Meet the Candidates for State Representative District 30

LAKE CHARLES, La. (KPLC) - In the race for State Representative of District 30, Charles Owen and William Jones are vying to represent areas of Vernon and Beauregard Parish.

Incumbent representative Charles Owen is a Leesville native. The republican has served one term in the house and is eyeing another.

Facing Owens is William Jones, born in Shreveport and raised near Fort Johnson. He is a registered Independent.

Both are hopeful to represent the people of District 30.

Why are you running for office?

Charles A. Owen - “I am running this time for the same reason I ran last time. I am running for re-election. I am running because I am 60 years old and I am tired of Louisiana not being right, we have wonderful people, we have wonderful resources, but our government has never been right. we have always had challenges that I believe can easily be rectified with the right decisions and I want to be part of making the right decisions to change the state of Louisiana.”

William Jones- “I have been paying attention to what’s going on and what really got me going to run for state representative was baton rouge, when the pandemic hit, we noticed that there were several pastors being arrested for having worship service. There was a pastor that was videoing, I’m not sure if he was arrested, but I believe they had like six officers, six cars, and taking down license plates.”

What is the biggest/first issue you want to tackle?

Charles A. Owen- “There are 2 things that are actually tied for first. Crime and our business framework in the state. Where I live and represent in Vernon and Beauregard, we have excellent law enforcement and I feel like I live in a safe place, but it’s not that way all over the state, there are big pockets of help in terms of establishing or restoring order.”

William Jones- “One thing I see we have a problem is insurance, insurance has skyrocketed, I had to change my insurance to another company because they went up almost another hundred dollars for six months, that’s ridiculous, I got it from Apple now, for the same insurance, I got almost 300 dollar difference, why can’t we buy insurance across state lines?”

What qualifies you for the job?

Charles A. Owen- “First of all the Louisiana constitution qualifies me you have to be 18 years of age and be a citizen and some other peculiar requirements other clear requirements I am qualified based on that if you’re asking as far as experience goes I would tell you that as a Louisiana native and with a nearly 40-year professional work life and someone who loves Louisiana I would say my qualifications are I am here on purpose I am retired officer my wife and I traveled the world in the Air Force and I chose to come back here and this is my home on purpose I want it better.”

William Jones- “I’ve worked over 30 years in construction. I started out at the very bottom. I was an apprentice, I started at third class. I worked my way up to a journeyman. I worked my way up to the supervisor and then I worked my way up to assistant project manager and one thing I found that is lacking is communication. Communication will go a long way.”

Why should voters cast their ballot for you?

Charles A. Owen- “Because I have been available, I have done what I told them I would do. I told them that I would go to work and I did. I missed one day of work in four years. I missed one day in the legislature. I have been available. I have represented the values of the people of the 30th District and I answer to the public. I certainly answer my phone, and I show up when it’s hard and when it’s easy and I would be honored to be able to have this job for four more years to try to turn Louisiana in the right direction.”

William Jones- “I believe that I’m not going to only be a voice for the city limits, the bigger population, but for the rural area. We need a rural area man to get out there. We need somebody to say hey thank you for listening to me. Sometimes you can’t do nothing, but go out and listen to them and bring their concerns to the other people, whether it be roads or whether it be something in town. I will not only listen to the mayors and to the police jurors, but to the people that vote.”

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