Long withdraws from race for 23rd District judgeship
GONZALES — Assistant District Attorney Charles “Chuck” Long has withdrawn from the March 24 special election for a 23rd Judicial District judgeship, saying he is not ready to close his family law firm to become a judge.
Long, 54, a Democrat from Donaldsonville, said Wednesday that the Louisiana Supreme Court informed him he would have to liquidate his assets in the Long & Long Law Firm of Donaldsonville, if elected.
“I have decided that I am not ready to stop practicing law and close down our family law firm that has been helping people in our community for 62 years,” Long said separately in a news release Wednesday.
“I would like to thank each and every person who has helped me in this election. I will not forget what you have done for me.”
The 23rd Judicial District encompasses Ascension, Assumption and St. James parishes. The latest voter registration statistics show the three-parish district contains a near majority of Democratic Party members at nearly 49 percent.
But Long’s decision means the race to fill the remaining term of Judge Jane Triche-Milazzo, a Napoleonville Democrat, will be contested by two Republicans from East Ascension.
Jessie LeBlanc, hearing officer and court administrator for the 23rd Judicial District, from Gonzales, and Matthew Pryor, a Geismar civil and criminal lawyer whose firm is in Gonzales, are seeking the Division D seat.
Three years remain in Triche-Milazzo’s term.
She was appointed to the federal bench in New Orleans last year by President Obama and left the 23rd District bench in October. The Louisiana Supreme Court appointed Judge Pro Tempore John L. Peytavin to fill the seat until a new judge is elected.
Long, who also is Donaldsonville city attorney and first assistant district attorney for the 23rd Judicial District, indicated in the interview that his departure is not related to his belief in his ability to win the election.
Long said his polling indicated he had higher support than the other two candidates and strong name recognition in the judicial district.
Also, he said 57 percent to 60 percent of those polled said party affiliation did not matter to them, but experience and credentials did.
Long said his campaign has been largely self-financed. He added that his son, who is in college, is interested in becoming a lawyer.
He said he owed it to his family before running for office to do, as his father did for him, helping his son start in the legal profession at the family firm. His father, Glynn Long, served as a district judge from 1991 to 1996.
“In the long run, when you look at the analysis, it’s not the right time for me,” Chuck Long said.