Dee Richard

Jerome "Dee" Richard (born March 27, 1955), is one of two Independent members of the Louisiana House of Representatives.^[1] A native and resident of Thibodaux, Richard has since 2008 represented District 55, which encompasses Lafourche Parish, Louisiana.^[2]

Background

Richard (pronounced REE-shard) is the fifth of seven children of Paul E. Richard of the St. Charles Community in Lafourche Parish and the former Doris Roux, a native of Lockport.^[3] He graduated in 1973 from Thibodaux High School and attended Nicholls State University in Thibodaux for a year^[4] before he transferred to Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, from which he received a Bachelor of Science degree in 1978 in the field of Business Education. Richard taught school briefly after his graduation from LSU and then ventured into the petro-chemical industry.^[3] His most recent position has been as sales manager for Byron Talbot Contractors.^[5]

Richard served two stints as a Democrat on the Lafourche Parish School Board, from 1982 to 1984 and again from 1986 to 1994.^[3] In 1998, while still a Democrat, Richard was elected to the at-large seat on the Thibodaux City Council. He polled 2,511 votes (61.1 percent) to defeat another Democrat, Stella Chiasson Lasseigne, who received 1,601 votes (38.9 percent).^[6]

Richard and his wife, the former Connie Berger, have a daughter, Victoria (born 1995).^[4]

House career

In the nonpartisan blanket primary held on October 20, 2007 to fill the state House seat vacated by the term-limited Warren Triche, a Democrat,^[3] Richard led a four-candidate field with 5,562 votes (40.7 percent). He was placed into a second round of balloting with the Democrat Michael "Mike" Matherne, who received 3,369 votes (24.64 percent). The third place candidate, "Jay" Caillouet, also a Democrat, trailed Matherne by 2 votes, 3,367 (24.63 percent) and was hence eliminated from contention. The fourth-place candidate was the Republican Alfred "Al" Carter, who finished with 1,375 votes (10.1 percent).^[7] In the general election, Richard defeated Matherne, 4,120 (58.62 percent) to 2,908 (41.4 percent). Richard received fewer raw votes in the general election than he had the primary but won on the basis of lower turnout.^[8]

In announcing his campaign for a second term in the House in 2011, Richard cited his chief accomplishments as support for higher educational institutions in Acadiana, protection of the coastal wetlands, and reducing the size of state government.

"I have maintained my independence and have not been afraid to go against the ‘powers-that-be' in state government, especially when it came to voting against the legislative pay raise. I was so dead set against the pay raise that I actually signed an affidavit declining the increase in the event the legislation was eventually signed into law by the governor," said Richard.^[9]

Richard was handily reelected to the state House in the primary election held on October 22, 2011, when he defeated a restaurant/bar owner from Raceland,^[10] the Republican Bobby "Beck" Grabert, 8,123 (78 percent) to 2,286 (22 percent).^[11]

Richard serves on these House committees: (1) Education (2) Labor and Industrial Relations, and (3) Transportation, Highways, and Public Works. He is a member of the Louisiana Rural Caucus.^[5] He is rated 59 percent by the interest group, the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry.^[12] Richard successfully pushed for unanimous House passage of a bill to require the Louisiana Office of Contractual Review to reduce by 10 percent the amount spent on consulting service contracts for the next fiscal year. Richard said the change could reduce the state budget deficit by about $500 million.^[13]

Early in 2016, Richard joined twenty-seven other dissenting House members in opposition to legislation by Representative Katrina Jackson, a Democrat from West Monroe, that increases beginning April 1, 2016, the state sales tax by one cent over eighteen months. The time frame was subsequently increased to twenty-seven months to extend through June 30, 2018. Joining Richard in opposing the bill was the Republican Beryl Amedee of Gray. Backing the tax increase were area lawmakers Tanner Magee and Jerome Zeringue, both freshmen Republicans from Houma, and the Democrat Jerry "Truck" Gisclair of Larose in Lafourche Parish.^[14]

Richard is politically conservative and frequently appears on the statewide radio talk show, The Moon Griffon Show, broadcast from Lafayette.

References