Bossier races low-key so far
The lack of contested races in Bossier Parish for the Oct. 24 election would appear attributable to either significant disinterest in local government or more likely confidence in the work of current representatives.
There was little doubt that very popular Sheriff Julian Whittington would forego any opposition – and low-key parish coroner Dr. John Chandler was unlikely to be challenged. Only three of the dozen Bossier Parish Police Jurors drew opposition, and near the close of qualifying, long-time incumbent Parish Assessor Bobby Edmiston found he needed to spin up a re-election campaign.
In the “not new news” category, the Bossier Parish Clerk of Court’s race between chief deputy clerk Jill Sessions and Monica Hudson, currently the Bossier-Webster District Attorney’s victim assistance representative, has been in full swing for months.
It’s unlikely there would have been a race for this seat if current Clerk of Court Cindy Johnston had not decided to retire at the end of her current term.
Assessor Bobby Edmiston’s opponent is Patsy Maggio. In the police jury races, District 9 member Fred Shewmake, who took more than 70 percent of the vote four years ago, will face contender Charles L. Gray.
District 4 juror Sonny Cook and District 5 juror Jack Skaggs are both opposed by candidates they defeated four years ago. Cook’s opponent is John Ed Jorden, and the Skaggs re-match contender is Barry Butler – former District 5 juror.
Skaggs took the seat from Butler in the October 2011 election with 51.8 percent of the vote to Butler’s 48.1 percent of the nearly 2,000 ballots cast. In Cook’s 2011 victory, he received nearly 30 percent of the vote; Jorden received just more 18 percent, and the balance was spread between four other candidates for the seat.
These re-matches ought to draw some interest as both defeated candidates are sure to provide evaluations of their opponent’s respective performances on jury issues over the last four years.
That’s certainly true of John Ed Jorden, who was most amenable to a visit about his end of Bossier Parish. Jorden lives in Ivan, in the northern part of the parish. He said he is running for the District 5 seat again because he doesn’t believe this part of the parish has had representation for the last four years.“This is the biggest district in the parish, and there are more roads in this district than any other district,” Jorden said.
But he said bridges are in disrepair a n d the “Roads are so bad, they tear your car up.” These are major issues of concern for Jorden who said that nothing has changed for his district in the last four years. Jorden is in the cattle and rodeo business and spent 30 years driving a school bus on those parish roads. In the District 5 re-match, contender Barry Butler wasn’t available to visit about his campaign; he was apparently sitting in a cockpit awaiting take-off in Minneapolis when I called. Butler is a commercial airline pilot.
Over the next couple of Forum issues, we’ll visit with jury candidate Charles Gray and assessor hopeful Patsy Maggio, as well as the incumbents.
Marty Carlson, a freelance writer, has been covering local news for the past 17 years. She can be reached via email at martycarlson1218@ gmail.com.
