Stonecipher speaks at Network

The Crowley Chamber of Commerce held their monthly Network at Noon Friday at the LSU AgCenter. The guest speaker was noted demographer and statistician Elliot Stonecipher. He spoke about the upcoming 2010 census and the diverse effects it could have on Louisiana. Among those, attending the luncheon were Chamber Board Member Danny Nugier, Rob Guidry of the Lafayette Chamber of Commerce, Stonecipher, and Crowley Chamber of Commerce President Pat Bordes.

Howell Dennis

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By Howell Dennis
NEWS EDITOR

CROWLEY – The Chamber of Commerce hosted their monthly Network at Noon at the LSU AgCenter with noted demographer and statistician Elliot Stonecipher as the this month’s guest speaker.
After being introduced by Chamber Board member Danny Nugier, Stonecipher began his speech, which was focused on the census coming up in 2010 and how it could diversely affect the demographics of the Louisiana as well as how it could cause the state to lose a congressman.
“I am here today to make sense of how 2010’s census at a local and regional level,” said Stonecipher. “I’ve learned that when you entrust things to huge bureaucracies bad things can happen.”
Stonecipher touched on a range of issues regarding the census and its potential to shift power within Louisiana as well as weakening our state’s power on Capitol Hill.
“I have 28 years experience with census data,” stated Stonecipher. “In the year 2000, taxpayers payed $6.5 billion to collect our country’s census data. In 2010, I project it to cost upwards of $15 billion.”
“Because the census has not distinguished citizens, and permanent, legal residents from individuals here illegally, the basis for apportionment of House seats has been skewed,” he continued. “This leaves Louisiana as ‘ground zero’ for the next census.”
“States such as California, Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico - in other words states with the most illegal immigrants - will possibly gain House seats while states such as Louisiana will lose at least one congressman.”
Stonecipher then touched on how the census could affect the demographics within the state. He was specifically critical of New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin and Senator Mary Landrieu - both New Orleans residents - by trying to make the population of New Orleans greater than it actually is.
“Mayor Nagin told the census that their initial count was 80,000 people less than it actually was,” he said. “Senator Mary Landrieu is the only member of the Senate who will not return my calls . . . and where are they both from?”
“There has actually been an outward migration from New Orleans,” said Stonecipher. “The population of the area above Lake Ponchatrain called the Northshore has increased drastically.”
Stonecipher displayed a chart which showed which parts of the state were growing in population since 2000 (Acadia remained about the same) and the parishes surrounding New Orleans (Jefferson, St. Bernard, and Orleans) were among those that had lost the most citizens.
“I find it odd that the person who is running the census from the White House is Rahm Emanuel and the person who runs it in Louisiana is Marc Morial (New Orleans’ ex-Mayor),” he stated.
“I find that anything that dilutes the one man-one vote goes directly against the Constitution,” Stonecipher added.