By JIM BUTLER
The House District 26 race is between two officials wanting to move from local to state government and an incumbent who has been there, done that.
One, the incumbent, is a member of a family storied in local/state civil rights history, another had to clear the record to run and the third is doing it to this point without outside help.
The challengers are Sandra Franklin, a School Board member, and Reddex Washington Jr, city councilman.
Former councilman Edward Larvadain III is completing his first full term.
He has raised $38,000 and spent $30,000. With $30,000 on hand at the start of the period he has a fund balance of $38,000.
Larvadain’s fund-raising included $17,000 from Political Action Committees, a sum in the range of normal for a first-term representative.
The Democratic State Central Committee of LA put up $10,000. All three candidates are Democrats.
Contributing $2,500 were term-limited state Rep. Lt. Col. Kenny R. Cox, Natchitoches, and the La. Legislative Black Caucus, Baton Rouge. All three candidates are Black.
Washington had to clear unpaid Ethics Administration fines as the campaign officially unfolded.
He was fined in October 2021 for failure to file required finance forms after his 2020 city campaign.
According to Ethics Administration records, he did not respond to inquiries and was eventually fined. His campaign paid $14,060 to clear the ledger.
Washington’s campaign raised $31,000 during the current filing period, including a $2,500 loan from the candidate, and spent $26,000, leaving $5,000 on hand.
Contributors of $2,500 included BOK Enterprises, Jack Rabbit Nursery and Tarver Companies, all of Alexandria, and LASFAA PAC, Baton Rouge.
Franklin, runnerup to Larvadain four years ago, had no contributions to report.
She loaned her campaign $2,500 as qualifying approached. The campaign had $600 on hand when the current report was filed.
