Rep. Nowlin, Rickey L. (R)
District# 23, Natchitoches

• District # 23: House District 1
• Party: Republican
• Caucus Membership:Louisiana Republican Legislative Delegation
  Louisiana Rural Caucus
  
• Occupation: Owner - N&A, Inc., Consulting engineers & land surveyors; Owner- Ducournau Restaurant & Townhouse
  
• Education: Ferriday High School, 1966; Louisiana Tech, B.S., Electrical Engineering, 1971; Louisiana Tech, M.B.A,, 1972
  
• Spouse: Single
• Year Elected: 2007
• Last Year Eligible(Term Limit): 2020
• 2007 Election
  Nowlin claimed his seat in a runoff against Democrat Joseph M. Sampite in the November general election. He faced two other Democratic challengers in the Oct. 20 primary. The incumbent, T. Taylor Townsend, relinquished his seat in a failed bid for state Senate District 31.
  

• Louisiana Map
• District Map
• Metro Map
• Economic: District 23 is made up of all of Natchitoches Parish and a small section of neighboring Winn. Its economy relies heavily on natural resources and agriculture. Formerly known as ConAgra, chicken processor Pilgrim’s Pride has employed about 800 people in its Natchitoches plant since 2003. In 2007, Pilgrim’s Pride constructed a new feed mill to replace an obsolete facility in Many. It is expected to employ about 30 people. About 125,000 acres of rives bottomland is cultivated in cotton, soybeans and mill crops, and cattle farming and timber production help spur the economy.
  While agriculture remains a cornerstone in the district’s economic base, two divergent industries provide several thousand jobs critical to its survival. Alliance Compressors, an air conditioning parts and supply facility, employs about 1,100, according to the Natchitoches Chamber of Commerce. And Northwestern State University, with nearly 8,000 students and 3,000 employees, remains a hub for the local economy.
• Social: The district is mixed with pockets of wealth and poverty, education and illiteracy. It is split between river bottoms and hilly forestland, but remains primarily rural. The city of Natchitoches, the oldest city in Louisiana, is a business and commercial center for the region and is the only part of north Louisiana with a strong French-Creole influence.
• Political: With a significant black population, rural populist attitudes and a sizeable base of working class residents, the district traditionally has been a Democratic stronghold. Yet in the 2007 governor’s race, the district went overwhelmingly for Republican Bobby Jindal, followed closely by populist Democrat Foster Campbell. It also elected its first Republican member of the Louisiana House of Representatives in recent memory, Rick Nowlin.

• The House District 23 seat is Rick Nowlin’s first foray into public office, but he comes to the seat with strong pro-business credentials. A native of Ferriday, he holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and a master’s in business administration from Louisiana Tech University. He owns N&A Inc. Consulting Engineers and Land Surveyors, which has offices in Natchitoches, Pineville and Jena. He is also the owner of Ducournau Restaurant and Townhouse in Natchitoches.
• He’s held offices in several community and professional organizations, including five terms on the board of the Consulting Engineers Council of Louisiana and two terms as president of the organization’s Alexandria chapter. He is also a charter board member of the Natchitoches Boys and Girls Club and served on the city’s Historic District Commission.
• As a member of the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee, Nowlin will have a hand in addressing in the state’s fledgling revenue stream, especially in the 2011 regular session when lawmakers can file tax bills. Nowlin is also concerned about revenues on the local level and passed a bill in 2008 authorizing the city of Natchitoches to levy and collect an additional hotel occupancy tax. He has authored legislation creating a moratorium on new applications for certain home- and community-based service providers and believes the Louisiana State Museum board should be transferred from the Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism to the Department of State.
• Despite his inexperience in elected politics, Nowlin received an A rating from the National Rifle Association during his run for the state House. He considers himself a fiscal conservative, pro-life and a strong advocate for Second Amendment rights. He also is an advocate of the state’s early childhood development program.