UPDATE: 16 july 2008 senator yvonne dorsey on the "jindal swindle."
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we noticed that some yvonne dorsey supporters had been arriving at our post about the purple circle social club. representative dorsey supporters were trying to paste a rebuttal into the comments of a related post but it looks like haloscan comments has a limit in the amount of text one can enter into a comment.luckily, one of ms. dorsey's supporters left her email address and we emailed her to let her know that if she would send us a copy of what it was she was trying to post we would post it in its entirety...coz we're nice like that...she was kind enough to respond right away with a word .doc which you can download here and the text of which we have reproduced below:
Tired of big money – big corporations – determining who your elected officials are? Tired of being represented by elected officials who respond to corporate interests and not their constituents? If you live in District 14, you have a chance to vote for change and to send a grassroots progressive to the State Senate – one who will represent YOU and not the LOBBYISTS.
We have known Yvonne Dorsey for over 20 years and are proud of the fact her voting record reflects the positions of a true progressive. Yvonne stands up for the elderly, the poor, the middle class, the environment, health care, and public education. She is pro-choice, pro-ERA, for campaign finance reform and against discrimination of any kind (Yvonne is endorsed by gay and lesbian organizations). As a representative, she helped to revitalize downtown and to make LSU's "flagship university" concept a reality. She is a coalition builder and very much her own woman. She can work both sides of the aisle and has received endorsements and campaign contributions from both Republican Richard Baker and Democratic Cleo Fields.
Yvonne's opponent, Jason Decuir, is outspending Yvonne over 11 to 1. In fact, he has raised more money for this one race than Yvonne has raised in her entire career as an elected official! He raised over half a million dollars1 prior to the Oct. 20th primary – money from the oil and gas lobby, chemical lobby, predatory lenders, anti-union groups, out of state special interest groups, Republican activist Lane Grigsby2, CONSERVATIVES backing the Louisiana Committee for a Republican Majority – and he is still raking it in. This money is being used to "swift boat" Yvonne and hoodwink the voters into thinking she is beholden to Cleo Fields and that lawsuits for unpaid bills were hers rather than her ex-husband's. What we would like to know is – who is Jason DeCuir beholden to? Over half a million dollars and still counting – he definitely won’t be looking out for our interests and he is definitely a Democrat in name only!
We are confident Yvonne will continue the great work she began as a State Representative:
- the first legislator to attempt to pass ethics legislation requiring public disclosure of income for legislators and their families HB694 2005 (is this why big money is against her?);
- responsible for spearheading efforts to raise teacher pay every year she's been in office;
- responsible for increasing the LA4 Program for early education of 4-year-old at-risk children by $30 million last year;
- one of the lead legislators involved in creating the TOPS program;
- endorsed by the Louisiana Association of Educators, Louisiana Federation of Teachers, and the Louisiana Education Association;
- Vice Chair of Health & Welfare where she protects public hospitals and health care;
- responsible for adding 3,625 new slots to support elderly and disabled adults, in-home residential options, and adult day care;
- responsible for making stalking a crime and for providing the funding to analyze the backlog of over 1,000 rape kits;
- responsible for renewing downtown Baton Rouge by steering $79 million in new state construction, including all of the new governmental buildings, the Riverfront Promenade, and the state support needed to build the Shaw Center
It's rare to meet someone in public office who is not out to enrich themselves. Yvonne is a lifelong resident of the District. She lives in a modest house on Van Buren Street, where she remains attuned to the needs of everyone in the community.
We are the women who brought progressive talk radio (WPYR, 1380 AM) to Baton Rouge. Yvonne helped us in this effort — as she has with so many other progressive causes. We are asking you to join us in giving Yvonne the support she deserves by sharing this e-mail with friends, talking with neighbors, and most important, giving her your vote on November 17th. Let’s vote for change and send a progressive to the Louisiana State Senate!
Sincerely,
Vicki Lancaster
Barbara Nielsen
1 http://www.ethics.state.la.us/cgi-bin/la98/contrib-html/
2 http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/11189491.html
Check out: http://ethics08.org/
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