Heitmeier v Richard in Westbank race for the State Senate

The Heitmeier name has long held the reigns of power in Algiers. Francis Heitmeier is now forced out of the State Senate by term limits but his brother David is running to fill his seat. Heitmeier is running a traditional campaign, claiming his business experience makes him the best choice. He benefits from name recognition, but we'll have to see how that plays out in a time when people are disgusted with the performance of state government.

Activist Paul Richard, a commercial realtor and Director of the Algiers Economic Development Foundation is challenging Heitmeier . Richard's campaign focuses on public corruption and claims the "Heitmeier Bunch" is at the core of a web of influence peddling and cronyism that has been going on for years

Richard's attacks focus on property assessments, tax deals with Bally's Casino, river pilots and the Orleans Levee Board. Francis Heitmeier found himself in questionable positions on all of these topics over the years. The clear implication is that Francis Heitmeier used his power to indirectly benefit members of his family.

Francis Heitmeier was also a prime target of radio talk show host Garland Robinette in 2006 when the State Bond Commission proposed using the state's credit to benefit pork barrel interests around the state instead of targeting hurricane relief efforts in south Louisiana.

In this local race term limits have driven the incumbent out. Now we'll see whether name recognition and a powerful local organization can retain the benefits of incumbency. What are people thinking when they complain so much about the system, but then vote to retain the same old bunch of politicians.