Read The Top Headline Stories Of The Day

 

       -SEN. DAVID VITTER & MIKE STRAIN

       -MIKE STRAIN IN THE NEWS

       -WE MUST BAN COCKFIGHTING NOW...

       -THE ARMY OF REFORM IS ON THE MOVE!

       -WWW.MIKESTRAIN.ORG

 

“To move Louisiana forward we must move beyond our past of cronyism and corruption. We must support leaders we can trust and be proud of.  Join me in supporting Mike Strain for Agriculture Commissioner and let’s get started in making Louisiana a better place – a place we can all be proud to call home.”- U.S. Senator David Vitter

 

On Monday, June 4th, U.S. Senator David Vitter hosted a reception in Baton Rouge for Mike Strain.  The reception gathered supporters from all across the state.  From this event, we were able to raise over $150,000 and counting...

 

We are very thankful to everyone who has contributed to our campain and who has asked to host future fundraising events in their homes.  Our campaign is on course for a victory in this critical election.

 

Strain pledges to return honesty, integrity to Agriculture Department

By Mike Jones, American Press  6/10/2007

 

State Rep. Mike Strain, R Abita Springs, told area Republicans on Friday that if he is elected commissioner of agriculture, he will return honesty and integrity to that office. 

 

Strain is running against Commissioner of Agriculture Bob Odom, a Democrat who has held the office for 28 years. Odom has been indicted on public corruption charges.

 

Strain told the Republican Roundtable that if he is elected, there will be no more boondoggles in the Agriculture Department and no indictments. 

 

Strain said he would not build sugar mills that are not economically sound using department employees who are not construction workers. 

 

Strain said Louisiana will have a new governor and many new legislators after the next election. 

 

"It is critical to have a new Agriculture commissioner because Odom will bite at the new governor every day," he said. 

 

Strain said he plans to look at every contract, policy, program, board and commission in the Agriculture Department to make sure it is being run as efficiently as possible. He said he would look at all of the 800 jobs in the department. 

 

He said he will also examine every commodity, region by region, to see what needs to be done to help those sectors and reduce transportation costs for farmers, and that he would work with land grant universities and agriculture centers to develop new farming methods and technologies. 

 

Strain said he is a native of Abita Springs, and his family has been in farming for five generations.

 

He holds a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Louisiana State University; owns and operates the Claiborne Hill Veterinary Hospital with his wife, who is also a veterinarian; served as a reserve deputy with the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office for 17 years; and was elected to the Legislature in 2000. 

 

He said he is not termlimited and could probably easily win re-election, but because he sees the critical need for change in the state and the Agriculture Department, he decided to run for that office. 

 

"If we don't change the image and policies of this state, we will never move forward," Strain said.

 

 

MIKE STRAIN ON COCKFIGHTING

 

Cockfighting must come to an end in 2007.  For years, we have fought long and hard to end cockfighting in Louisiana, but politics circumvented our efforts.  Now, we are the only state in the country that allows this barbarous act to continue. 

 

As a State Representative, and speaking as a Doctor of Veterinarian Medicine with 24 years of practice and knowledge, cockfighting is not only harmful to animals but jeopardizes the poultry industry of Louisiana and increases the chances of contagious diseases such as avian influenza spreading to humans. 

 

Having co-authored House Bill 108 with Representative Harold Ritchie and other reform-minded colleagues and authored House Bill 101, an immediate ban, I am determined to see that cockfighting ends so we can remove this black eye.  What do 49 other states know that we don’t?  Nothing.  It is time to move the state forward.

 

 

THE ARMY OF REFORM IS ON THE MOVE! 

 

Are you sick and tired of hearing about indictments, trial dates, corruption, and croynism surrounding Louisiana public officials all the time?

 

If so, then join me and the thousands of others around the state as we march forward to an era of new opportunity and change.

 

The politics of the past are over folks!  We have the new leadership, we have the new direction, and we need your support today.

 

As we continue to travel and campaign across the state, our Army of Reform is growing.  But we can't stop now! 

 

If you're not a member of our Army of Reform, then click here to join or you can visit our website at www.mikestrain.org

 

If you would like to contribute to Mike Strain's Campaign to become the next Commissioner of Agriculture & Forestry and help make a difference, please click here. 

And if you want to learn more about our campaign, get involved, donate, receive a bumper sticker or yard sign, then please visit our website www.mikestrain.org.

Remember, Change starts TODAY!