Thought of Metro Council elections excites young entrepreneurs

More than a hundred young professionals sporting stick-on name tags hooted and hollered—well, maybe just clapped wildly—about the possibility of running for Metro Council and filling empty seats on citywide boards and commissions at Forum 35’s Be the Change rally Monday.

“Do you want to achieve evolution through incremental change or monumental change?” Forum 35 President Jamie Griffin asked the effervescent crowd, which overwhelmingly responded for the latter, in the lobby of the Louisiana Arts and Science Museum.

Forum 35, a nonprofit that doesn’t endorse candidates, wants young, talented people to compete for 10 of the Metro Council’s 12 seats which will be up for grabs in the Oct. 4 elections.

Official qualifying for the Metro Council election is July 9-11. Forum 35 is offering a campaign training session July 26 so novice candidates can learn what to expect from the race.

And who knows better about running for office than Secretary of State Jay Dardenne, who shared with the crowd his experiences of being a Metro Councilman in the late 1980s.

“Are you prepared to lose in a very public way? There’s no hiding from failures,” he warned, saying it takes tough skin to be an elected official. “Every thing you do is subject to criticism; every vote you take is subject to public ridicule.”

His bottom-line advice for any newbie to the political world: Listen more than you talk, and bring people together.

Several young entrepreneurs such as Sam Terito of North Gate Tavern and Kay Wilbert of Professional Limousine Services said afterward the rally’s turnout was inspiring. And some in the crowd, such as Allison Cascio (in David Boneno’s district) and Larry Selders, have already decided to run.

“The young and energetic are looking to make Baton Rouge a better place,” said Selders, a 26-year-old social worker, who is running in Lorri Burgess’ district.

Only three incumbents — Ulysses “Bones” Addison, Mike Walker and Martha Jane Tassin — are running for re-election in the Oct. 4 Metro Council elections. Nine seats are wide open, so voters can expect a fresh new council next year.

Who do you want to see run for office? Have you considered qualifying? Leave your comments below.