John Bel Edwards was elected to the Louisiana State House in 2007, became Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus shortly thereafter and, after passing on a run for Governor in 2011, was elected Governor in 2015. He is running for re-election as Governor in 2019.

Edwards was born and bred in Amite, Louisiana, where he learned at a young age the importance of public service. He and his family do not share the disdain that the far right does for the public sector: Four generations of his family have served as Sheriff in Tangipahoa Parish, including a brother who currently holds the position; he is married to a school teacher; and he spent 8 years as an Army Ranger after graduating from West Point.

(image from JohnBelForLouisiana.com)

Edwards has stated his position on guns clearly and succinctly: "I support gun rights, unlike national Democrats". But unlike the Republican supporters of gun rights who don't care about middle class and working class families, John Bel knows that it is the Democratic positions on economics and education that lead to job creation and a strong economy.

That's why, as a State Representative, Edwards opposed Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal's far right economic policies that reduced taxes on the well-off to such an extent that they turned the state's budget surplus into continuing deficits, decimated hospitals and schools to pay for the red ink (college tuitions reportedly increased by 80% during the Jindal years), and resulted in Louisiana's unemployment going up, while the state's credit rating was going down.

Needless to say, unlike Jindal, Governor Edwards didn't formulate his tax and/or budget policies based on what's acceptable to Washington lobbyist Grover Norquist. Instead, he rolled up his sleeves and worked with members of both parties in the legislature to eliminate Jindal's $2 billion budget deficit, without making needless cuts in critical state services, and put Louisiana back on a sound fiscal footing. He even cut the sales tax and increased the earned income tax credit, the benefits of which go proportionately more to the middle and working classes, i.e., the average Citizen.

When it comes to healthcare, Governor Edwards took action on his first day in office: he expanded Medicaid to cover almost a half million more Citizens. This has led to the creation of 19,000 jobs and brought over $1 billion in federal funding back to Louisiana. He has opposed litigation that would eliminate protection for the almost 1 million residents who have a pre-existing medical condition and is working to write that protection into state law.

(image from nola.com)

As a veteran of the 82nd Airborne Division, John Bel doesn't behave like conservatives on the far right have a want to do: photo ops with veterans one day and cutting veterans' benefits the next day. His particular area of concern is to make sure we provide the necessary medical treatment our wounded warriors deserve and, to that end, he opposed unnecessary cuts to the Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs, even when the state was facing the historic Jindal budget deficits.

Under Governor Edwards leadership, Louisiana has more coastal restoration projects underway than at any time in the state's history. In fact, with 27 of those projects already completed, the Governor is making Louisiana a world leader in coastal restoration, guaranteeing that future Citizens will continue to enjoy Louisiana's bayous and beaches, as residents of the state have enjoyed for generations.

We hope this brief narrative shows you why we think highly of John Bel Edwards and why we encourage those of you in Louisiana to re-elect Governor Edwards in 2019.

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