Sen. Mike Michot (R)
District# 23,

• District #23: House District 0
• Party: Republican
• Caucus Membership: --
• Occupation: Chairman, Premier Medical Equipment, President of Louis J. Michot and Associates Inc.
• Education: Cathedral Carmel High School; B.S., University of Southwestern Louisiana
• Spouse:Monique
• Year Elected: 2000
• Last Year Eligible(Term Limit): 2012
• 2007 Election
  Michot entered his third term with no opposition during the most recent election cycle. He’s expected to hold some sort of leadership position over the next four years. On the horizon, look for Michot to become involved with shifting health care of the uninsured from the charity hospital system to a more individualized system. He will also continue to support pay raises for teachers and giving more control to local schools.
  

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• Economic: District 23 includes the central and southern portions of Lafayette and the communities of Broussard, Milton, Scott and Youngsville. Lafayette’s economy continues to be dependent on the oil and gas industry. The district is home to many small, independent oil and gas producers and regional offices of major energy companies. It also serves as the headquarters for the publicly-traded Stone Energy Corporation.
  Lafayette has, however, diversified its economy with retail, service, health care, transportation and distribution businesses. The University of Louisiana at Lafayette is a major economic engine for jobs and business opportunities. Additionally, there is much progress being made in the development of Lafayette as a high-tech center in the state.
  In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the city also picked up a number of new resident artists, whose impacts are increasingly felt with each passing year.
• Social: The district is one of the more affluent in the state, as residents largely range from comfortable middle-class to those who earn upper-class salaries.
• Political: The district is conservative and pro-business, with a growing contingent of registered Republicans and others that vote on the conservative end. The district tends to support GOP candidates, but moderate-to-conservative Democrats have had success here as well in the past (a lowly melting trend). Residents generally oppose gaming and new taxes and see economic development and education as major issues. The district’s Republican ties are so strong that Democrat Kathleen Blanco, a district resident, did not garner even 40 percent of the vote here in the 2003 governor’s race, but current Gov. Bobby Jindal won by a landslide.

• Mike Michot’s family ties run deep in both the politics and culture of Acadiana. His father and brothers have held local-elected office in the Lafayette area and he performs in a Cajun band with his family. Throughout his political career, Michot’s conservative and pro-business philosophies gained him the backing of LABI and other business interests. Michot has also voted against gambling interests, but has been a vocal advocate on education reform, particularly school accountability and the TOPS program.
• The dean of the Lafayette delegation and chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Michot has become a top lawmaker for issues impacting Acadiana and the state fisc. He’s interested in tax credit programs for the recording industry and for community development. Michot is also a reform-minded lawmaker and passed a bill in 2009 that requires the Division of Administration to establish a procedure to assure that the activities supported by the special funds in the state treasury are subject to the same level of transparency and accountability as activities supported by the state general fund.
• Michot’s main focus in the Senate, though, has been on job creation and allocating funds for the completion of I-49 from Lafayette to New Orleans, a priority for the city’s leadership. Protecting ULL from funding cuts is also atop Michot’s list, along with reforming the state’s health care system.
  Back home in Lafayette, the conservative Republican plays heavily in local races, even those for the Legislature. Senator Michot served as Chairman of the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget during the 2008 and 2009 session, though the chairmanship now shifts to House Representative Jim Fannin for the 2010 and 2011 sessions. Senator Michot remains Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee.