[StBernard] Boasso makes constitutional convention part of platform

[Westley Annis]

Boasso makes constitutional convention part of platform
March 8, 2007

The Associated Press

BATON ROUGE - Republican gubernatorial candidate Walter Boasso said
Louisiana needs to hold a constitutional convention to rewrite the state's
main governing document and give regular citizens the ability to help guide
its drafting.

Boasso, 46, a first-term state senator from hurricane-devastated St. Bernard
Parish, pledged to hold such a constitutional convention as he made his
formal announcement Wednesday that he is running for governor in the Oct. 20
primary election.

 
"It has been over 30 years since we have brought about the structural change
that is essential to our state by redoing the state constitution," Boasso
said of a document that dates to 1974 and has been amended more than 100
times.

A self-made multimillionaire, Boasso is one of at least three Republican
candidates seeking to oust Democratic Gov. Kathleen Blanco, who said she is
running for re-election this fall. Other GOP contenders include U.S. Rep.
Bobby Jindal, of Kenner, who lost to Blanco in 2003, and New Orleans
businessman John Georges.

Jindal has cornered much of the backing of the Republican establishment, and
Boasso is positioning himself as an outsider with a campaign slogan of "Take
Back Louisiana."

The state senator said he will pour a significant amount of his own money
into a campaign that he expects will cost between $4 million and $6 million.
He declined to say how much of his own fortune he expects to spend on the
campaign.

Surrounded by supporters at the Mississippi River levee in Baton Rouge,
Boasso said he was choosing to leave the Senate and run for governor because
that's the office that can make significant changes.

"Power rests in the hands of the governor and a few powerful special
interests. Frankly, it's a disgrace. The people's voices and needs aren't
being heard or even listened to," Boasso said.

It was the first stop of a multi-city announcement swing through Louisiana.

Besides Blanco, the Democrats running for governor include Public Service
Commissioner Foster Campbell, from Elm Grove in north Louisiana; and Rev.
Raymond Brown, a longtime New Orleans activist.