The battle for the 12th district senate race is more important than many people realize, because it represents the classic dichotomy so often seen in Louisiana races. It’s a competition between a candidate with experience running a business, and another candidate who has “spent a life in public service” (code talk for a lifetime of feeding at the government trough).
The candidates in the race are conservative Republican Beth Mizell and Democrat Mickey Murphy.
Perhaps unintentionally, Mickey Murphy reveals quite a bit about who and what he really is in the video below.
Speaking with Ken Benitez of Action News 17, Murphy boasts that “public service has been my life.”
His description of his resume is bizarre in that he continually refers to himself in the third- person:
“Mickey Murphy is a guy who has been serving the public in the district for over 40 years. He’s been a teacher. He’s been a welding instructor. He’s been a counselor, and he’s been a college dean. He’s been a chairmen of the workforce development board. He’s been chairmen of the state board for the community and technical college system. He’s been president of the chamber of commerce. He’s a veteran. He’s been the commander of Magic City post 24 of the American legion. His total life has been about public service and this is another opportunity for him to serve.”
That last statement should give pause to anyone considering voting for him, especially business owners.
Small business is life blood of Louisiana’s economy, and it’s important to have a senator who relates the the burdens and the struggles faced by he small business community.
Beth Mizell’s resume stands in sharp contrast to Murphy’s. Her website reads:
Beth Sherman Mizell is a lifelong resident of the Northshore. She grew up in Bogalusa and moved to St. Tammany Parish, where she operated a business for 15 years. She now lives in Franklinton. In 2012, Beth lost her high school sweetheart and husband of 41 years, Bob, to cancer. She is the mother of two grown children and is expecting her sixth grandchild in May 2015. Beth’s daughter, Julie, is a teacher. Her son, Josh, is a U.S. Marine combat veteran who is now contracted with the State Department. The Mizell family has been committed for decades to public service…and to the education of our children.
Beth has been an active Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) since 2001, where she is appointed by judges to advocate for the best interests of abused and neglected children.
Beth has spent her career as an early childhood educator, owning and operating a preschool in St. Tammany for 15 years, and then working with a national education firm. She is a member of First Baptist Church of Franklinton.
Owning and operating a preschool for 15 years means that Mizell is not only an experienced educator, but also a person who knows what it’s like to own a business.
She has also shown respect for property rights, a respect no shown by her adversary. For Mickey Murphy is the hand- picked successor of Ben Nevers, who has pushing to build a reservoir in the district for over a decade now.
Building the reservoir means that government will be seizing the property of people living in that district, all because someone wants to get paid to dig a hole and pour some water in it.
The choice is clear, and Murphy’s Democratic party label puts him at a disadvantage. He’s already shown a willingness to play dirty, however. Robocalls have been going out across the district smearing Mizell.
Let’s hope that the people in the 12th district are wise enough not to pick Murphy who would not only be bad for the district, but bad for Louisiana.
