Voters in Ouachita Parish delivered a mixed verdict in Saturday’s election, approving tax renewals to fund the Green Oaks Detention Center and the Parish Library system while joining a statewide rebuke of four constitutional amendments backed by Republican Governor Jeff Landry.
The parish library tax renewal passed with 56% support parish-wide, ensuring continued funding for the library system.
However, the measure exposed deep community divisions, as voters in predominantly Black precincts largely opposed it.
Frustration stemmed from unfulfilled promises to build a new Carver/McDonald branch in the Black community, a project sidelined by the Library Board in favor of a new 18th Street Library.
Rev. Cliff Thomas, president of the Ouachita NAACP, said the branch will still push for a new Carver/Mcdonald library and will hold police jurors and the library board accountable. He said he has received assurances from Betty Cooper, head of the Library Board that a new library would be built, but he said they received the same assurance during the last ten-year tax but nothing has been done.
Over the past decade, residents had been assured of progress, but Library Board President Betty Ward Cooper has remained vague on a timeline, fueling discontent.
Community leaders urged Black residents to vote against the renewal, hoping a defeat would force a revote with firm commitments for Carver/McDonald.
At a March 17 Police Jury meeting, only Rev. Michael Thompson, a juror, publicly championed prioritizing the branch, while others deferred to the Library Board’s existing list. “We’ve been promised this for years, and it’s time to deliver,” Thompson has said.
Despite the opposition, the tax renewal succeeded, leaving the Carver/McDonald issue unresolved.
Meanwhile, Ouachita Parish voters also approved a 10-year tax renewal for the Green Oaks Detention Center, securing its operational funding.
Statewide Rejection of Landry’s Agenda
Across Louisiana, voters dealt a significant blow to Governor Jeff Landry, rejecting all four of his proposed constitutional amendments. The most prominent, Amendment 2, aimed to overhaul state tax and budget laws by lowering the maximum income tax rate, capping budget growth, and shifting hundreds of millions from savings into the general fund. Landry tied the measure to permanent pay raises for teachers and school staff, but its defeat—by nearly two-thirds of voters—now jeopardizes those stipends, as his current budget lacks funding for them.
In a defiant statement, Landry blamed the loss on “Soros and far-left liberals,” claiming they flooded the state with “propaganda and lies.”
Turnout surprised analysts, hitting 21% statewide—far above the projected 12%. Pollster John Couvillon noted an unusually strong early vote from Democrats and Black voters, possibly driven by Amendment 3 and broader anti-Republican sentiment tied to Landry’s alignment with President Donald Trump.
In Ouachita Parish the turnout was 15% and among Black voters about 11 percent.
