Why I’m Running

The number one question I get asked while out talking to hundreds of hardworking New Orleans families and small business owners is, “Why are you running, Mary Anne?”

And I LOVE getting this question!

I’m running — honestly — because after visiting the legislature the last two years and seeing what actually goes on up there, I’m pretty pissed off. Please excuse my “French.”

But I’m mad as hell that my elder son had to move out of state to get a good job with great benefits, and my younger son has no plans on returning here to live when he finishes university. Under Cameron Henry’s leadership our economy post-Katrina and post-COVID has stagnated, and it isn’t showing any signs of climbing out of the gutter. Maybe it takes a Mom who’s used to balancing the family budget and is interested in keeping her babies closer to home, to prioritize not only good education but to have an actual plan for what happens next.

I’m mad as hell that our state remains at the bottom of every national education list. Quality of teaching? Bottom. Retention of teachers? Bottom. Classroom size? Bottom. Graduation rates? Bottom. Cameron Henry has been in our legislature for nearly 20 years and our kids’ schools are worse off than when he took office. Our kids deserve better.

And last, but not least, as a woman, a wife, and a mother, I’m mad as hell that our state is so dangerous for women. The women of Louisiana deserve better than Cameron Henry’s continued election year promises about protecting our families. We remain one of the most dangerous states for women to give birth in, with maternal and infant mortality rates that are the worst in the nation. And yet, women are being denied autonomy in determining their own fate, even though we are the most dangerous states for newborn survival. We remain one of the worst states for early childhood education or healthcare.

I’m mad about gun violence in our city and the greater metropolitan area, our eroding coastline and rising seas. And I’m mad as hell that good folks like you and me have to suffer the Washington, D.C. talking points of longtime incumbent politicians instead of hashing out some good, old-fashioned common sense solutions.

That’s why I’m running. To bring a wife and a mother’s much needed perspective and passion to the legislature, and finally fix some of these serious problems plaguing our families.