SHREVEPORT & BOSSIER CITY, LOUISIANA
NOVEMBER 5TH, 2019
JOHN HOLLAND
NOVEMBER 5TH, 2019
JOHN HOLLAND
With just 11 days to go until the election, the Holland campaign wanted to make their last few days of campaigning count. Their strategy in the final days was pretty straight forward: hit the suburbs hard and get the moderate swing voters there on their side. Today they were going to be rallying the suburban Bossier City, situated right next to Shreveport and exactly the kind of place the team was hoping to run up the numbers in.
But before they went into the city, they first did some work in Bossier's sister city of Shreveport. Holland first held a group meeting with faith leaders in the city, speaking on his plan to ban abortion and restore religious liberty after Long tore it away with his executive actions. He spoke of his own personal story as a Christian and how faith would guide his decision making. After that was finished he held a town hall meeting with residents of the city where he focused on crime, which had become a major problem for Shreveport. He went over his plan to expand policing and make training for officers more rigorous and efficient. He talked about tackling the root causes of crime, going into his plans to alleviate poverty, improve education, and fight mental illness as ways to help solve the problems that compel people to commit crimes. He additionally criticized Long for his lack of action on the issue and his policy of criminals being released before being properly rehabilitated. He wrapped up his Shreveport trip by going door to door to meet voters and talk about the problems facing them and their families.
In Bossier City Holland did an interview with the Bossier Press-Tribune where he pitched his plans to cut taxes and regulations as well as ensuring price transparency in healthcare and promoting competition and innovations like telemedicine to reduce costs. After that is was time for him to get to the main event of the day. Thousands of his supporters had gathered in the suburban city to see Holland speak in the final weeks of the campaign, and they were fired up as the man himself walked eagerly up to the stage. He waved to his crowd and took his spot at the podium. He cleared his throat and began his speech.
"Bossier City! It's great to be with all of you today! Are we ready to bring about real reform for Louisiana? Are we ready to bring about a new vision for Louisiana where we have solutions to our problems instead of broadway theatrics? Are we ready to bring about a bipartisan, sensible answer that brings us back to sensible government instead of the radical socialism of Governor Long? I sure am, and judging by this crowd, clearly, Louisiana is too! So let's make it happen! Let's build a movement to bring change and get this state back on track after four years of extremism and bickering from Baton Rouge!
Let's build a movement that will put an end to the incompetence and corruption of the Long government! I am sick and tired of constantly having to see our state be ranked 49th in everything! I am tired of us being ranked so low in education when we have the resources to be the shining jewel of the old south! I am tired of our healthcare being abysmal and being called the least healthy state in America! I am tired of reading the stories of small business owners having to leave our state because any chance for creating a successful startup has been choked by the red tape installed by our Governor! I am running to put a stop to this madness and start working on fixing the problems with our state with real leadership, not empty rhetoric!
Education to me is essential for our state. As a proud father and grandfather, I do not want to rest until my grandkids have the same opportunity for a decent education as the rest of America. That is why one of the cornerstones of my campaign is investing in early childhood education and providing school choice for all parents in Louisiana! Let's make sure that our preschools are properly funded and they're providing the quality education our kids deserve! Cut the red tape that is preventing well-meaning institutions from building new preschools, and support vouchers and charter schools so we can finally have real school choice! Every single parent in Louisiana has a right to not only get to decide which school their child goes to but also the confidence that the school they choose will teach their child well and equip them to lead the next generation of Louisianans!
And we must as well guarantee that every parent and child has access to high-quality childcare! Invest in childcare and relax the zoning requirements that are blocking the construction of new childcare facilities and give tax incentives for businesses that provide good childcare! Tackle the mental health crisis by investing more in our mental healthcare and take on the opioid crisis by holding big pharma accountable and sending those who need treatment to rehab, not jail! What as well is of utmost importance to the development of a child is being with their parents as they grow, and parents have a right to be with their newborns and care for them during that period. It is time for Louisiana to ensure paid family leave for every parent and recognize and support the reality that no childcare works better than parenting!
The amount of wasteful spending being perpetrated by the Long government is an embarrassment, and ordinary Louisianans are footing the bill! As Governor I pledge to take on the bureaucracy and waste that is flushing our taxpayer dollars down the drain and ensure that the state government is efficient. I will conduct a full review of our spending and find and slash the schemes that are not working to help our people, and instead direct those funds to programs that do work as well as well deserved tax cuts for Louisianans. We will cut the red tape that is strangling businesses and preventing them from creating jobs and growing our economy and bring those businesses that had to move out back home. Let us put an end to the practice of using taxpayer money to kill jobs and dreams of entrepreneurship and instead allow our economy to innovate and get us competitive with the rest of the country! We will not be stuck as one of the most economically worst-off states any longer!
And with that money saved, we can combat the poverty crisis occurring under Governor Long! It is unacceptable for our state to have one of the highest unemployment rates while Russell Long sits in his mansion claiming his big-government schemes are solving everything. He hasn't done anything to truly address poverty, and he will not if he gets a second term. I will address the rise of poverty in Louisiana, and I'll do it by getting us all together to build a solution that works. I have experience working across the aisle like I did to shield our state from the recession in 2008, and it is that experience that I want to use to guide our economic principles. It is time for us to give low and middle-class Louisianans tax relief that will raise wages and provide mobility for people to be able to escape poverty and have a stable income for their family. We shall invest in our public works and local industry to stimulate our economy and get us back on track after the radical big-government policies and spending of Russell Long! The solution to combating poverty is not to throw money at a scheme that will inevitably fail once the coffers dry, but to help Louisianans stand tall by themselves. The solution is not to have an approach that is uncooperative and partisan that will drive Louisiana to another budget crisis as Governor Long is doing, but to create a stable and sustainable economy that can create full-time employment!
The solution includes investing in our crumbling infrastructure which has been left in dire straits under Russell Long. Not only do our roads and bridges need repair, but also our bridges, our ports, and especially our flood defenses. My plan for infrastructure revitalization will create public-private partnerships that will lead construction and maintenance projects across Louisiana and ensure that they are not only efficient but safe as well. No one should have to fear in the back of their mind as they drive across a bridge if that bridge will collapse from under them. Governor Long seems content with that, but I'm not! So we will work to rebuild our infrastructure, and we won't have to fear if that bridge will collapse from under us, or if our flood defenses will keep our neighborhood safe. That is the kind of change that we need, to not only ensure safety but also provide more economic opportunity as our farmers and traders will be able to much more easily and safely transport their goods. I will work tirelessly as your Governor to make sure we get these infrastructure projects done for Louisiana!
I say we can do all of this because I have an actual record of getting things done for Louisiana. I have worked with both Republicans and Democrats who believe in a better future for Louisiana to create legislation that has improved the lives of people all across this state. Unlike Governor Long who has ridden the coattails of his elite family name, spending his early days partying in wine caves with his wealthy buddies, I grew up humbly in the city of New Orleans, living amongst those who were less fortunate, on the edge of poverty with my parents struggling to support me and my brothers financially. I went on to serve our country by fighting in Vietnam, sacrificing myself selflessly for what makes our country so special. I earned my way to this spot right here, I didn't have the benefit of being from a rich political dynasty.
It is those humble beginnings, that understanding of what it's like to question if I'll be living on the streets next month that have guided me on this journey with all of you. I am running for Governor because I am tired of Louisiana falling behind the rest of the nation on so many issues, and I like most of us believe that it needs to change. I am running on a platform of real reform that will actually accomplish something for the people of this state. It is our platform that will bring us forward and allow us to be competitive with the rest of America. It is our platform that will make Louisiana no longer the murder capital of America, but the education capital of America! No longer the poverty capital of America, but the jobs capital of America! We can only do that though by voting for real change! So vote for this campaign! Volunteer and tell your neighbors the news that we are coming to get our state government back in the hands of the people! Go to JohnHolland.com and donate to our cause so we can get moving forward for Louisiana! We are in this together, and together we will take the power back from the clutches of elite special interests and create real meaningful reform! God bless you Bossier City, and God bless the state of Louisiana! Thank you!"
