RELEASE: Louisiana Democratic Party Endorses All Democratic Candidates for Commissioner of the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry

Louisiana Democratic Party Endorses All Democratic Candidates for Commissioner of the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry

Baton Rouge, LA – On Saturday, the Democratic State Central Committee endorsed all three Democratic candidates, Charlie Greer, Marguerite Green, and Peter Williams, to serve as the Commissioner of the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry. The election will be held on October 12.

“We are proud to endorse all three Democratic candidates for Commissioner of the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry,” Stephen Handwerk, Chair of the Louisiana Democratic Party said. “Through this, our party will stand united to defeat Mike Strain and move Louisiana forward together.” 

“Mike Strain has consistently proven he doesn’t care about the needs of the agriculture industry here in Louisiana,” Stephen Handwerk, Executive Director of the Louisiana Democratic Party said. “He has decided to blindly put partisanship above his job and the people of Louisiana have suffered because of it. Between his four years of using medical marijuana as a political tool or his continuous support of the Trump Administration’s trade war that has crippled our farms, ports, and industries, Strain has done reprehensible damage to our state and we can’t allow it to continue. I’m confident any of these Democrats will do an incredible job in restoring integrity to the Department of Agriculture and Forestry and repairing the damage to our state that Mike Strain has done.”

Background

Charlie Greer is a 20-year veteran of the department serving as a forestry enforcement agent with a political career ranging back to 1980 as an advisor for Governor Treen’s administration.

Marguerite Green currently serves as executive director of SPROUT NOLA, is a founding organizer for the Greater New Orleans Growers Alliance and the co-founder of the New Orleans Flower Collective.

The trade war is directly harming Louisiana’s economy by targeting soybeans and shipping. Louisiana is one of the nation’s largest producers of soybeans at $564,720,000 of the state’s farming economy and the trade war has led to a 78% drop in U.S. soybean exports to China. 

Strain has spent four years delaying medical marijuana in Louisiana with one mistake after another.