Convenient Site For Early Voting At Central Library On Joor Road

By Woody Jenkins, Central City News – Central voters will play a major role in filling vacancies in two important judgeships on the ballot on Saturday, Dec. 10.  Early voting at the Central Library will be held from Nov. 26 to Dec. 3.

At stake is a seat on the 1st Circuit Court of Appeal currently held by Judge Mike McDonald who is retiring.  The candidates are Democrat Judge Don Johnson and Republican Judge Hunter Greene.This court is an intermediate court between the 19th Judicial District Court in Baton Rouge and the Louisiana Supreme Court. The Circuit Court of Appeal district includes all of East Baton Rouge Parish except the inner city of Baton Rouge.

Also at issue is a District Judgeship for the 19th Judicial District. The candidates are Democrat attorney Gail Horne Ray and Republican attorney Steve Myers.

Ray and Myers are running in the Northern sub-district of East Baton Rouge Parish.  It is a seat formerly held by Judge Richard Anderson of Central who served from 1997 to 2021.  Anderson was narrowly defeated in November 2020 by Democrat attorney Chris Dassau.  Judge Dassau

died shortly after taking office.

Turnout is expected to be the key, specifically whether more Democrats than Republicans go to the polls and vote.  Republicans must turn out heavily in the District Judge race, or they will lose.