Sen. Troy Hebert (D)
District# 22,

• District # 22: House District 0
• Party: Democrat
• Caucus Membership: --
• Occupation: Owner, Dalmation Developments, Petro-Lease Oilfield Rental Services
• Education: Jeanerette High School; B.A., University of Louisiana-Lafayette
• Spouse: Single
• Year Elected: 2008
• Last Year Eligible(Term Limit):2020
• 2007 Election
  Hebert, term-limited after his 12 years in the House of Representatives, faced two challengers in the October primary election to replace term-limited state Sen. Craig Romero. Political newcomer Jeff Landry led a three-candidate field in the October primary. Landry, a Republican attorney from New Iberia, and Hebert edged out term-limited state Rep. Sydnie Mae Durand, D-St. Martinville. In the runoff, Hebert bested Landry by a mere 568 votes.
  

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• Economic: District 22 consists of parts of all of Iberia and St. Martin parishes. Oil and sugar cane are the dominant economic and social factors here, as they have been for generations. The Port of Iberia, home to a number of energy fabrication companies, continues as a major economic engine for the region. Many area residents work at the port as welders and pipefitters; others are employed offshore or in the oil service sector. The district clings to its traditional sources of revenue – sugarcane farming and fishing. Sugar mills operate in New Iberia and St. Martinville, while Delcambre is home to processing facilities that serve the area’s heavy commercial shrimping industry. The region is also continuing its efforts to promote itself as a tourism center. Museums in St. Martinville celebrate the region’s Creole and Acadian heritage, while Avery Island draws tourists to the Tabasco sauce production plant there. Majestic plantation homes from before the Civil War and the post-bellum period are also draws, and the small town of Arnaudville in the district’s northern reaches is home to a bustling arts community.
  Hurricane Rita in 2005 damaged the low-lying regions in Delcambre and other parts of the district. Sugarcane production was affected, as was the commercial fishing and shrimping industry that is based along the district’s coastline and inlets.
  In the two years since the storm, the region has bounded back. Residents continue the rebuilding process, although some FEMA trailers remain. The oil industry and its service sector have also experienced a boom that has contributed to the recovery process.
• Social: The district is overwhelmingly French and Catholic. There are pockets of affluence in New Iberia, Acadiana’s second-largest city, but poorer residents can be found in smaller towns in Iberia and St. Martin parishes. A strong contingent of farm families contribute to the district’s overall conservatism and the middle class is very strong here.
• Political: New Iberia has a strong business influence and, despite blue collar jobs at the Port of Iberia, there is very little organized labor here. What was once a bailiwick for Democrats has evolved, however, and Republicans are gaining increasing influence at all levels of government.

• Troy Hebert is perhaps best known statewide as the House member who labeled Gov. Kathleen Blanco as “the queen bee” during the early days of her administration. Hebert, who initially supported Blanco, voted against a tax measure the governor wanted. Blanco and House Speaker Joe Salter promptly removed Hebert as chairman of the House Insurance Committee.
  Angry and close to tears, Hebert called a press conference on the capitol steps and said Louisiana’s political system was “very similar to dictatorships. The one thing that has changed is that we’re no longer being ruled by the Kingfish . . . we’re being ruled by the Queen Bee.”
  Blanco embraced the sobriquet, began collecting bee memorabilia and wore a bee-shaped pin on the opening day of that year’s legislative session. For his part, Hebert and other House members who had broken with the new governor began wearing fleur de lis pins and calling themselves “the Outhouse Gang.”
  Hebert was 30 when he entered the House in 1996 and he quickly earned a reputation as Iberia Parish’s answer to John F. Kennedy – charismatic, verbally adroit and attractive to the opposite sex. Hebert has done little to discourage such comparisons, but at the same time has emerged a vocal advocate for consumer rights, post-storm insurance reform and issues important to his rural constituency. In the lower chamber, he had a reputation for fighting for the “little man.”
  In his 2007 Senate campaign, Hebert promised strong support for ethics reform, telling one reporter: “I’m for shining a light and shining it bright.” He also said he supported infrastructure improvements, insurance reforms that ease burdens on consumers and for an overhaul of the state’s charity hospital system.