A candidate for Louisiana attorney general said she supports educating nonviolent criminals instead of jailing them, placing stronger restrictions on determining who can access guns, and protecting the elderly and small businesses from scams.

Geri Broussard Baloney, a Democrat, is one of five candidates running for the office in the Oct. 24 election. Her challengers are three Republicans — incumbent Attorney General Buddy Caldwell, former congressman Jeff Landry and Marty Maley — along with Democrat Ike Jackson. This is Baloney’s first time running for statewide office.

Baloney told the American Press on Tuesday that she wants to reduce the state’s high incarceration rate and is against putting “nonviolent drug offenders” behind bars.

“Obviously we can’t incarcerate the problem; we have to educate our children,” Baloney said. “It is cheaper for us to treat than it is for us to incarcerate.”

Baloney said she supports “meaningful education programs,” including job training and job placement for convicted felons.

“They have an opportunity when they come out to be productive members of society,” she said. “I think we have a duty to do that.”

While Baloney supports the Second Amendment, she said she disagrees with a statement Caldwell made in 2013 that “no amount of gun control will stop” mass shootings. The statement, mentioned on Caldwell’s website, was made after the 2012 shooting in Newtown, Conn., where 20 children and six adults were killed.

“I think that’s an absolutely irresponsible statement,” she said. “We cannot continue to turn a blind eye to what’s happening in our society.”

Baloney said she would push for stronger restrictions and mechanisms that determine who has access to guns.

“We would look at mental health issues, pending restraining orders, domestic violence issues,” she said. “Let’s look at prison and parole status. That’s an easy fix.”

Baloney said she would strengthen the attorney general’s consumer protection division to make sure the elderly and small-business owners are protected from fraud and theft. She said she has personal experience of an elderly person who was taken advantage of financially.

“I would also have more of a focus on small businesses who are hit by embezzlement schemes and scams,” she said. “I did not realize how prevalent it was for small businesses to be victimized. Small businesses are the backbone of our economy.”

Baloney said her “well-rounded experience” in the business, government and legal sectors separates her from the other candidates. A New Orleans native, she has been in private practice since 1997 with the Broussard Baloney Law Firm.

“You just cannot lead a team of litigators if you haven’t tried a case,” she said.

Gov. Kathleen Blanco in 2004 appointed Baloney commissioner of the Pontchartrain Levee Board. She said she lobbied for levee protection after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. She served as commissioner until 2008.

(MGNonline)

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