[StBernard] Monroe News Star: Boasso Makes Final Push in Monroe

[Westley Annis]

Boasso makes final push in Monroe
By Greg Hilburn
ghilburn at thenewsstar.com <mailto:ghilburn at thenewsstar.com>  

Gubernatorial candidate and state Sen. Walter Boasso, making a final,
feverish appeal for votes in Saturday's election, spoke to University of
Louisiana at Monroe students on Monday in one of nine campaign and meeting
stops on the day.

Boasso, D-Chalmette, is among three major candidates who are trying to push
front-runner U.S. Rep Bobby Jindal, R-Metairie, to a runoff. The others are
Public Service Commissioner Foster Campbell, D-Bossier City, and New Orleans
businessman John Georges, an independent.

"What makes me different is that I have both the political and practical
experience to fix the things we need to fix in our state," Boasso said.

Boasso, who built a 500-employee company from scratch and has served the
last four years in the Senate, said that he can relate to struggles faced by
everyday people because he grew up in a poor household.

"I can take all of those experiences and bring them to the governor's
office," he said. "I've seen how the system works, and I know how to build
coalitions and bipartisan support to get things done.

"I have the tools to be successful and I have the political courage to make
hard decisions without worrying about being re-elected."

Boasso said he believes voter turnout will be the key in whether he can push
Jindal to a runoff.

"Our polls show that he's in the 40s and we're between 18 and 22 percent,"
he said. "If we can get our vote out, we can make it to the second primary."

Other polls have shown Jindal with more than 50 percent of the vote.