Southeastern students had the chance to interact with mayoral and other local candidates at the Meet & Greet Forum.

The event was sponsored by the Hammond Chamber of Commerce and SGA. It was held at the Student Union Ballroom Thursday, Oct. 9. 

The Meet & Greet allowed candidates to have face-to-face interaction with student electorates and share their platforms. The Forum was intended to give marshal candidates an opportunity to introduce themselves and answer questions. 

“The Hammond Chamber of Commerce has a very good tradition in history of partnering with the SGA on governmental affairs issues. Part of that is the SGA’s recognition that on campus, we have 15,000 potential voters,” said Erin Cowser, HCC chair-elect. “These are the young men and women who are going to be the ones maybe running for office, serving in office and voting people out of office.” 

Students are encouraged to become a part of the voting process to elect candidates on the Nov. 4 ballot for positions including City Council, Public Service Commission, Tangipohoa Parish School Board, Sixth Ward Justice of the Peace, District Court Judge, Family Court and U.S. Congress. 

“Students can get involved if they are registered to vote here in Hammond,” said Elsbet Hollywood, co-chair of the HCC. “They can meet the candidates directly, introduce themselves and ask questions that they think are important and make an informed decision on who they think would be the best candidate to serve our city. If any students are interested in public service in the future, then they can certainly come and see how the campaign trail work and how a political forum works.” 

The forum concentrated on the Seventh Ward marshal election because of a change in the position. Marshal runners Kenneth Klock, Arden Wells, Jeff LeSaicherre, Pat Farris and William Wainwright were able to give introductions and answer questions with the assistance of communication professor Joe Burns, serving as moderator. One topic covered was how to address the problem of Hammond’s 30,000 outstanding warrants.  

Due to time limitations, the mayors did not have a forum. Instead, a questionnaire was published in Daily Star and on the HCC’s website detailing mayoral platforms. The three mayoral candidates, Kenneth Harris, Jacob Erdey and Pete Panepinto, answered questions regarding Hammond’s economic growth and development, infrastructure projects they will implement, the Hammond airport, crime and city expansion. 

Each mayoral candidate has different ideas about ways to help the city of Hammond. 

“I see people suffering in our town. Being in the military, I fought for my country,” said Harris. “Now, I want to fight for my town. My interest is all about the people’s interest. I’m not here for any self-gain. It’s really about the people of Hammond.”

Harris also expressed his concern for students academic and social life, recognizing students are as much a part of Hammond as the citizens. 

“The quality of life for students stinks,” said Harris. “A lot of students come here, but don’t want to stay here. There is nothing for our students to do. There should be a place for students to relieve a little stress.”

Harris feels the changes required to attract students to Hammond and improve the local economy should be major.

“We need to provide a lot of students with internships in this town,” said Harris. “We need to change the way we do business and start attracting jobs that center around science, technology and math. We need museums here and performing arts here in our town. I would like to bridge that gap between the community and the university through art, changing the landscape, breathing new oxygen into our city.”

Erdey also seeks to create a welcoming atmosphere to inspire community students to stay the weekend. 

“It’s mostly a commuter school right now,” said Erdey. “Most people come here and then go home. If we could present an attractive atmosphere for them to stay around, the more they [will] stay here on the weekends, get involved with the community and support the local economy. All the extra revenue throughout the businesses creates more revenue for the city to build new businesses or present more opportunities for the students. It kind of supports itself.” 

Like the previous two candidates, Panepinto was also a student at Southeastern and realizes how important the university is to Hammond. 

“I am a graduate of Southeastern Louisiana University with a degree in marketing and business and a board member of the Southeastern Louisiana University Alumni Association,” said Panepinto. “I firmly believe Southeastern Louisiana University, administration, faculty, staff and students are a vital part of our community and one of our most important assets relative to economic development and quality of life.”

Panepinto’s platform to help students includes partnering with Hammond organizations, 

such as the Hammond Area Economic Industrial Development District, the Hammond Chamber of Commerce, Tangipahoa Parish Tourism and Downtown Development District, in an effort to recruit economic development and job opportunities for our Southeastern graduates. 

Early voting starts Oct. 21 and ends on Oct. 28 at local registrar of voters offices or by mail. On Nov. 4, voting will take place at local polls. 

For additional information about elections, contact the Louisiana Secretary of State office. To view the questionnaire or to find out more information, visit www.hammondchamber.org or contact the HCC at 985-345-4457.