Louisiana treasurer's race will go to a runoff

BRADENTON, Fla. — In Louisiana’s race for treasurer Saturday, Democrat Derrick Edwards bested five other candidates, although he won’t avoid a runoff.

Edwards, an attorney from New Orleans with a master’s degree in accounting, received 31% of the votes cast to 24% for Republican John Schroder, a real estate developer and former state representative.

Derrick-edwards-left-louisiana-treasurer-candidate-2017

Republicans Angele Davis, Neil Riser and Terry Hughes garnered 22%, 18% and 3% of the vote, respectively, while Libertarian Joseph D. Little took 2%, according to the Louisiana Department of State.

Only 13.5% of registered voters turned out for the treasurer’s race to replace John Kennedy, who left the post after 16 years to become a U.S. Senator.

Edwards and Schroder will face each other in a Nov. 18 runoff to complete the two years remaining on Kennedy’s term.

“Louisiana politicians have a spending problem, not a revenue problem,” Edwards said on his campaign website. “We pay the highest sales tax in the United States with little to show for it.”

Edwards has vowed to post on the treasurer’s website and on social media sites information about any bill that he believes amounts to “wasting” taxpayer’s money and the names of those who voted for the legislation.

Voters also approved three constitutional amendments on Saturday, including one that creates a “subfund” for the state budget to deposit any new taxes that may be levied on gasoline, diesel, and special fuels to pay for transportation and capital transit infrastructure projects.

Another amendment prohibits property taxes from being applied to materials and other property delivered to a construction site, and a third amendment grants a property tax exemption to the home of a surviving spouse of an emergency medical responder, technician, paramedic, volunteer firefighter, and a law enforcement or fire protection officer.

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, click here.
Public finance Infrastructure Elections State of Louisiana Louisiana
MORE FROM BOND BUYER