Iberia Middle School hosted a forum for candidates of the upcoming elections Oct. 5.

Candidates from senate district 22, representative district 48, and parish coroner were in attendance.

Senate district 22 candidates Hugh Andre (R), Phanat Xanamane (D), and Blake Miguez (R) spoke alongside Representative district 49 candidates Sandy Derise (R), David Eaton (R), and Jacob Landry (R) about their platforms and backgrounds. The parish coroner’s candidates, Patrick Baquet and Timothy Viator, also introduced themselves at the forum.

Andre focused on issues like education and crime. Andre said Louisiana needs to focus on giving teachers an adequate pay raise and power over what they teach. Teachers play a lasting role in everyone’s future.

“I was at a function in Lafayette and my Kindergarten teacher was there. I still remember the lady’s name today. She was part of my upbringing. That’s how important teachers are,” Andre said.

Andre ensured he would work with experts in different fields to inform his legislative decisions.

“I don’t know everything about everything. Nobody up here does, but I will humble myself enough to go ask people in the field,” Andre said.

Andre also said we need to be tougher on crime by providing more resources to law enforcement and implementing stricter penalties for crime.

“If you keep doing the same thing over and over with no consequences, you think they’re gonna stop stealing and robbing?” Andre said.

Xanamane focused on investments in workforce and community development. He likened new vocational training programs to workforce training programs that helped uplift his Laotian immigrant family and community out of poverty.

“I saw how these smaller investments that we put into the community can really build up an entire community, like the Laotian community, and lift them out of poverty, and I saw that happen over a period of two decades,” Xanamane said.

“There were federally funded programs that trained many of the Asian men in our community to become welders in the oil industry here, and it was an amazing opportunity,”

Xanamane said he wants to capitalize on new investments and industries Like the First Solar Plant that could offer jobs to workers already in Louisiana.

“We have to strike while the iron’s hot and make sure the people in our district are lined up to take advantage of these new investments and opportunities. A Lot of those skills in the oil and gas industry are applicable to the renewable energy sector as well,” Xanamane said.

According to Miguez, the largest issue facing our state is outmigration.

“Our state lost 48,000 people, while the South gained 1.4 million people. We are losing our brightest and most talented individuals to neighboring states like Texas, Florida and Mississippi,” Miguez said.

Miguez said Louisiana needs to have more accountability while spending. As a representative, Miguez voted against legislation that raised taxes, and said he will continue to do so.

“The hard working citizens of this state can spend money better than the government can,” Miguez said.

Derise focused on three primary issues, the oil industry, education, and insurance. As a man who spent years in the oilfield industry, Derise said Louisiana needs to deregulate drilling to stimulate the economy.

“I want to be the guy on the forefront who stops and pushes away some of these regulations and lets us do what we know how to do every day,” Derise said

As for education, Derise said he thinks teachers’ hands are tied.

“They worry about lawsuits so much that they can’t just do their jobs and teach our kids the right way,” Derise said.

To address soaring insurance rates, Derise said Louisiana needs to diversify its options by attracting competition with new insurance companies and keeping them here.

Landry also focused on revitalizing the oil industry through deregulation and addressing legacy lawsuits, which he said drives workers out of the state.

“Having to travel all over the country to work when you see Louisiana so rich in the resources of oil and gas, it’s very disappointing that we have to leave to actually make a living,” Landry said.

Like many of his constituents, Landry said he wants an increase in vocational training options for students in high school because many industries are struggling to find employees. He said he wants students to decide what they want to pursue.

“I think we need to instill in our youth that they control their future and make their path with hard work,” Landry said.

Landry also focused on infrastructure improvements to drainage to prevent flooding and reduce storm surges.

“We have to start rebuilding and recreating land to hold back tides to allow proper retention for drainage,” Landry said.

Between sales tax, personal income tax, and franchise taxes, Eaton said taxes for both individuals and businesses across the state are driving people away.

“We have to work on lowering taxes to get businesses back here, to get people to come back here, to get people to afford to come back here,” Eaton said.

Eaton also said we need to hold government agencies that misuse funds and ignore infrastructure accountable.

“We expect our government to build roads and bridges, to drain all the water out, to build schools, to do the things it’s supposed to do and our government is failing us,” Eaton said.

Despite their similar views on an increase in early vocational training, each candidate supported constitutional protection for funding secondary education.