Republicans Hail Ralph Washington For Leadership As Mayor Pro-Tem

The Republican Party of East Baton Rouge Parish has endorsed Central Mayor Pro-Tem Ralph Washington for reelection to the Central City Council.

Here are some of Washington’s comments from his interview with the GOP and from recent speeches:

• “Growing up in a rural area and being raised in the church, my greatest influence has always been the love of God and my desire to be a good man.”

• “It has been a pleasure to be involved on the ground floor with the creation of the City of Central from the beginning.  I was honored to be able to go to the legislature and defend Central when we have been attacked.  As a Councilman, I have been privileged to work to create our first set of city ordinances, the Master Plan, our zoning ordinances, and the concept of privatization.”

• “By keeping government small, I believe we can be closer to the people and accomplish more.  My goal has been to help our citizens have a better quality of life, and I hope I have been able to do that.  But we are still in the formative stage.  We need to keep building a great foundation.”

• “I’m running again because I feel I have made a difference, and I believe I can continue to make a difference over the next four years.”

• “Over the next four years, our No. 1 goal should be to build a better infrastructure.  We’re already seeing great improvements but much more is needed.  Better sewer, better highways, better parks, better service to people.”

• “I switched to the Republican Party, and I think it was the right decision.  From the White House on down, we’re seeing the mess the Democrats have made of government.”

• “For me, it all goes back to what is the purpose of civil government.  I think government should be limited in its involvement in the lives of citizens.  We should be concerned with safety and physical development, but government should not be involved in people’s everyday lives.  Most of all, government should answer to the people, not the other way around.”

• “In Central, despite our disagreements, we have kept government small.  The city has not raised taxes.  But we have been able to accumulate a large surplus.”

• “Some of our surplus should be kept for a rainy day but some of it should be spent on some urgent needs in Central, especially roads, drainage, and better services.”

• “I do believe in the importance of access to public records.  That is essential in a democracy.  I stood up in the Council when we directed CH2MHill to produce public records.  Later, it was clear that that company needed to be replaced, and I supported opening it up to other bidders.  That proved to be the right decision and save the city a lot of money.”

• “I will continue to strongly support our Sheriff’s Office and the Central Police Department.”