Gov. Edwin W. Edwards of Louisiana, citing his second-place finish in last month’s primary, has withdrawn from his campaign for re-election, thus making U.S. Representative Buddy Roemer the state’s Governor-elect.
The final unofficial count in the Oct. 24 election gave Mr. Roemer, a conservative Democrat, 522,333 votes, or 31 percent of the total cast. Mr. Edwards, also a Democrat, received 452,513 votes, or 28.5 percent of the total.
Under Louisiana’s open-primary system, all five gubernatorial candidates competed in the election last month. Since none received more than 50 percent of the votes, the top two finishers, regardless of party, were to have faced each other in a Nov. 21 runoff.
“I have determined ... [that] since I did not run first it would be inappropriate for me to continue with this election,” Mr. Edwards said in a speech delivered shortly after vote totals indicated he had placed second in the contest. “I have to do what I think is best for the state.”
Gubernatorial elections were also to take place this week in Kentucky and Mississippi.
Mass. Senate President Pushes Private-School Aid
The president of the Massachusetts Senate has asked the legislature to repeal a provision of the state constitution that forbids public assistance to private schools.
In a recent statement, William M. Bulger said the provision--a constitutional amendment drafted by the Know-Nothing Party in 1855--was aimed primarily at Roman Catholic immigrants and was “conceived in bigotry.”
He asked that the legislature, during a joint session of both houses of the legislature scheduled for Nov. 18, consider passing a new amendment that would eliminate all barriers to state aid to private schools. Amendments passed by lawmakers during that session would have to be approved by voters.
Mr. Bulger issued his appeal to lawmakers after the state supreme court handed down an advisory opinion on Oct. 19 regarding a bill he had introduced.
The high court said the bill, which would provide income-tax deductions for expenses at public and private schools, would violate the state constitution’s ban on aid to private schools. The Senate sought the court’s opinion on the bill in May.
A state-sponsored pilot career-ladder program in North Carolina’s Charlotte-Mecklenburg school system is being reviewed in the wake of mounting criticism from teachers.
Responding to the complaints, Peter Relic, the district’s new superintendent, has announced plans to form two committees to study the four-year-old program and recommend changes.
Officials in the 15 other districts involved in the state pilot program are expected to examine the results of the studies closely. The legislature may implement a career-ladder system statewide in 1989.
