Editor’s Note:
The following is a political announcement received by the following candidate. All political announcements run in the same manner as which they are submitted.
It has been a privilege to represent the people of District 10 for the last year. Upon election to the House of Representatives last summer I pledged to my supporters that I would run for re-election this summer if I felt like I could make a difference in our district and our state. Looking back over the last year I have had many opportunities to help make our district and state a better place to live, work, and raise our families.
Born in Magnolia, Arkansas, I have lived in Springhill all of my life. After graduating from Springhill High School in 1972 I attended Louisiana Tech and went from there to LSU School of Veterinary Medicine. Upon graduation in 1980 I moved back to Springhill, began practicing veterinary medicine and married Beverly Stuart McMahen. We have three children, Stuart McMahen (wife Nancy), Megan Colvin (husband Matthew), and Marci Dones (husband Jason), and three grandchildren, Landry Colvin, Camaron Colvin, and Benicio Dones. After 38 years in practice, I retired and have more time to give back to the people of this great district.
After being sworn in to office last August 1, it came to my attention that Northwest Louisiana Technical College was the only technical college in Louisiana that was not a community college. To insure our school could continue to educate and serve northwest Louisiana it needed to be reclassified as a community college. HB89 renamed our school to Northwest Louisiana Technical Community College. Local community leaders and school administrators worked tirelessly to make sure this legislation passed.
One of the most beneficial and important pieces of legislation we authored is HB25. When requested by Jean and Judge Harmon Drew, who teach criminal law to our local peace officers, and Judge Jeff Cox, it was my honor to standardize and simplify 20 definitions of “serious bodily Injury” in the Louisiana Criminal Code. Many thanks to Harmon and Jean Drew and Jeff Cox for helping with this bill that resulted in making those laws much more fair, consistent and understandable. This was the second new law to emerge from the recent legislative session. My intention is to remain a friend to law enforcement by furnishing them the tools with which to professionally protect and serve all the people of District 10 and the state of Louisiana.
Two other bills we passed were for the Fire Fighters Association and the Louisiana Department of Education.
My committee appointments are Health and Welfare, Agriculture and Forestry, and Commerce. These appointments fit well with my concern and involvement in rural health care, business development, and my profession in veterinary medicine.
If given the opportunity to represent District 10 over the next four years, I will continue to have an open door policy for all of District 10 and will strive to represent you locally and in Baton Rouge. While we have many challenges in our state, my top concerns are education, infrastructure, health care and jobs. I look forward to addressing these issues and helping to make our district a better place to live. I humbly ask for your consideration when choosing the next State Representative for District 10.