Letter to the Editor, published 04/10/08 in The Advocate

In the March 30 Advocate article titled “Politics in the bleachers,” Mayor-President Kip Holden was quoted as saying, “I try to make sure that I’m out with the people, because that’s the lifestyle I’ve lived pretty much since I’ve been in office.”

But as the old saying goes, he thinks all the people are equal, but some are more equal than others. Apparently those who are “more equal” are those who may be of use to him politically. For instance, he met with the opponents of Rouzan, but he will not meet with the homeowners on Staring Lane, the majority of whom are elderly.

Nearly a hundred homeowners on Staring Lane are going to lose parts of their front yards, and 12 families are going to lose their homes, because of his Green Light Plan. Apparently we have no political clout because for nearly three years he has consistently refused to meet with the homeowners individually, as a group or with the officers of our Staring Lane Community Association.

Now that he is starting his re-election campaign he wants us to believe he is interested in the welfare of all the people of East Baton Rouge Parish. Don’t you think someone truly interested in people, as people, rather than as means to political advancement, would at least agree to discuss the situation with the families whose homes he is going to destroy?

William Herke
retired biologistBaton Rouge