside looking in. The area is predominantly Democratic liberals with Republican Party opposition almost non-existent. I actually saw an ad for a Republican candidate that was run in the want ads section of the local newspaper. You’d have to be looking for a used washing machine or something to have seen it. With my not being of the liberal ideology, I will just have to accept being an observer — and sore loser. However, I’d like to offer some random thoughts on the upcoming election.

The number of black candidates running for seats in the Bogalusa government seems unprecedented, as far as I know. But the fight is among them and will not likely change the power structure here. They all, including the incumbents, agree that the school system is in total turmoil, the streets are just horrible, and abandoned structures are a major blight for inhabitants and visitors alike. And of course, the drug problem is epidemic. Whoever wins will have to start coming up with some new innovative ideas to right the path the city is currently going down. For example, when will someone put the Bogalusa School System on the table, with the first question being why we need it in the first place? I just throw that out there as an example of a conservative viewpoint.

As if things were not bad enough, there seems to be a major problem in defining the voting districts for Bogalusa. Two districts, evidently, were re-aligned to satisfy some civil rights edicts, I’m speculating. I don’t really know why it was done, but I do know the people affected should be informed of such, and why. Candidates have actually been qualified, evidently in error, by the controlling officials to run for offices in districts where they did not reside. I am told that those candidates have now been informed in case of a win in the upcoming election they would just simply have to relocate their residence. How brilliant. That could only happen in Bogalusa. I’ve heard no concern from the black community so affected by this “gerrymandering.” That is the liberal indoctrination that has so permeated that segment of the voters.

All that being said, nothing in Bogalusa will change for the immediate future as a result of these elections. However, I must admit, that the mayoral election could get interesting. Again, that is a conservative viewpoint so foreign here in Bogalusa and Washington Parish. I predicted back in December ‘13 that this election would be a forum to re-elect Mary Landrieu to the U.S. Senate. At the time, I was not even looking at the district attorney’s race. Now, also throw in the 5th District seat for the U.S. House. These candidates simply need votes.

Along that line, the black community can deliver the vote numbers. The black “bloc” vote in Bogalusa and Washington Parish could be the edge in the area-wide tally for those offices. That black ”bloc” vote (95+ percent), which historically goes to the Democrat candidate, could prove critical. Again, the liberal indoctrination. I find it very ironic that the rush to the polls to vote the Democrat, whoever, is a vote for the party who fought as hard as it could to deny that vote to black citizens. Unfortunately, this situation has led to almost no debate of the issues confronting the black electorate. The only point of concern is the black turnout on election day. Democrats have done a complete reversal in now wanting to not require IDs to cast a vote. I wonder how quickly that ID issue will go away if just 20 percent of the black vote could not be considered “in the bag.”

Unfortunately, career politicians have turned these elections into a blood sport. The next two weeks will not be a comfortable period for a conservative who can only sit by and observe lunacy. And, what is worse, we all will have to go through it again in December. Kind of like sausage making.

– Roosevelt Ludd

Bogalusa