Fields Counts On Legislative Experience
BOBBY ARDOIN
Editor/Consulting Writer
The newly-created Louisiana Sixth U.S. Congressional District covers portions of nine parishes and hundreds of miles, but Democratic candidate Cleo Fields isn’t expecting problems establishing his name recognition
Fields says his previous experiences as a state and Congressional lawmaker provides him a familiarity among voters in both northern and southern portions of the state as he continues his campaigning for the Nov. 5 election.
“During my previous terms in Congress, the district was also just as large. One time it went from Baton Rouge to Shreveport. Another time it extended from Baton Rouge to Monroe. I don’t think that same distance will offer any challenges. I have a good staff working with me and my name is familiar,” Fields said Tuesday night as he announced the opening of his Acadiana campaign office in downtown Opelousas.
The ribbon cutting event on the corner of Main and East Landry streets, attracted a large crowd that nestled into the building previously used most recently as a clothing store
Fields, interviewed exclusively by St. Landry Now.com, faces opposition by former Republican state lawmaker Elbert Guillory of Opelousas and Anthony Anderson, who ran for a position with the Baton Rouge Metro Council in 2020.
Republican Garrett Graves currently represents the District. However Graves has declared that he will not run for the Sixth Congressional seat, which was approved in federal court earlier this year.
Fields, 61, is seeking to represent a district that stretches from a portion of East Baton Rouge Parish and moves through West Baton Rouge, Pointe Coupee, St. Landry, Avoyelles, a part of Rapides, and Natchitoches, DeSoto and Caddo parishes.
During the interview Fields said his advantage over his opponents originates from his reputation as a veteran lawmaker who cares about people he represents and his ability to respond to their concerns.
Fields currently serves as a state senator. Guillory, 80, ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor in 2015 and 2023. Guillory was elected as a state representative and senator from 2007 until 2016.
From 1993 until 1997 Fields represented the Fourth Congressional District.
Fields, who ran for governor in 1995, said he wants to raise the minimum wages and protect Social Security and Medicare.
Most importantly, Fields told the crowd, is the necessity to invest more heavily in early childhood education.
There is also the need to provide better representation for the farming communities in the District, Fields added.
Funding is available to assist farmers, but Fields said he will make sure the money dedicated to farm legislation “gets where it needs to be.”
State Representative Dustin Miller, Parish President Jessie Bellard and Opelousas Mayor Julius Alsandor complimented Fields for his responsiveness in funding projects in St. Landry.
