MAYORS OF LAFITTE AND GRAND ISLE PROUD

By ALLAN KATZ

The mayors of Lafitte and Grand Isle say that they endorsed U.S. Senator David Vitter, R-La., in his recent reelection campaign because he has fought ferociously for them in the past and they are confident he will fight just as hard for them in the future.

“My grandfather surely rolled over in his grave when he found out that I endorsed a Republican for the U.S. Senate but the truth is that I couldn’t honorably do anything else,” said Mayor David Camardelle of Grand Isle. “When FEMA was denying us funding for a gym and a fire station, Senator Vitter used his senatorial powers to hold up a Presidential appointment. That was huge. He certainly got the attention of the White House and, sure enough, we got the funding for our gym and fire station. That Senator Vitter would go to the mat like that for a community of less than 1,500 really impressed all of us in Grand Isle. That guy knows how to fight, and my grandfather would have liked that.” Mayor Camardelle is a life-long Democrat.

Vitter easily defeated Democrat U.S. Representative Charlie Melancon on November 2 by almost a two to one margin statewide. But, in part, perhaps because of the endorsements of Mayor Camardelle and Lafitte Mayor Tim Kerner, Vitter ran strong on the West Bank which has traditionally favored Democrats.

In much the same way, Mayor Kerner, also a life-long Democrat in a family of Democrats, endorsed Senator Vitter because Vitter has been a fighter for the fishermen of Lafitte. “Senator Vitter takes my calls personally,” says Mayor Kerner. “When you’re a mayor of a community of 1,600, you really don’t expect to get U.S. Senators on the phone. On behalf of our fishermen, Senator Vitter has taken on BP, FEMA, the White House and anyone else who has tried to abuse us. These have been hard times and that’s when you really value friends. Senator Vitter has been our friend at times when we seemed to be out there all by ourselves.”

Both Mayors Camardelle and Kerner say they have known Senator Vitter’s opponent, U.S. Rep. Charles Melancon, for years and really like him. “I love Charlie Melancon but I wish he hadn’t run against Senator Vitter,” said Camardelle. “Charlie is a great guy, but I couldn’t not help Senator Vitter after the way he stepped up for us.”

Kerner said, “Any other time, I probably would have been for Charlie. But, when the going was really tough and no one else seemed to want to fight for us, Vitter was there.”

Both Camardelle and Kerner say that Vitter has also been outstanding in his advocacy for a comprehensive hurricane protection system for the West Bank.

For his part, Senator Vitter, issuing a statement through Press Secretary Josh Britton, acknowledged the political importance of the endorsements of Mayors Camardelle and Kerner. He said that he especially valued his personal contacts with the two mayors “because they almost always have the best perspective on local problems.” He said that he was proud to have fought BP, FEMA and even the White House to get funds for Grand Isle and Lafitte and would be glad to do so again, whenever the two towns and their mayors needed him.

However, there is another view of West Bank politics and Washington D.C. State Rep. Robert Billiot of Westwego, also a Democrat who endorsed Melancon in the Senate race, says he thinks the most influential member of Congress regarding West Bank issues in the immediate future is going to be U.S. Representative-elect Cedric Richmond, just elected to Congress from the Second Congressional District, which includes a large portion of the West Bank.

“President Obama will be in the White House for the next two years, possibly the next six years,” says Billiot. “And President Obama loves Cedric Richmond. Richmond was the only Democrat for whom President Obama cut a TV spot. I’m not saying anything bad about Senator Vitter and, like everyone else here, I appreciate all he has done for Lafitte and Grand Isle. But I think Cedric Richmond is going to be a lot more welcome in the Obama White House than Senator Vitter. My hope is that Representative Richmond will use his access and relationship with the President to get us White House support for some of the things we desperately need, including a comprehensive hurricane protection system that will protect the entire West Bank.”