LPJ Staff Report
RUSTON, La. — Lincoln Parish voters narrowly approved two Police Jury millage renewals Saturday night, while Dubach voters passed all five alcohol-related propositions on the local ballot.
Proposition No. 1, a 10-year renewal of a 4.41 mills property tax, passing by just 61 votes. The measure received 3,439 “yes” votes and 3,378 “no” votes, while Parishwide Proposition No. 2, another 10-year renewal of a 4.41 mills property tax, also passed even more narrowly with 3,409 votes in favor and 3,363 opposed, a margin of 46 votes.
The Police Jury millage renewal is a continuation, not a new tax.
In Dubach, voters approved all five local alcohol propositions, including measures related to packaged alcohol sales, consumption alcohol sales and restaurant alcohol sales.
The strongest support came on Proposition No. 1, which involved packaged alcohol sales and passed with 100 votes, or 64%, in favor and 57 opposed. Proposition No. 4, another packaged alcohol proposition, passed with 63% support.
The remaining Dubach measures each received between 57% and 59% approval from voters.
Lincoln Parish voters also mirrored statewide trends in several major races and ballot measures during Saturday’s election.
In the Republican primary for U.S. Senate, U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow led both statewide and in Lincoln Parish. Statewide, Letlow received 179,876 votes, or 45%, compared to 113,428 votes, or 28%, for Public Service Commissioner John Fleming and 99,479 votes, or 25%, for incumbent Sen. Bill Cassidy. Mark Spencer received 8,335 votes statewide.
Lincoln Parish gave Letlow an even larger margin, with 2,386 votes, or 60%, while Fleming received 976 votes and Cassidy finished with 532 votes.
On the Democratic side, “Jamie” Davis won statewide with 163,507 votes, or 47%, narrowly ahead of Nicholas “Nick” Albares with 90,480 votes and Gary Crockett with 90,764 votes. In Lincoln Parish, Davis performed significantly stronger, earning 61% of the vote with 1,517 ballots cast.
Lincoln Parish voters also aligned closely with statewide voters in rejecting all five proposed constitutional amendments.
Statewide, Amendment No. 1, which would have authorized lawmakers to add or remove positions in the unclassified state civil service, failed with 78% opposition. Lincoln Parish voters rejected the measure by a similar 76% margin.
Amendment No. 2, which proposed granting the St. George community school system authority to operate a school system, failed statewide with 64% voting “no.” Lincoln Parish voters rejected the amendment by nearly the same margin at 65%.
Amendment No. 3, which sought to fund teacher pay raises by paying down debt in the Teachers’ Retirement System of Louisiana, failed statewide with 58% opposed. Lincoln Parish voters rejected the measure 60% to 40%.
Amendment No. 4, dealing with parish authority related to ad valorem tax classifications and exemptions, failed statewide with 66% opposition and was defeated in Lincoln Parish with 64% voting against it.
Amendment No. 5, which would have raised the mandatory retirement age for judges from 70 to 75, was rejected statewide with 77% opposition. Lincoln Parish voters also overwhelmingly opposed the measure, defeating it with 74% voting “no.”
