Your monthly support provides voters the knowledge they need to make confident decisions at the polls. Donate today.
Max Hayden Chiz
Max Hayden Chiz (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Louisiana House of Representatives to represent District 98. He lost in the primary on October 12, 2019.
Chiz completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2019. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Chiz earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Kettering University in 2005. He obtained both an MBA and JD from Tulane University in 2010, where he graduated magna cum laude. Chiz's professional experience includes serving as president of the International Academy of Fencing Education, competing as a professional fencer beginning in 2014, and working as a self-employed financial and statistical researcher between 2010 and 2017. He worked with General Motors between 2001 and 2005 and worked in various positions with Dixie Tobacco and Candy Company between 1996 and 2006. Chiz's credentials include rating as a USA fencing referee. He has been affiliated with the following organizations:[1]
- International Academy for Fencing Education
- USA Fencing
- FIE, licensed international fencer
- Kettering-A Delta Chi Fraternity
- National Freshman Honor Society
- National Electrical and Computer Science Honor Societies
- Student government
- Tulane Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property
- Civil Law Commentaries
- Student Bar Association
- Graduate and Professional Student Assembly (GAPSA)
- Beta Gamma Sigma International Business Honor Society.
Elections
2019
See also: Louisiana House of Representatives elections, 2019
Louisiana elections use the majority-vote system. All candidates compete in the same primary, and a candidate can win the election outright by receiving more than 50 percent of the vote. If no candidate does, the top two vote recipients from the primary advance to the general election, regardless of their partisan affiliation.
General election
General election for Louisiana House of Representatives District 98
Aimee Adatto Freeman defeated Kea Sherman in the general election for Louisiana House of Representatives District 98 on November 16, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Aimee Adatto Freeman (D) | 57.8 | 9,091 |
 | Kea Sherman (D)  | 42.2 | 6,638 | |
| Total votes: 15,729 (100.00% precincts reporting) | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for Louisiana House of Representatives District 98
The following candidates ran in the primary for Louisiana House of Representatives District 98 on October 12, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Aimee Adatto Freeman (D) | 32.1 | 3,967 |
| ✔ | | Kea Sherman (D) | 18.9 | 2,330 |
 | Ravi Sangisetty (D) | 18.6 | 2,290 | |
| Carlos Zervigon (D) | 17.0 | 2,095 | ||
 | Evan Bergeron (D) | 6.8 | 845 | |
 | Marion Freistadt (D) | 4.5 | 554 | |
 | Max Hayden Chiz (D) | 2.1 | 264 | |
| Total votes: 12,345 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Campaign themes
2019
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Max Hayden Chiz completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2019. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Chiz's responses.
What would be your top three priorities, if elected?
Voters consistently say that they are upset about our infrastructure, the lack of effective flood control in particular. They are also worried about education, jobs, and criminal justice. But too many people hit those words because that's what the polls say instead of having a plan to address it. We need REAL criminal justice reform. Our prosecutors, judges, and sheriffs should be working to keep us safe; not commanded to help privately run prisons make a profit. Our laws should have common sense solutions to problems like gun violence, not a catalog "crimes" and theatrics that benefit the rich and the connected at the expense of ordinary citizens. We need solid infrastructure. Twice as many bad roads don't add up to a single good one. Ancient pumps that can't work in the rain are useless. Hopes and prayers won't end coastal erosion tor restore the wetlands that protect New Orleans from hurricanes. We need an education system that works for our kids: comprehensive early childhood education, real training and support for our teachers, and accountable administration. Budgets are tight. The money we have should go to classrooms, not disappear into a faceless bureaucracy. New Orleans is a special place. It's not just my home; it's part of my soul. It breaks my heart when people are forced to leave the city they love because they can't find work or can't pay their rent. The city deserves a future. I want my grandchildren to learn about how we made things better, not about how we gave up. Our problems can be solved, but you have to take action and vote for someone willing to do the work.
What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?
I am most passionate about using evidence-based policy *in general*, and using it for education in particular. It frustrates me to no end that almost no one talking about education is even referencing the research. There is an entire book, John Hattie's _Visible Learning_ that summarizes the results of all ~50k studies that had been done when it was published. Those numbers should be part of the discussion because we need to be focused on the areas of maximum impact. This is a problem not just in education, but throughout the state's policy process. We are a poor state, we need to make sure we are spending our limited funds where it will have the biggest impact.
Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?
I've never been in the business of idolizing people. I want to understand others with a deep pathos. And that means I don't have the luxury of heroes. Everyone is a flawed human making the best decisions they can given the circumstances. I know a long list of people who are the best, or the greatest, or the leading expert. They all have problems. None of them are perfect. Many of them regret the decisions that led to them being the person so many others admire.
Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?
I don't think any single source will do it justice. I can talk about what I agree with in Kant's Metaphysics of Morals or where I agree and disagree with FA Hayek. If someone wants to be entertained, they could read Frederic Bastiat, particularly the Candlemaker's Petition. It's tragic that satire of 19th century French politics still applies to 21st century Louisiana.
What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?
Someone who is honest and secure in themself. We need legislators who are honest with the voters and treat the position with the professionalism of a doctor or an accountant. That can't happen if people are in this to prove something or if they are papering over insecurities with success. We need people who are committed to getting good results by creating systems and processes that will outlast them. Shortcuts and expedients destroy democracy. And we need people who actually want to do the job. Only 10% of the work is truly partisan. The other 90% is something you don't get credit for with voters but that actually matters more to their lives.
What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?
As a trained engineer, understanding systems and processes is second nature. Having worked in a business most of my life, so is good management and relationship building. I have the skills and drive to focus on results instead of being a canned vote for policies someone else cooked up and that might or might not work for our district. I have long been committed to continuing my education (just look at my library) and have made a point of networking into expertise in a wide swath of subjects. I intend to call on those connections to get things done that work. Voters will get someone approachable and actively interested in understanding their problems and working with them to get things fixed.
What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?
Understanding and talking to voters. You can't represent people you don't know. You need to know them and they need to be able to approach you to bring things to your attention. And once you understand their situation, you need to have the broad base of knowledge and the intellectual connections to track down the right experts and engage them on the right issues to get your voter's problems resolved.
What legacy would you like to leave?
I want the world to be a better place then it was when I found it. The self-driving car (or "collision mitigation" to use lawyer parlance) technology I made will save lives. But I want to do more. I would love for to be there there first time a kid from New Orleans East who would have never the city otherwise sets foot on European soil as an international fencer because of the opportunities we made available. Politically, I want people to have a government that isn't a joke, that gives them a real say, and that they trust works for them. If the phrase "it's been broken so long, why bother fixing it" is never uttered again once I leave state politics, I'll die happy.
What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?
The first historical event I remember was IBM releasing the System/36 mini-computer and my family's business buying it when I was three. Until then my father had come home every night and worked late using an adding machine to prepare the business for the following day by hand. I'd stand at his chair bounding up and down to the rhythm of the clacking. But that computer system meant that he got to come home at a more reasonable hour and spend time with me. It meant that I got to *have* a father growing up. Politically, I remember being plopped down in front of the TV to see Reagan walk across the stage to shake Gorbechav's hand. But I didn't know what that meant or who those people were.
What was your very first job? How long did you have it?
I started working in my family's business at the age of 13. I worked in a warehouse in the summer under the Mississippi sun loading orders to be shipped on our trucks to convenience stores throughout the state. I stayed in that job until I went to college, but the experience of working a blue collar job for 5 years and understanding what "unskilled labor" means first hand impacted me throughout my life, long after I became a successful professional.
What happened on your most awkward date?
I brought my date over to a barbecue my friends were having. Another friend brought a woman from the UK. That woman was the most blatantly racist person I have ever met, and my date was Asian. It was awkward at first, but we ended up having a hilarious time making fun of the racist girl for the various crazy things she was saying.
What is your favorite holiday? Why?
Passover. I love being with family and have a ton of good memories surrounding the seder
What is your favorite book? Why?
Kant's Critique of Pure Reason -- it changed my perspective on so many issues and gave me so many fruitful ideas.
If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?
Gandalf
What is your favorite thing in your home or apartment? Why?
My library. I collect books. I have an entire room with actual library shelves floor to ceiling packed with books on dozens of topics. Many of the books are extremely hard to find and available only in a handful of academic libraries throughout the world. (In fact, that's how the collection was created. I am an avid non-fiction reader and began buying books that I could not get via the university libraries that are nearby.)
What was the last song that got stuck in your head?
Tiesto's WOW
What is something that has been a struggle in your life?
Recently, I've been battling an elbow injury that hasn't healed properly. It's my off hand, so isn't directly impacting my fencing. But it's frustrating that it's been going on since 2017 and still isn't resolved. But I learned about the city's failing infrastructure from the stairway collapsing on me, and I learned more than I cared to about the insurance system while being treated for this.
Every state besides Nebraska has two legislative chambers. What do you consider the most important differences between the legislative chambers in your state?
Louisiana has the smallest state legislature in the country. Combined with term limits that works to limit the differences between the chambers. Unlike in Congress, you do not have a large house with deep policy experience vs a much smaller Senate. Our Senate is smaller and more politically experienced. And the Senators tend to serve as mentors and leaders to the more junior representatives. That's why it's important to focus on being a team player. There are too many issues and too few people. Warm bodies won't cut it. Everyone needs to show up, do what they are good at, and trust everyone else to do the same.
Do you believe that it’s beneficial for state legislators to have previous experience in government or politics?
No, I believe that it is necessary for the legislature as a body to have people with a wide range of lived experiences and qualifications. We do not need a body of trial lawyers and lobbyists. We need policy wonks, scientists, engineers, and all the rest.
What do you perceive to be your state’s greatest challenges over the next decade?
If it goes unsolved, the coastal erosion problem will turn New Orleans into an island and force a third of the people in the state to relocate. But we don't currently have a government with the capacity to act decisively. So the most immediately pressing issue is to change how business gets done. We have to stop micromanaging our local governments. Baton Rouge needs to stay out of New Orleans. Our polices should be decided by officials we elect, not by partisan hacks who never set foot here and who care more "helping" their friends than fixing our problems. We need a legislators that vote their districts over their careers. Once we've freed up the agenda from local issues, we can adopt a series of reforms to fix our budgeting and public management process so that our solutions can get implemented and paid for. Coastal erosion and other long-term problems are ballooning costs because the state hasn't been able to commit to fixing them early and cheaply.
What do you believe is the ideal relationship between the governor and the state legislature?
Louisiana is unique because of its European history and civil law heritage. Right now we have an unhealthy tension between the aspects of our state constitution that favor an American separation of powers model and the European aspects that favor legislative accountability. The governor's office is in the state capitol. And he is intimately involved in the legislative process. Nor does he face a midterm legislative election that can check his power. On the flip-side, the traditional limits that he would face in a parliamentary system are also absent. As are any balancing factors that encourage cooperation during periods of divided government. We need to strike a healthier chord and pick *some* process and stick to it. The hodge-podge we have makes it difficult for the state to do its job and hard for the legislators and the governor to work as a team. Look at how many times the governor had to call special sessions to get the budget crisis that his predecessor left him with resolved. More philosophically, the legislators and the Governor should have a professional working relationship and a friendship outside of work. But voting the district has to be the norm. That means it should be okay to vote against the Governor when he threatens women's health and still working with him to make sure that hard working people in Louisiana aren't forced to live in poverty while working or deprived of their healthcare on a whim.
Do you believe it’s beneficial to build relationships with other legislators? Please explain your answer.
I do not believe that you can get legislation passed if you vilify the other side or resort to partisan rhetoric. It is important to know every legislator personally, to be on friendly terms, and to keep the politics to the level of professional disagreement and differences of opinion. Finding points of commonalities to build on and ensuring that we develop a relationship that results in seeing one another outside of the legislative session is key. That means inviting them to my personal events, showing up at theirs, and going out for meals or drinks after the legislature is done for the day. People respond better when they spend time with you and know you are trustworthy. In particular legislators from New Orleans need to go to the rural parts of the state and see and be seen. And the reverse needs to happen as well. The state is too divided because people don't understand each other's situations.
What process do you favor for redistricting?
I believe that the state should adopt the Iowa model. I don't think much else needs to be said. You can just link to the right parts of your website.
If you are not a current legislator, are there certain committees that you would want to be a part of?
Because politics is a team sport, this answer depends on who else gets elected and whether or not the Democrats are in control of the legislature. I want to be put where I will be most effective as part of the team. So, although I care about redistricting, I do not expect to be able to uniquely contribute to our efforts to enact a plan similar to the Iowa model. Similarly, the Municipal, Parochial and Cultural Affairs Committee is likely going to have a significant New Orleans delegation capable of enacting Mayor Cantrell's FairShare initiative. The same can be said for Public Works. Therefore it seems like Appropriations, Education, and Commerce are likely the best uses of my capabilities. Appropriations and Commerce due to my finance and business background as well as the importance of the issues to the city, and education because of my non-profit experience and connections.
If you are not currently a member of your party’s leadership in the legislature, would you be interested in joining the leadership? If so, in what role?
Yes, I have a deep grasp of policy details and extensive academic connections. I would want to focus on coordinating our policy proposals and legislative agenda.
Is there a particular legislator, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?
No one particular by name. But all of the most effective legislators I am aware of were masters of the rules of procedure and put in long hours getting to personally know every single one of their colleague. I intend to do the same.
Are you interested in running for a different political office (for example, the U.S. Congress or governor) in the future?
No. I want to serve my community. I do not intend to make this a profession.
Both sitting legislators and candidates for office hear many personal stories from the residents of their district. Is there a story that you’ve heard that you found particularly touching, memorable, or impactful?
One constituent told me how our mental health system got so bad. She had worked on a crisis response team that provided mental health services. But that team only existed because of a federal court order requiring that the state have one. The week before the federal order expired, everyone was brought in and told that they would be fired as soon as it ran out. I had known that Bobby Jindal had cut our mental heath care system, but I had never heard the callousness with which our state workers had been dismissed and our mentally ill left to fend for themselves.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Ballotpedia biographical submission form
The candidate completed Ballotpedia's biographical information submission form:
| “ | What is your political philosophy?
"I'm filling out the candidate connection survey, but I hope to ensure that we get our problems with education, flooding, and our economy addressed. Our district needs to be represented effectively and the city needs to be put in a position where it can fix its problems instead of having Baton Rouge dictate our decisions. You can see the "why I'm running for office" on Instagram; here's the text I used: "People often avoid making decisions out of fear of making a mistake. Actually the failure to make decisions is one of life's biggest mistakes." – Rabbi Noah Weinberg. Torah teaches that a person makes mistakes and learns from them. I was working in a warehouse during summer break in order to have spending money so I could buy a PlayStation. I put an order on the wrong truck by mistake. As a result, I had to work overtime and drive 70 miles round trip to personally deliver the shipment and apologize to the customer in person. As a result, I NEVER placed the wrong order on the wrong truck again. However, not everyone learns from their mistakes, and that is having a devastating effect on our community, our climate, and our constitutional rights. I'm running because it's my duty to learn from mistakes, and make things right for you, for me, and for future generations." Is there anything you would like to add? I'm an advocate for evidence based policy, but I believe that this is meaningless if we don't have elected leaders who can speak with experts and make a judgement about the evidence for themselves. If they are just going to show up and say they voted according to what staff, or witnesses, or someone else told them, what purpose do they serve? I have that capability, and want to bring it to our legislative team. We don't need everyone to be a lawyer and our voters deserve someone who can explain the rationale for a decision and take ownership if the voters don't agree. I'm accessible. You can email the campaign and I will get back to you. If you want me to show up to meet you and your friends, let me know and we'll find a time for me to be there in person. This district is small enough that everyone who wants can personally meet me and put a face on their problems. Instead of sending out a mailer ever few years, I intend to govern by showing up and giving people as much face time as they need.[2] |
” |
| —Max Hayden Chiz[1] | ||
See also
2019 Elections
External links
Footnotes
