Leon has influenced more lives, I think, than probably any single elected official in this region.

Raccoon tastes like raccoon. I've never heard of any elected official or politician who didn't like 'coon.

Leon is connected to our community in ways that very few elected officials are. He will leave a sense of fairness and a vision that encourages all of us to find the good in each other and build up on that, as opposed to what divides us.

That probably overstates the impact, just think of the army of people pouring into that region, and you see people spreading out across the country and getting jobs; it won't continue, I don't think those bottlenecks and shortages will continue. The broader concern is we have crude oil over $60 a barrel, which is the price even before Katrina was named, and that will have long-term effects on the economy, and I think that's a distinction that should be made.

If you are an incumbent and you do a good job, you'll probably get re-elected.

I'm not at all happy they did that. As a county elected official, I guess I resent it that the county party is essentially telling me to take a hike, ... I feel like my county party is working against me.