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Meet the Candidates: State Representative District 50

Meet the Candidates
Posted at 9:41 PM, Oct 29, 2019
and last updated 2019-10-31 01:39:52-04

Early voting for the runoff election begins Saturday.

Voters in District 50, which covers parts of St. Mary and St. Martin parishes, will choose a new state representative.

The race is between Raymond Harris, no party, and Republican Vincent St. Blanc.

Harris says he's the best candidate for the seat because of his experience in municipal government.

He served as the mayor of Franklin from 2004 to 2018.

"During my time in office, I improved the city's financial position; I improved the city's infrastructure; and I improved the city's day-to-day operations," explained Harris. "I'm looking forward to the challenge of making life better for the constituents of District 50."

Harris says flooding is a big concern for District 50, so he hopes to continue improving infrastructure.

"The drainage issues have been overshadowed, and we have a lot of farmers that are complaining that we need to improve the drainage," said Harris. "I want to meet with them and meet with the engineers and find out what can be done, and then go to Baton Rouge and get the money."

Harris wants to make state government more efficient and accountable. He says he'd like to see more money being invested into early childhood education and trade schools. Harris also wants to lower car insurance rates.

His challenger, Republican Vincent St. Blanc, is a former small business owner and teacher.

Vincent St. Blanc.JPG
Vincent St. Blanc

He believes he has the experience needed for the job, citing his work on the board of supervisors for the Louisiana Community and Technical College System.

"Seventy-eight percent of the kids that come out of our community and technical college[s] stay in the place that they live," explained St. Blanc. "The biggest thing is they're already working, so if we can certify them, if we can double their salaries, then we can keep them."

St. Blanc says he would like to lower taxes and keep them consistent.

"In the State of Louisiana, we're always looking for money, and we tax them year after year instead of if it was for five years, let it stay five years."

Like his opponent, St. Blanc would also like to lower car insurance rates.

The new state representative will replace current State Represenative Sam Jones, who is term limited.

For more information about Harris, click here.

For more information about St. Blanc, click here.

Election Day is November 12. Find information about other races across Acadiana by visiting katc.com/new/elections-local.