Candidates vying to fill the vacant state Senate District 22 seat agree the district boasts tremendous assets and is faced with specific challenges they vow to address if elected to the office.

With the help of the St. Martinville and Greater Iberia Chambers of Commerce, The Daily Iberian asked the six candidates to share their views on important issues facing the district.

State Rep. Simone Champagne, R-Jeanerette, New Iberia lawyer David Groner, no party, Tea Party member Ruben LeBlanc of New Iberia, no party, state Rep. Fred Mills, R-Parks, New Iberia insurance agent Armond Schwing, Republican, and Jenerette-based helicopter crop duster Ken Squires, also Republican, have qualified in the race.

Reducing taxes

Louisiana should look at a “tax shift” instead of tax reduction, Schwing said. He favors returning more of the state’s tax revenue to parishes to determine how the money should be spent on a local level, he said.

“Better decisions are made locally and spending would be more accountable at the local level,” Schwing said. “I would propose dropping the state tax by a few pennies and shifting that revenue to the parishes. There would be no tax decrease. It would be a net effect of zero on the level of taxes residents pay, but we would let the parishes decide what to do with that money.”

Squires said he is looking hard at the possibility of “killing” sales tax on groceries.

“This would save many families about $1,000 per year in their pockets,” Squires said. “Also, with gasoline prices continuing to go up, I am looking very hard at shaving off at least some gasoline excise taxes off the pump prices in Louisiana.”

Offshore drilling and the moratorium

Schwing said he is opposed to the moratorium, which despite its repeal continues to affect the oil and gas industry.

“In a way, it really hasn’t been discontinued because permits aren’t being issued the way they should be,” Schwing said. “It’s impacting the large corporations all the way down to the mom and pop shops. We need to be concerned.”

Squires’ background in the industrial and heavy equipment industries, he said, makes him more “attuned to the bottom-line impact” of increasing fuel costs.

“I would intend to support more domestic drilling both on- and offshore to lessen our current dependence,” Squires said. “Although the moratorium has been lifted, the new twists and turns attached to new drilling will take us a long time to catch up to where we were before the BP incident.”

Economic development

Schwing said there is often too much discussion about attracting large employers to the state and not enough of ways to help small business.

“The best use of economic development money or effort is to help small business expand or become established,” Schwing said. “We can have an impact on a much grander scale.”

Many of Squires’ opponents, the pilot said, “have no clue” on how they will boost economic development in the region.

“It takes money to kick off economic development,” Squires said. “You have to get big money from private industry or big grants from various government agencies. I have a proven nose for hustling public grants for our community.”

ARA potential

Schwing said that as senator he would fight to protect the Acadiana Regional Airport from any harm that could diminish its value. He also said he would work to establish better access to the airport.

“Our airport could serve as a South American import hub,” Schwing said. “We have a tremendous asset that we need to do as much as we can with.”

Squires would fight for FAA prescribed airport zoning, he said, as well as push to return property tax revenue to the airport from parish government and restructure the authority under state charter allowing it to operate independent of the parish.

“I would offer corrective assistance with these airport issues, hustle the grant money to make it happen and, at the worst, take it to the voters,” Squires said. “I have no intent to merge the Port (of Iberia) and the airport. I think this merge idea is absolutely looney-tunes.”

Future of TIF districts

If elected, Schwing said, he would provide resources and support “to capture all that we have to offer here.”

“Development needs to be something that compliments all that we have here,” Schwing said. “We need to take a close look at what we have to offer and match our resources with the needs of private enterprise.”

Squires said he has problems with any additional tax, no matter the intent.

“The real problem … is that business recruiting commitment is marginal at best and needs to be improved,” Squires said. “We need to put some people on the road or in an airplane and put them on a base salary with a commission for home runs.”

Interests of Iberia and St. Martin

Representing both parishes’ interests is a “natural thing,” Schwing said, because both are so similar.

“I really don’t see that as a tough issue,” Schwing said. “In terms of upcoming redistricting, our current arrangement of population breakdown is good. Neither parish has a stranglehold on the position or power.”

Squires said if elected he would create a cabinet to represent the wards and precincts in each parish.

“We would have regular scheduled meetings to synthesize the flow of information and to prioritize issues,” Squires said.

Thursday: LeBlanc and Mills.