Another candidate announces he will run for governor of Louisiana this fall. He is 56-year-old Jeffrey Istre (pronounced EAST), a resident of Kaplan, Army veteran and oilfield professional. Istre has never held political office, and is running as an independent and says the choice of either a republican or a democrat is a lot of the reason why Louisiana is in the shape it’s in.
“Basically, you’re voting for the lesser of two evils. In never thought there was really a candidate that was really OF the people.”
Istre joins another independent, Lake Charles lawyer Hunter Lundy, in the race…plus GOP candidates Jeff Landry, John Schroder, Sharon Hewitt and Richard Nelson. No democrats have yet announced a run. Istre understands running for office requires a lot campaign cash. Will he be able to raise enough funds to compete?
“I’m really hoping that it just kind of takes off through social media and other outlets, but I really do believe it’s possible…but I realize it’s going to be a very big challenge.”
Istre says his priorities, if elected, would be working to fight poverty in Louisiana; especially for the state’s 16-percent “working poor.” He says he wants to revitalize the state’s oil & gas industry, increase teacher pay again and do major reform of the teachers’ state retirement system.
“They can’t collect Social Security. They have to go through their own retirement system. They can’t collect their spouse’s social security if they die. Their retirement system needs to be fixed. Badly.”
Find him online at “facebook.com/JeffIstreforGovernor”
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