Four Competing for District Judge Nov. 8

By Woody Jenkins, Editor, Central City News — CENTRAL — Central’s Judge Richard Anderson served as a District Judge for many years in the 19th Judicial District.  He was respected by judges, lawyers, and the general public.  His decisions were uniformly upheld, and he had no scandals of any kind.

Yet, on Nov. 3, 2020, Judge Anderson was defeated by a young Democratic attorney.  The reason? In East Baton Rouge Parish, voters elect five judges from each of three judicial sub-districts, and these sub-districts have not been reapportioned in 30 years.  They are badly malapportioned, and black voters are highly overrepresented.

The so-called minority sub-district has a voting population of 57,325 and elects five District Judges. The Northern sub-district. which includes Central and Zachary, has 100,093 voters and elects only five District Judges. And the Southern sub-district with 134,506 voters also elects only five District Judges.

The minority district is severely over-represented. Minority voters living near the minority subdistrict but in the Northern sub-district, give minority voters in the Northern sub-district a majority.

As a result, even though only 44.6 percent of the voters in the parish are black, they have a majority in districts electing 10 of the 15 district judges in the parish. White voters are 49.5 percent of the voters in the parish but a majority in districts electing only five of 15 district judges

Based on population, black voters in the parish should have a majority in 7 or 8 of the 15 judgeships but not 10 of 15.

Judge Richard Anderson lost his race for reelection to Democrat Christopher Dassau. Unfortunately, Judge Dassau died shortly after taking office.  On Tuesday, Nov. 8, voters in the Northern Sub-District, which includes Central and Zachary, will choose the replacement for Judge Dassau, the seat formerly held by Judge Anderson.

Four candidates are vying for the seat, including three Democrats — Dele Adebamiji, Gail Horne Ray, and Adam Kwentua — and Republican Steve Myers.

Here is a rundown on the four candidates:

•Dele Adebamiji, a native of Nigeria, has been practicing law in Baton Rouge for more than 30 years.  He has been a public defender for much of that time.  Like many natives of Africa, Dele is very conservative on social issues.  He is strongly pro-life and pro-traditional marriage.  

•Gail Horne Ray, a Baton Rouge attorney who has the support of most black leaders in Baton Rouge and the Democratic establishment.  She is endorsed by the Democratic Party.

•Adam Kwentua, also a native of Africa and a practicing attorney in Baton Rouge.  He has served as  an Assistant District Attorney and is viewed as more sympathetic to law enforcement.

• The candidate endorsed by the Republican Party is Steve Myers.  His brother Brad Myers was elected District Judge from the Southern Sub-District in a special election earlier this year.

Steve Myers is a strong conservative with libertarian tendencies.  He is a staunch defender of the Constitution and a devout Christian.