Northshore Elections: Contentious Races, Recount and No Challenge!

by Denis Bechac

Photo by Shamus Pons

 

In Slidell, we observed a very contentious election between the two top vote getters for Chief of Police and in Mandeville; the mayoral race has come down to a photo finish and a recount of the votes. It brought back memories and similarities of the 2000 presidential election with "swift-boating" and "hanging chads".

Slidell Chief of Police

Candidates for Slidell Chief of Police has now pitted political newcomer Randy Smith, who garnered 48% of the vote in the general election while former Slidell Police Chief and current Mayor Ben Morris pulled in 41% of the vote. The two candidates are now pitted once again for the May 1st run-off election. J.J. Jennings and Jason Zar garnered 10% and 1% of the vote respectively.

The City of Slidell is the only municipality on the northshore that elects a chief of police. With exactly 48.7% of the vote on election night, Randy Smith said, "The strategy we have at this point is to get the voters back to the polls. That’s the key and we can’t say we have this in the bag."

Although his opponent has a plethora of experience as former police chief and the current mayor, Smith said, "I believe Ben has a lot of name recognition here in town with over 20 years of public service in the area, for me to do as well as I have in the general election, it shows that the citizens of Slidell have spoken and they want new leadership in Slidell. I am very excited about my candidacy and campaign at this time."

Former Slidell Chief of Police and current Mayor Ben Morris, who captured 41% of the vote to earn a spot in the run-off election, said, "I have been running the past six weeks while my opponent has been running for that past two and a half years, I am not disappointed at all. I am in the race for the long run and will wait to see what happens."

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Access Denied: How the healthcare system is putting the squeeze on specialists

by Rhonda Landry

Photo by Shamus Pons

 

You haven't been able to escape it. People are talking about it incessantly. It's in the news every single day. That's right: healthcare reform.

Perhaps you don't think it affects you. After all, you have insurance right? Or maybe you're retired and on Medicare. All that healthcare reform talk is about the uninsured and their need for access to affordable, preventive healthcare, right? Think again. The current system is putting significant pressure on many physicians that specialize in areas like neurosurgery and orthopedic surgery and unless these issues are tackled by healthcare reform, you may find your access to these services restricted, whether or not you have insurance.

Take Dr. Gustavo Gutnisky as an example. You would be hard-pressed to find a more experienced or personable doctor. He is a neurosurgeon, practicing in St. Tammany parish for 27 years. When you talk to him you can tell right away that his patients are his first priority. He has put in his time tending to trauma victims on nights, weekends, and holidays in the parish’s emergency rooms. He has done his share of complex brain surgeries. "I think you have to give something back to the community," said Gutnisky. But doctors like him could become a thing of the past and here's why:

Medical Liability Crisis

According to Dr. Gutnisky, malpractice insurance and tort reform are the primary issues affecting his practice. Louisiana is one of eight patient-compensation-fund states in the country. Patient compensation funds (PCFs) are pools of money established by state law and formed by surcharge payments from doctors to provide additional funds in order to spread the risk of multi-million-dollar court decisions across a wide number of doctors.

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