With 492 precincts in this district, we'll likely not be done anytime soon. The New Orleans precincts that Jefferson will be counting on to push him over the top will likely not come in until 10 PM CST.
With all 492 in:
Candidate
Votes
% of Vote
Joseph Cao (R)
33,122
50%
Bill Jefferson (D)
31,296
47%
Malik Rahim (G)
1,880
3%
There are still 101 precincts to come in from New Orleans itself. The newspapers and CNN are calling it for Cao. Holy crap, a wingnut Republican just won in a majority black district. We're gonna have no Democratic representation in the House, save for Charlie Melancon.
And for the Third District State Senate seat, there are 87 precincts to report. With 78 of 106 in:
Happy Election Day New Orleans ... this morning, y'all have the opportunity to vote in one of the last federal elections of this incredible 2008, as well as a Senate District 3 election featuring an outsider and a son of a New Orleans political dynasty.
The Congressional race is between Dollar Bill Jefferson and his dishonest Republican opponent, Joe Cao. Adrastos makes a good point that both our fathers taught us ... if someone spends time telling you that they are honest, they're usually lying. By the way, you're gonna wanna click on the link to Adrastos ... he's some nice pictures of the mailers that the Republicans are putting out there for Cao.
For instance, Cao was on Jeff Crouere's radio show yesterday, and another NOLA Blogger, Daniel Z., called in to ask Cao about the Family Research Council endorsement he received. (For those of you who don't know the FRC, it was started by James Dobson, and the Louisiana chapter is run by Tony Perkins ... who is considering a 2010 primary challenge against Vitter). Here's Daniel Z's account of the exchange:
So when I had the opportunity to ask him three questions I asked him:
A) Did you actively seek the endorsement of the FRC?
B) Do you accept the endorsement of the FRC?
C) Do you agree with the ideals of the FRC?
He answered the first answer truthfully. However, on the other two questions, he danced around the answer by saying how he does support the family and many people in this area support families. Well, that argument is like saying "I am a patriot so of course I support the Patriot Act". And because he answered like a typical politician, and did not reject the extremist conservative ideals of the FRC.
I have a hard time believing that a Republican candidate running for office in Louisiana doesn't have an idea who the FRC is. For some reason, Oyster thinks Cao is a "babe in the woods." You don't get into bed with the LA GOP and not know who the FRC is, Oyster. Sorry.
Dollar Bill is crooked. Everyone knows that. But he is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. While his lawyers are playing the delay game by asking the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals to hear his appeal of the trial court's refusal to dismiss the case en banc, and then will likely appeal that to the Supreme Court, I am confident that at some point next year, Bill Jefferson will be convicted.
But that does not mean I want a Family Research Council supported candidate representing New Orleans for the next two years, regardless of what he claims is a progressive agenda. He will not be voting in favor of EFCA. Dollar Bill, if still in office, will.
On the State Senate race, J.P. Morrell is the son of former State Senator Arthur Morrell, who now serves as the Criminal Court Clerk and City Councilwoman Cynthia Hedge-Morrell. Shawn Barney is a financial consultant who grew up in New Orleans. His father was the head of the New Orleans chapter of the Urban League.
This is a Democratic district, so both candidates will be good on the issues. I get the feeling that J.P. Morrell is facing the heat of a well-run Barney campaign, as his campaign is likely the culprit behind the rumor that "Jefferson convinced Barney to run to boost turnout in the black precincts of New Orleans." The rumor troubled the Barney campaign enough to blast out a press release disputing the allegations:
At a time when his district lies devastated and our economy is in shambles, J.P. Morrell is smearing Shawn Barney to distract the voters from the fact that Morrell represents more of the same. It is an absolute lie that Congressman Jefferson convinced Shawn Barney to stay in the race for State Senate District 3 despite Morrell's endorsements by the old political establishment.
Mr. Morrell is scared because despite the fact that the status quo is supporting him, his increasingly desperate campaign to protect his family's dynasty is not resonating with voters.
Morrell is out of touch, therefore he is resorting to dirty tricks to hide from the voters of District 3 the fact that his only accomplishment while in office was his vote to give himself a 200% pay raise. Shawn Barney is a fresh face with new ideas who has brought millions of dollars in private redevelopment to District 3, while creating over 100 jobs in the metro area. J.P. Morrell may be a self described avid video game player, but he is not a serious candidate for public office.
Ouch ... Morrell voted to give himself a raise during the first go-round by the legislators in the legislative pay raise debacle? Talk about being short-sighted.
I'll be live-blogging the results this evening. Check back here at 8 PM CST.
Well, Election Day is almost here. It starts tomorrow, folks, thanks to early voting, which occurs today (the 21st) through Saturday (the 25th), and then again on Monday (the 27th) and Tuesday (the 28th). I am convinced that the more folks that vote early, the less problems (if any) there will be on November 4th.
If you want to help boost turnout in Louisiana, you can follow this handy checklist that the Louisiana Obama team came up with:
October 21
Your first task is for you yourself to go and vote the first day of early voting. Find your local Registrars office and get a friend to go with you.
October 22
The next task is for you to send a message to everyone about early voting in your email lists especially if you have multiple emails. Also, if you are a part of social networks like facebook or myspace send messages out to friends on those networks and create early voting events.
October 23
Before the weekend rush of so many businesses we want to deliver some flyers to their location and see if they will put them in their place of business for us. This can include barber shops, beauty salons or any other place that you know would not mind having them in their window.
October 24
Call 5 of your family members or friends here in the state of Louisiana and tell them to get up and go early vote for Obama.
October 25
Identify three of your friends or colleagues where you work who are Obama supporters and encourage them to go vote early. If you do not work, 3 people in classes you take or 3 people in local businesses that you are a regular to (example. Hair salon, barber shop)
October 26
Knock on three neighbors doors that you know are Obama supporters and inform them about early voting and try and commit them to a day to go and early vote for Barack.
October 27
There is only one day left after today, we are challenging you to drive a friend, family member, colleague or just a regular voter to the polls to guarantee they early vote.
October 28
Get one person to volunteer for a November 1-4 Get-Out-The-Vote shift. Identify the shifts in your local office and commit someone to a shift.
Not that hard, eh? As for voting locations, the list is after the jump! This does not include all the locations, I'm afraid. There are some extra locations in Orleans, Jefferson, Washington, East Baton Rouge that I am aware of. Please call the phone number of the Registrar of Voters for the Parish you reside to find out the other locations!
I don't think you'll be seeing Jefferson on the air at all until the final days of this race, when he'll put up some generic ad just to remind folks he's running. You will see signs and billboards all over town, saying Re-Elect Congressman Jefferson.
I have not been impressed at all with the Moreno campaign. About the only smart thing she's done is focusing on rebuilding after Katrina, which is an important issue, but that's about it. She has not highlighted the failures of anyone in the lack of rebuilding; and she's taken money from known Republicans, like W's Louisiana Finance Chair. She's even raided Sinator Vitter's staff for staffers. The last two are not actions of a Democrat, and the first one is not the action of someone who is ready to stand up and fight for this district.
Jefferson will win this thing. It may be closer than his win over State Rep. Karen Carter-Peterson in 2006, but a win is a win. Expect to be back at the polls by late spring in this district, after Jefferson's trial ends.
Dollar Bill should be renamed Teflon Bill. He always finds a way to survive to fight another day. He'll face Helena Moreno in the run-off on November 4th.
UPDATE: I'll be live-blogging the results from Jim Harlan's Victory Party tonight. It's being held at the Holiday Inn's Pontchartrain Room in Covington. The address is 501 N. Highway 190.
Today is primary day. There are 4 Congressional races that will be impacted by today's vote, as well a slew of races throughout the rest of the state:
LA-01: The Democratic Primary in this district is pretty much a formality, as Vinnie Mendoza has run numerous times in the past while not coming anywhere near close to winning.
LA-02: This is a big one. Congressman Jefferson has been indicted, and the trial starts next winter. He's facing off against 6 Democrats - James Carter, Troy "C" Carter, Byron Lee, Helena Moreno, Cedric Richmond, and Kenya Smith. It'll go to a run-off to be held on November 4th ... which is tantamount to election, as there are few Republicans in this district to make a difference. The question is, WHO will be in the run-off?
LA-04: Both the Democrats and Republicans have party primaries today. The Democratic Primary is largely a formality, as Paul Carmouche is very well-known in the district, having served as the Caddo Parish D.A. for the past 30 years.
On the Republican side, it's going to a run-off. There are 3 candidates - John Fleming, Chris Gorman, and Jeff Thompson. It's gotten mighty nasty, and I expect the run-off to be even nastier.
LA-05: This is a Republican primary, which will decide the election, as no Democrat stepped forward to challenge the ethically-challenged Rodney Alexander. He faces off against 25 year old Andrew Clack, who is running a shoe-string campaign.
New Orleans: There are a lot of races on the ballot, the most important of which is the District Attorney's race, as well as some very important questions regarding permanently funding the Inspector General's office and a bond for building yet more jails in Orleans Parish.
Baton Rouge: The Mayor, the entire City Council, and the District Attorney's offices are up for re-election. The current Mayor, Kip Holden, has done a fine job, and should cruise to re-election without the need for a run-off.
The current District Attorney, Doug Moreau, is retiring. The two candidates running to replace him - Democrat Hillar Moore and Republican Dan Clatoir - have been campaigning for over two years now. This should be settled tonight.
I haven't been keeping up with the rest of the state's elections ... what else is out there that you want me to live-blog the results of later tonight y'all?
There are 5 days before the primary in LA-02 and LA-04, which were delayed thanks to Hurricane Gustav. There are 6 candidates vying to knock off "Dollar Bill" Jefferson ... in alphabetical order, y'all ... James Carter, Troy "C" Carter, Byron Lee, Helena Moreno, Cedric Richmond, and Kenya Smith.
I'm not as familiar with this race, as I am with others, mainly due to the lack of coverage, and the lack of response by the campaigns to my emails for more information. Here's what I gather so far ...
As much as I want to see Jefferson go down in the primary, I don't see it happening. I think one of the run-off spots goes to him because I think he will be successful in getting his core supporters - older voters - out to vote.
Byron Lee, Kenyatta Smith and Troy "C" Carter are not in this thing. They'll get their single digit support, but they're not moving on to the Battle Royale on Election Day.
That leaves James Carter, Helena Moreno, and Cedric Richmond vying for that final spot in the run-off. Many folks are assuming that Helena Moreno wins by default because she's white.
James Carter ... I like what I hear about him, and I know and respect the field people working for him. I don't like some of the people backing him, mainly because I had the opportunity to work with them on elections pre-K, and I know which campaigns they backed post-K. Their track record ain't one to brag about, even though they see it as a badge of honor to lose so many times. For the record, I'm not talking about Deborah Langhoff ... I adore her, and respect her grassroots acumen.
Cedric Richmond has secured the endorsements of both the Gambit Weekly and the Times-Picayune, which is impressive. I met him the other night, and I entered into a conversation with him and one of his supporters about education and the prison reforms underway in Louisiana. His easy grasp of the issues speaks to his experience in the Legislature, and if he were to represent LA-02 in Congress, we would have an excellent advocate fighting for us.
Like I said, there are 5 DAYS left. Go VOTE. Go VOLUNTEER. You can find out where by clicking on the links for the candidates under LA-02 in the middle column near the bottom.
"Congress needs to understand the people of St. Bernard lost everything, including loved ones, due to the negligence and lack of responsiveness by the federal government and Army Corps of Engineers in the maintenance of that structure," Taffaro said.
But the port has an ally in U.S. Rep. William Jefferson, D-New Orleans. In a statement issued last week, Jefferson signaled his support for keeping MR-GO open until the locks are completed.
"I will continue working with the Port of New Orleans and other interested parties so that New Orleans does not lose valuable business at the port," the statement said.
Pray tell, Congressman, whose business are you so worried about? Might it be Bollinger Gulf Repair, one of Bollinger Shipyards' many subsidiarys:
If the MR-GO closes without an alternative route opening first, Bollinger Vice President Robert Socha said the repair dock's 300 jobs could go, too.
"If one or the other isn't met, Bollinger Gulf Repair would probably cease to exist," he said.
As y'all are aware, Gustav made landfall last week, causing most towns in south Louisiana and central Louisiana to lose electricity. What y'all may not have been so aware of is that there were elections that were to be held last Saturday.
This will create a weird election season for us all ... as there will likely be a necessary run-off in LA-02 on the Democratic side and LA-04 on the Republican side, which means the run-offs will be held on Tuesday, November 4th, thus pushing the general election in those contests back to December.
The rest of the state will have general elections on Tuesday, November 4th, including the knife-fights developing in LA-06 and LA-07.
Ms. Moreno seems to be staking her campaign on the shame of the Bush Presidency and the Nagin Mayoralty ... the slow pace of rebuilding New Orleans in the aftermath of Katrina, which is not a bad strategy ... but I still can't shake the feeling that she's setting herself up for a run for Mayor in 2010:
As of 11 PM CST on July 14th, not one Republican candidate for the House in Louisiana has filed their July quarterly. Five of the 18 Democrats running have filed their reports. Without further adieu, here are those five fundraising reports:
LA-01
Jim Harlan has filed his report. Vinnie Mendoza, a perpetual candidate, has not.
No, the debts is not a mis-print. Mr. Harlan donated his campaign $525,000. For the first time in recent memory, money will not be a reason for the Democratic candidate in LA-01 to lose. It will be because the campaign didn't do a good job. I doubt that will be the case, as the campaign manager for Mr. Harlan is the same campaign manager that helped Travis Childers
LA-02
There are 8 Democrats running in the primary, including incumbent Congressman Bill Jefferson. Only 2 of the 8 have filed their FEC reports so far. They are:
Mr. Troy Carter is not a serious candidate. The debt is partly from his failed run back in 2006, where he placed fourth in the jungle primary behind the Republican. I've corrected the amount raised this quarter from his FEC report. If you click on his name, it'll bring you to his July Quarterly FEC report, where he reports NO money raised this quarter. But if you take a look at his April Quarterly report, you'll see that he only reported some $2,188 raised in the election cycle to date column, and nothing again in the this cycle to date column. Mr. Carter, please find someone to teach your staff how to fill out the reports properly!
The debt is money that Mr. Richmond gave his campaign. For a first-time candidate for the U.S. House, the first quarter fundraising for Mr. Richmond is impressive. Almost $200,000 in the bank. Right now, he has to be one of the favorites to oust Congressman Jefferson.
Since Charlie won re-election by acclamation, as no Republican bothered to file to run against him, he is a prime candidate for the netroots' Use It or Lose It Campaign. He can easily afford to give 30% of his cash on hand to the DCCC so they can pump even more money into LA-01, LA-04, LA-06 and LA-07 to help us elect the Democratic candidates in those districts.
LA-04
There are 4 Democrats running for the nomination in this district - Willie Banks, Paul Carmouche, Artis "Doc" Cash and John Milkovich. Thus far, only Mr. Banks has filed his July Quarterly FEC report.
The debt is money that Mr. Banks loaned his campaign. He's having a hard time raising cash, presumably because he's running against a VERY well-known Democrat in that district, the Caddo Parish District Attorney, Paul Carmouche, who has served in that capacity for I believe 30 years.
The folks that qualified yesterday AND Wednesday are in green text, unless they have are a Democrat AND have a website that I can find. If they are Repewblicans, then they have no linky to their site. This is a progressive website, and there is no need to link to those we are trying to defeat. The folks that qualified today are in black. So, without further adieu:
Senator Landrieu is currently on her "Winning for Louisiana." There will be events in Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Shreveport, Monroe, Alexandria, Lake Charles and New Orleans over the weekend. The New Orleans stop will be the final one, and that is being held at the Basin Street Station in New Orleans. You find out about the rest of the stops in the Events Box up in the right corner.
The field you see up there will likely be who is on the ballot come November, as Mr. Stewart is running as an Independent, and will appear on the November ballot. The entrance will likely make things very difficult for the former Democrat turned Republican who now says party labels are irrelevant. I say that because Mr. Fontanesi is a Libertarian and will likely earn votes otherwise intended for the Republican nominee.
LA-01
Jim Harlan, Democrat
M.V. "Vinny" Mendoza, Democrat
Steve Scalise, Republican
James Carter, Democrat Troy "C" Carter, Democrat
William Jefferson, Democrat
Byron L. Lee, Democrat
Helena Moreno, Democrat Cedric Richmond, Democrat
Malik Rahim, Green Party
Kenya J.H. Smith, Democrat
"Jerry" Jacobs, No Party
Anh "Joseph" Cao, Republican
This is likely to remain in Democratic hands, no matter the outcome of the Democratic primary. The real fight here will be on September 6th.
Charlie won his re-election by acclamation. That's more money that can go to Don Cazayoux, Don Cravins, Jr., Jim Harlan, Mary Landrieu, and whomever comes out of the Democratic primaries in LA-02 and LA-04.
John Fleming, Republican
Chris Gorman, Republican
Jeff Thompson, Republican
Chester T. "Catfish" Kelley, No Party
Gerard J. Bowen, Jr., Other
So we'll see one Democrat and one GOPer on the November ballot in the 4th along with Mr. Kelley and Mr. Bowen.
LA-05
Rodney Alexander, Republican
A Republican has stepped forward to take on the traitor ... his name is:
Andrew Clack, Republican
No Democrat emerged to take on the traitor. Oh, well. This race will be decided on September 6th. My guess is that the traitor will win handily, but what do I know about GOP politics?
Michael Jackson, No Party
As far as I am concerned, the Democrats in the State House ought to dump Mr. Jackson. Let him run as an Independent from here on out. Party rules require Democrats to support the Democratic nominee in general elections, and Mr. Jackson is blatantly dissing that rule. Come on EBR Democrats, show Mr. Jackson that you've got a spine!
LA-07
Don Cravins, Jr., Democrat
Charles Boustany, Republican
Peter Vidrine, Other
The folks that qualified yesterday are in green text, unless they have are a Democrat AND have a website that I can find. If they are Repewblicans, then they have no linky to their site. This is a progressive website, and there is no need to link to those we are trying to defeat. The folks that qualified today are in black. So, without further adieu:
Senator Landrieu plans to qualify on Friday morning, after which she will kick off her "Winning for Louisiana" tour with stops in Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Shreveport, Monroe, Alexandria, Lake Charles and New Orleans over the weekend.
John Neely Kennedy kicked off his "Nonsense on a Bus" tour through the state, and will apparently qualify tomorrow.
LA-01
Jim Harlan, Democrat
Steve Scalise, Republican
M.V. "Vinny" Mendoza, Democrat
James Carter, Democrat Troy "C" Carter, Democrat
William Jefferson, Democrat
Byron L. Lee, Democrat
Helena Moreno, Democrat Cedric Richmond, Democrat
Malik Rahim, Green Party
Kenya J.H. Smith, Democrat
"Jerry" Jacobs, No Party
Kenya Smith's filing leaves State Senator Cheryl Gray as the lone Democrat still considering the race. The two Republicans I mentioned yesterday, attorney Joe Lavigne, who finished 4th in the 2006 jungle primary, and Dillard University professor Gary Clark, are still considering it.
So far, no one else has qualified. It'll be interesting to see if any Republicans bother to throw their hat in the ring, considering that Charlie will be seeking his 3rd term this fall, and he won his re-election campaign quite convincingly over former State Senator Craig Romero, 55-40 in 2006.
John Fleming, Republican
Chris Gorman, Republican
Jeff Thompson, Republican
Chester T. "Catfish" Kelley, No Party
Mr. Kelly ran back in '06, and garnered some 2% of the vote as a Republican. My guess is he'll garner about the same as that, or even less than that in a competitive open seat election.
LA-05
Rodney Alexander, Republican
A Republican has stepped forward to take on the traitor ... his name is:
So here's the list of folks who qualified to run for the eight federal offices up for election in Louisiana this year, with a note as to when various folks are planning to qualify:(if there is no link to a website, it's because the candidate is a Republican, or they don't have one)
LA-Sen
None today.
Senator Landrieu plans to qualify on Friday morning, after which she will kick off her "Winning for Louisiana" tour with stops in Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Shreveport, Monroe, Alexandria, Lake Charles and New Orleans over the weekend.
John Neely Kennedy kicked off his "Nonsense on a Bus" tour through the state, and will supposedly qualify at some point during the tour.
I believe these two are the only ones planning on running from either party ... there may be some minor candidates that come out of the woodwork between now and Friday, but this will be main event here in LA-01.
LA-02
James Carter, Democrat Troy "C" Carter, Democrat
William Jefferson, Democrat
Byron L. Lee, Democrat
Helena Moreno, Democrat Cedric Richmond, Democrat
Malik Rahim, Green Party
Apparently, Karen Carter-Peterson is not running. There are still others considering it, including Nagin aide Kenya Smith, State Senator Cheryl Gray, both of whom are Democrats. There are two Republicans considering making the race, attorney Joe Lavigne, who finished 4th in the 2006 jungle primary, and Dillard University professor Gary Clark.
So far, no one else has qualified. It'll be interesting to see if any Republicans bother to throw their hat in the ring, considering that Charlie will be seeking his 3rd term this fall, and he won his re-election campaign quite convincingly over former State Senator Craig Romero, 55-40 in 2006.
John Fleming, Republican
Chris Gorman, Republican
Jeff Thompson, Republican
Mr. Banks and Mr. Milkovich are first-time candidates for this seat, I believe. Dr. Cash ran back in '06, and split the Democratic vote with Patti Cox 17% and 13%, respectively, with little or no Louisiana Democratic Party backing. This time, Mr. Carmouche is considered the heavy front-runner for the Democrats, thanks to his long service as the Caddo Parish District Attorney.
On the Republican side, outgoing Congressman Jim McCrery has been instrumental to Jeff Thompson, going so far to endorse him, and secure the endorsements of House Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio, Republican Whip Eric Cantor of Virginia, Rep. Dave Camp of Michigan and Rep. Pete Sessions of Texas. Needless to say, the Republicans back home aren't sitting on their hands ... they're challenging McCrery's pick.
LA-05
Rodney Alexander, Republican
So far, no one has stepped forward to take on the traitor. Hopefully, someone will, but it will be an uphill fight, as it is late in the game to start the fundraising.
Don Cravins, Jr., Democrat
Charles Boustany, Republican
Peter Vidrine, Other
Boustany has been an absolute disappointment as a Representative for Southwest Louisiana, refusing to earmark any money for this district, which is struggling to rebuild after Hurricane Rita washed ashore in 2005. Mr. Cravins offers an attractive alternative for voters ... and will give Boustany a run for his money.
Today is the start of qualifying for all federal elections being held this fall. To date, I have received emails informing me when the following folks are qualifying for office:
Today, Wednesday, July 9th
John Kennedy, Republican, LA-Sen
Jim Harlan, Democrat, LA-01
Don Cravins, Jr., Democrat, LA-07, 3 PM
Thursday, July 10th
TBA
Friday, July 11th
Mary Landrieu, Democrat, LA-Senate, 9 AM
I assume that Congressmen Alexander (R, LA-05), Boustany (R, LA-07), Cazayoux (D, LA-06), Jefferson (D, LA-02), Melancon (D, LA-03), and Scalise (R, LA-01) will be qualifying on Friday as well, since the act of qualifying is usually good for some press attention, and the House of Representatives is currently in session.
I also believe that the following people will be qualifying at some point in the next few days:
Cedric Richmond, Democrat, LA-02
Karen Carter-Peterson, Democrat, LA-02
Helena Moreno, Democrat, LA-02
Paul Carmouche, Democrat, LA-04
Bill Cassidy, Republican, LA-06
Michael Jackson, Independent, LA-06
The Republicans have caught a HUGE break with Woody Jenkins' announcement that he will not seek the GOP nomination for LA-06 this fall. What does that mean? Don Cazayoux better start moving back to the Democratic Party. If he continues to tack to the center, he's going to face a helluva fight this fall. He'll have the coattails of Obama in the black community here in the Baton Rouge area, but he can't win with the black community alone. And any advantage he will have will be sorely tested by the potential entry into the race by State Rep. Michael Jackson as an Independent, which will catapult him directly into the general election. I hope it doesn't come to pass, but I fear that Don is now facing a perfect storm of his own, a mere two months after the GOP faced their own perfect storm of circumstances in the special election.
Congressman William Jefferson's (D) hopes for re-election were dealt a major, if not fatal, blow on Wednesday by the news that one of his sisters, Brenda Jefferson, has pleaded guilty to misprision of a felony. What that means is that she will likely be sentenced to probation, and definitely testify against her siblings and/or niece in cases that have been filed against them.
The court documents filed Wednesday make clear that Brenda Jefferson can help prosecutors make their case against her sister, 4th District Assessor Betty Jefferson, who is also the congressman's sister; their brother, political strategist Mose Jefferson; and Coleman, their niece. The trio is charged with plundering more than $600,000 from three charities they controlled.
A summary of the government's case lays out specific allegations of how Brenda Jefferson and other family members skimmed money from charities:
Coleman and Betty Jefferson made out a series of checks to Brenda Jefferson without her knowledge. They then forged her name on the backs of the checks and deposited the money in their own accounts.
At Betty Jefferson's direction, Brenda Jefferson sent a phony report to the state claiming that a certain individual had provided tutors for 25 pregnant teenagers in 2005. The person did not work for the charity, and the teens were never tutored.
Also at Betty Jefferson's direction, Brenda Jefferson directed an accountant to write checks from the nonprofit group's account to people who she knew did not work for the charity.
Again at Betty Jefferson's direction, Brenda Jefferson forged the name of an unnamed person on grant applications. The person was the purported director of the charity; in fact, she did not work there.
At Mose Jefferson's direction, Brenda Jefferson opened a bank account that was a repository for state grant money. She disbursed the money at Mose Jefferson's direction.
"My family and I have sworn a great oath to trust God and to fight on to vindicate ourselves and our good name. This we will do. And, in none of it, will I or they sacrifice our continued strong commitment and effective delivery of the things our people need to recover from the storm and from a bad economy."
Congressman Jefferson's quest also faces the obstacle of a intra-party primary for the first time in his career. Expected challengers include:
Byron Lee
Helena Moreno
Karen Carter-Peterson Cedric Richmond
Once I find websites for the other candidates for this year's race, I will update that. If you know of their websites for this year's race, please let me know! Qualifying takes place July 9th to July 11th, so we'll know what's what in less than 3 weeks.
How this will play out is anyone's guess. It remains to be seen if Brenda Jefferson has any information about William's legal troubles, which deal with bribery and foreign nationals.
State Rep. Cedric Richmond will be announcing his candidacy tomorrow morning in Jackson Square in New Orleans at 10:30 AM. The location is intended to be a visceral reminder of the Bush Administration's failure to live up to the promise President Bush made 3 years ago on national television from Jackson Square. State Rep. Jackson just sent out a press release announcing that the announcement will come at 6:30 at the Basin Street Station at 501 Basin Street in New Orleans due to "events beyond their control."
Mr. Richmond is expected to make the following comments:
"This is where President Bush stood after Katrina and promised to rebuild this region. That hasn't happened.
I'm coming to Jackson Square to tell the people of New Orleans -- and all of the Second District -- that I'm running for Congress to deliver real recovery."
There's more you can read on Mr. Richmond here, and on the LA-02 race here.
