The candidates vying for the Dist. 40 state House of Representatives seat will air and share their views at a forum scheduled for 6 p.m. July 29 in the Opelousas General Hospital auditorium. The forum is sponsored by the St. Landry Chapter of the Louisiana Grassroots Lobby.
Ten candidates have qualified for the Oct. 17 primary: George Bourgeois, Allen Guillory, Bradford Jackson, Ronald Lavergne, Quincy Richard, Anna Simmons, Kelly J. Scott, Anthony Soileau, Reggie Tatum and Ledricka Johnson Thierry. Scott ran unsuccessfully last spring for the Dist. 24 state Senate seat now occupied by Elbert Guillory, who vacated the Dist. 40 seat to run for the Senate. Tatum is Opelousas’ city council member for Dist. D. Jackson and Thierry both ran unsuccessfully for the Dist. 40 seat. Simmons is the former mayor of Opelousas.
A Nov. 14 runoff is anticipated between the top two vote-getters in the primary.