225BatonRouge.com

PHOTO GALLERY
All hail term limits

Enlarge photo

It's almost like the first day of college: everywhere you look, fresh new faces.

The Oct. 20 elections have attracted a new generation of politicians--men and women who are running for the first time, and almost all of them credit term limits.

"We're going to see more hotly contested races in many cases, says Barry Erwin, president of the Council for a Better Louisiana. This election year, no fewer than 45 members of the House of Representatives are term-limited or have otherwise decided to retire.

"It's a provable fact that when a legislative seat doesn't involve an incumbent, the number of candidates goes way up," says Alfred Speer, clerk of the House. It's the most new candidates for the House since 1971.

"Voters," Erwin says, "are really going to make the decisions for this election."