Sen."Jody" Amedee

Senate Member

Sen. "Jody" Amedee (D)
District# 18

Contact Information

District Office
Legislative Assistant : Stacy Ricca
Email "Jody" Amedee
Phone: (225) 644-1526
Fax: --
Address: 2109 S. Burnside Ave.
Suite A
Gonzales, LA 70737
Map
Capitol House Switch Band: 225-342-2056
Capitol House Fax: 225-342-0634

Profile

- District #: House District 0
- Party: Democrat
- Caucus Membership:--
- Occupation: Attorney, Gauthier and Amedee
- Education: East Ascension High School; B.S., Nicholls State University; J.D., Southern University Law School
- Spouse: Jancy
- Year Elected:2000
- Last Year Eligible(Term Limit): 2016
- 2007 Election
  Amedee was unopposed during this most recent election cycle, which was a change of pace. In 2003, six contenders slugged it out and Amedee faced Ascension attorney Jeff Diez in the runoff. Amedee maintains many of the same themes today as he did in that first campaign: An outsider with a fresh vision, a conservative take on state government and a prioritized approach to infrastructure improvements.

District Profile

Registered Voters by Parish: Ascension 65.2%, Livingston 12.9%, St. James 16.7%, St. John 5.2%
Municipalities/Communities Represented: Donaldsonville, Edgard, French
Settlement, Garyville, Gonzales, Gramercy, Killian, Lutcher, North Vacherie, South Vacherie, Port Vincent, Sorrento, Springfield, Wallace, Welcome
- Louisiana Map
- District Map
- Metro Map
Economic: The Mississippi River runs right through District 18 and has come to define it in economic terms. Much of the workforce is employed by the refineries and chemical plants that line both sides of the muddy waterway. The plants provide good-paying jobs in administration, management and operations. It’s a common thread throughout the district, which includes all of Ascension and St. James parishes, plus the southern portion of Livingston Parish and the extreme northern tip of St. John the Baptist Parish.
Residents also rely heavily on the highly-cyclical construction industry, which is fueled largely by monumental residential growth in Ascension Parish.
Gonzales, the district’s largest city, is now a suburb of Baton Rouge. Its hopping retail area off of Interstate 10 significantly boosted the tax base, with local officials focusing on outlet malls, strip malls and tourist-attracting mega-stores.
The growing Port of South Louisiana is also an economic driver in St. John the Baptist Parish.
Much of the district, especially St. James, is still rural with an agricultural economy that centers on sugar cane. In fact, it is widely grown and milled around the district.
Antebellum plantation homes along the river and several top restaurants also help to attract tourists from across the country and world.

Social: Blue-collar, working-class residents were once the backbone of this district, but the influx of middle-class, white-collar residents has changed that dramatically as Ascension becomes more suburbanized. Residential subdivisions continue to spring up in former pastures and many residents commute to business, administrative and governmental jobs in Baton Rouge.

Political: The suburbanization means District 18 has become more conservative, moving away from union influence. There are many grassroots environmental groups in the district, which in the past have been successful in keeping large chemical plants out of certain communities and impacting local ordinances. It is historically Democratic, but a Republican can win in the district as well (Gov. Bobby Jindal carried it in 2007).

Biography

- Jody Amedee practices law in Gonzales. He also has ownership interests in convenience stores, Subway restaurants and a mini storage business. Amedee graduated from Nicholls State University where he played baseball for four years. As a former assistant district attorney, he has shown a particular interest in the state’s criminal code and juvenile justice system. As Chair of the Senate Judiciary C Committee, Amedee will likely continue in this vein.
- Amedee has led efforts in the past to strengthen child predator laws and that theme is expected to continue in coming years. However, Amadee is likely to get more attention for his role as chairman of the Senate Environmental Committee. On a district level, he has focused a great deal of energy on building up the Lafourche Basin Levee District, which represents an ongoing initiative for his office.
- His policy agenda has also largely been geared towards families. He supported and worked for tax credits for parents who send their children to public schools and, on the horizon, should be involved in a push to create a public-private combination health insurance program that is guaranteed. He is likewise a staunch supporter of the charity hospital system.
- He co-authored ethics legislation in 2007 that would have required lawmakers to disclose all of their income and Amedee is expected to continue being a major player in related ethics matters in coming years.