03/28/2022
Thank you to everyone who got out to support Saturday, and during the past few months. I sincerely appreiciate every single one of you. Although the outcome was not what I hoped, I am VERY proud of the CLEAN and HONEST campaign that I ran. There were continued attacks on both my public and personal lives, none of which held an ounce of truth, but instead of getting low, I took the high road. I did not compromise one ounce of who I am, what I stand for or the example I set as a JUDGE.
Winning TWO of three parishes is humbling and I will forever remember the DeSoto and Red RIver support. I am proud of the 42% support that I received, especially considering the active campaigning of nearly every single elected Republican official, the Sheriff, and Senator Gregory Tarver, for my opponent. That is a DARN STRONG showing and I am proud of myself, my supporters and the team that got me there. This shows that we are almost ready for change, for the good, regardless of old school politics.
I am extremely honored to have the MOST AMAZING husband and children, who have supported me every single step of the way. To my incredible parents, what an amazing campaign we ran, figuring it out as we went, just like we always do - Bobby Waddell on those phones and Sharon R Waddell on those doors. To my fabulous, newly inherited inlaws, thank you for everything.
For my campaign compadres, Dana, Yvonne, Mel, Erin, Amanda, Murph, Caro, Kat, Wilson, and Lohnes, the huddle in which I stnad, the people that show up for me, again and again. I can never thank yall enough - what a PHENOMINAL show y'all put on. Organizing events, running phone banks, adjusting your lives based on the belief for a better future for all of us - you will never know how grateful I am.
Mickey Lowe, YOU WILL FOREVER BE THE BEST MAKER OF THE SIGN HOLDERS!
Angie, the graphics goddess, the manipulator of computer magic, designing and digitizing on the fly, you are a true hero.
To my hosts/hostesses of Meet & Greets, the walkers of the doors and the try the best to figure out these ridiculous applications for phone bankers - THANK YOU FOR GIVING YOUR time, energy and efforts to help me maximize exposure within the local community.
I know that it was not God's timing for me, and I am fully trusting in HIS plan. I will be grateful to continue to SERVE ALL THE PEOPLE of Caddo Parish, not only as a Judge, but as a mother, a volunteer and hopefully, a coach. Thank you for all of the support. I bet this won't be the last you hear of me.
As an aside, for those of you still reading, for this election, there was only 14.2% ( actually Caddo was 13.7%) turnout. That means that out of nearly 158,000 voters, not even 20,000 showed up. That's a problem that needs to be addressed. WHOEVER you vote for, you should GO VOTE. We do not need 14% of anything making decisions for our parish, state or country. As a people, as a community, we HAVE to do better. If we want to change this community for our kids, for us, we HAVE TO EXPRESS our voices, whether that be in a judicial, legislative, school board, commission, city council or other type of race. I know people shy away from politics nowadays, but they are vital for our children's education, our safety and our general way of life. We have to do better, we have to get involved - we have to figure out if the people who are running are going to get us in a better position than we currently are. We have some very important elections coming up this year, one of which is the mayorial election. I urge you to do your research, attend the local forums, take time to meet the candidates, and make sure you understand what his/her plan for the community actually is - does it make sense, is it practical and will it possibly work? This means you may have to ask the hard questions, you may have to disagree with your friends and you may even have to mix politics/religion, which I know isn't popular. Don't let 14% of us make the mayorial decision, too much hangs in the balance.
