In case you didn’t know, election day is on the horizon. Some big names in Louisiana politics will be at the mercy of the people, including U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu, who will be up for re-election. We’ll be determining everything from our school board members to our district attorneys, all of whom Louisiana residents will hopefully research before casting their vote. However, there are some positions on this ballot that are often overlooked, namely those in local government. 

If you’re registered to vote in Hammond, you may take part in electing Hammond’s new mayor, city court judge, city court marshal and council members. If you think the Hammond mayoral election is irrelevant to students, you’re wrong. The mayor oversees the city’s main departments, including the police, fire, education, housing and transportation, as well as a myriad of other responsibilities depending on the city. The mayor also serves as a liaison between the city and the state governments. When there are problems in Hammond, the mayor serves as a voice for the community by bringing concerns to the governor or other powerful officials. If you don’t feel safe on campus at night, if you are unable to find a job because you don’t have a car or if you care about the well-being of Southeastern, the mayoral election should interest you. 

I have done my best to reach out to each mayoral candidate to discuss issues in Hammond and assess their political interests. The candidates are Jacob Erdey, Republican, Pete Panepinto, Republican and Kenneth Harris, Democrat. I have met with Harris in person on two separate occasions and kept semi-regular contact with him via email. Panepinto was unable to meet with me in person, nor was he able to attend the Candidates Forum held on campus last Thursday due to a fundraiser for the Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center, but he did respond to various questions via email. However, this was only after multiple attempts to reach him throughout the semester. Erdey is completely unreachable as far as I can tell. Dozens of Google searches yielded no campaign or contact information on Erdey, except for a single news article announcing Panepinto’s opposition. 

This alone says a lot about our mayoral candidates. A mayor cannot be aware of a city’s problems without strong ties of communication to the people those problems affect. He or she is less likely to serve as an effective advocate for his or her constituents, defeating the purpose of one of the major roles a mayor should fulfill. 

Because I was unable to contact Erdey, I’ll focus on the key interests of Panepinto and Harris. Panepinto is Mayor Mayson Foster’s favorite in this election, according to an interview with Lion’s Roar staff reporter Emily Stephan. Panepinto has served under Foster for over two years as Director of Administration for the City of Hammond. He cites his experience in business as his greatest political asset, and his current priorities should he become elected include “the continued improvements to our aging infrastructure, in particular, our Wastewater Plant on CM Fagan Drive, as well as continued improvements in our airport infrastructure necessary to maintain and grow its status in the state,” according to Panepinto. 

On the other hand, Harris hopes to tackle a myriad of issues. His political priorities include creating a larger police force, bringing in more entertainment such as waterparks, improving the lighting on Southeastern’s campus, strengthening ties of communication between Hammond districts and city officials with block captains and creating business development outreach programs for African-American populations. After going door-to-door speaking to Hammond residents, Harris found a need for addressing student homelessness and poverty among the elderly. He also hopes to create a relationship between Southeastern’s art department and the City of Hammond for beautification purposes. 

I would be impressed if even two of his goals were met by the end of next year. Though Harris has excellent ideas for improving Hammond, his lack of political experience shows through his mountain of implausible goals. However, he compensates for this lack of experience in his willingness to speak to people about what they want. He has also sought the advice of professionals on how his goals can be implemented, showing an admirable amount of humility typically lost in the political arena. 

Don’t take my word for it. Do your own research on each candidate, and come to an informed conclusion on who you want to represent your city or state. Votesmart.org provides information on the voting history of each legislator. Legis.la.gov offers tons of political information on both the state and local levels. 

The early voting process for the upcoming election begins Tuesday, Oct. 21 at 8:30 a.m. and ends Tuesday, Oct. 28 at 6:00 p.m. The open primary election will be held Tuesday, Nov. 4 from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.