Slidell senator joins two other announced state officials
By KEVIN CHIRI
Slidell news bureau
SLIDELL – St. Tammany Parish residents will have plenty of extra interest in the election for Louisiana governor later this year after state Sen. Sharon Hewitt (R-Sli.) announced she is entering the race—the second parish candidate to do so.
Hewitt has risen in name notoriety rapidly in only seven years since moving from her corporate oil and gas job with Shell Oil to winning her first attempt ever at political office in 2016.
As a state senator from Slidell representing District 1, Hewitt passed over 125 pieces of legislation during her time in Baton Rouge, moving into leadership positions and gaining attention around the state that led to rumors two years ago that she was considering a run for governor. She was also named National Legislator of the Year in 2018.
As the possible candidates in the race began to change over the past two weeks, Hewitt ended speculation about her intent last Friday when she publicly announced she is running for governor.
“I really began thinking about it four years ago,” she said. “Government moves at glacier speed, and I kept thinking we needed more urgency to bring about change for Louisiana, the state I love.”
Hewitt and her husband Stan talked about it for months before coming to a final decision in the second half of 2022, “that I was going to run,” she said.
Hewitt immediately tried to distance herself from others who have announced by stating she was not a politician.
“I have been a businesswoman most of my professional life. The difference in me and many others is that I’m a doer, not a talker,” she stated. “It isn’t the talkers who make things happen…it’s the doers.”
She said her decision to enter the race is because she sees major change that needs to occur in the state, something that has been talked about for years, “and nibbled around the edges, but never really done.”
“We need a huge urgency to fix our educational system in the public schools. Our kids can’t wait,” she said. “And this state has got to completely restructure our tax code—for individuals and businesses. That is the only way corporations look at Louisiana and consider coming here. Right now, when they look at the tax structure that is so complicated, they don’t even know what to expect, and it makes them pause when thinking Louisiana is the place to relocate.”
Hewitt said she would also like to slowly eliminate the state income tax for individuals, doing so over several years as business rates change.
Hewitt isn’t the only announced candidate in the governor’s race who lives in St. Tammany Parish. Current Secretary of State John Schroder, from Mandeville, also confirmed he is entering the race, as is Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry.
St. Tammany resident Billy Nungessor, the current Louisiana lieutenant governor, stated at a Slidell campaign fundraiser several months ago that he was planning to enter the race. However, Nungessor surprised many a week ago when he said he had changed his mind and would run for lieutenant governor again, forgoing the chance to be governor.
That pits Hewitt against the other two state officials in what most see as a highly competitive race, even before other potential candidates surface.
Hewitt believes she can win because she has set herself apart from politicians and has a proven track record of action during her time in the Legislature.
“There has always been talk about redoing our tax code, or fixing our public schools, but there was never enough collaboration between the governor and the Legislature to really get it done. I know how to create a shared vision between the governor’s office and our lawmakers. I will give the Legislature an equal seat at the table and with my skill set, which is not as a politician, I will get things done. Nobody else has the skill set that I have gained from my time in the oil and gas industry,” she said.
Hewitt was coming off a 20-year career with Shell in 2015 when she decided to step into public office. During her time with the international oil and gas giant she handled billion-dollar contracts, headed negotiations for contracts between international companies, and oversaw hundreds of employees.
“That experience gives me the knowledge and background to manage big companies and create a Louisiana that they want to come to,” she said.
Hewitt linked the need for tax reform to the same educational reform she displayed last year with her literacy bill that ensures third graders will graduate to fourth grade with proficient reading ability. The year before that, a study was released showing 50 percent of Louisiana third graders moved on without good reading skills, and it comes at a critical time since reading is no longer taught in state public schools by the fourth grade.
“The kids who couldn’t read were going to be left behind in every subject from the fourth grade on,” Hewitt said. “We had to do something, and my literacy bill addressed that problem from now on.”
She also passed legislation that encourages more STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) attention so schools provide learning for the skills that businesses need to consider Louisiana.
“I’ve been a longtime advocate for STEM, but we need to do it faster—to work with schools and employers so they have the skilled workers they need,” she added.
She referenced a call from Boeing she handled which reported a need for 200 job openings here for the space program.
“I partnered with Nunez Community College to create classrooms to teach the skills they needed their workers to have,” she said. “And then I passed a bill to teach computer coding skills to kids in high school. These are things I can make happen faster as governor through executive order.”
Hewitt said her announcement last week brought a flood of positive response, including promises of financial support for the $10 million to $20 million that experts claim it will take to run an efficient campaign.
“Ever since I announced my candidacy my phone has been blowing up with calls of support,” she said. “It was a huge decision, but it’s also very exciting to take this on. I’m confident my name recognition is very good around the state already since I’ve probably spoken in places like Lafayette and Shreveport as much as Baton Rouge and St. Tammany.”
“It isn’t always the person with the most money who wins,” she said. “Look at the last governor’s race with Eddie Risponi. We are immediately heading off to start a statewide campaign and I know we only need to get our message out to win this.”
But Hewitt said there was one more very important reason she decided to run. She and Stan recently welcomed their first grandchild into the family.
“Our two sons had to leave the state to find the kind of good jobs they wanted,” she said. “When I look at my grandchild, I see the motivation to make Louisiana better, and a place our kids can stay and raise their families. That’s really a huge reason for me when I think about why I want to do this.”