SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – Gov. John Bel Edwards is expected to be in Shreveport Tuesday morning to endorse fellow Democrat Sen. Greg Tarver in his campaign to become the city’s next mayor.
According to Tarver’s campaign, the governor will join Tarver for the announcement at the Consortium Venue in Shreveport at 10:30 a.m.
Tarver and Republican Tom Arceneaux are headed for a December runoff after neither garnered 50% or more of the votes in the November general election. Arceneaux pulled in 28.47% of the vote and Tarver took 23.64%. Ousted mayor Adrian Perkins mustered just 17.59% of the vote, behind Mario Chavez (18.28%), a former Republican who switched to “no party” to run for mayor. Chavez has not endorsed either candidate in the runoff.
Perkins, however, has crossed the aisle to endorse Arceneaux. So have former Shreveport mayors and Democrats Cedric Glover and Ollie Tyler.
So far, Tarver has only won an endorsement from State Rep. Tammy Phelps – (D) Shreveport.
Tarver was elected to the State Senate in 1984, where he represented District 39 for 20 years before retiring. He ran again and was elected in 2012 and has continued serving since.
Tarver is on the Senate Finance Committee, the Judiciary B Committee, the Senate and Governmental Affairs Committee, the Veterans Affairs and Joint Legislative Committee on the Budge, the Natural Resources Committee, the Vocational and Technical Education Committee, and is the Chairman of the Senate Executive Committee.
Tarver has also served as a Shreveport City Councilman and a Caddo Parish Police Juror.
The runoff election is Saturday, Dec. 10. Early voting began Monday and continues through Dec. 3.
