Rep. Waddell, Wayne (R)
District# 5, Shreveport

• District # 5: House District 1
• Party: Republican
• Caucus Membership:Louisiana Republican Legislative Delegation
  Louisiana Rural Caucus
• Occupation: President, Louisiana Moulding & Supply, Inc.; Owner, KD Plastics; Owner, Waddell's Gallery of Distinction
• Education:C.E. Byrd High School, Shreveport; B.A., Northeast Louisiana University
• Spouse: Susan
• Year Elected: 1997
• Last Year Eligible(Term Limit): 2008
• 2007 Election
  Waddell drew no opposition during this most recent reelection cycle, but it was not without some controversy.
  Since he was technically finishing up his third term, Waddell was facing term limits and was prohibited from running again. But a law passed by the Legislature in 2006 declared an official’s term of office begins when they take an oath on the House floor only and not when they’re elected or sworn in by someone else.
  That meant that two otherwise term-limited lawmakers – Sen. Cleo Fields and Waddell – were allowed to get around the constitutional provision and launch one more campaign. While Fields’ bid was challenged in the courts and ruled unconstitutional, thus removing him from Baton Rouge ballots, Waddell was never challenged and later took his regular seat in the lower chamber.
  

• Louisiana Map
• District Map
• Metro Map
• Economic: District 5 encompasses the region surrounding south Shreveport, which is among the fastest growing areas of the state. Retail businesses pepper the lower region of the district, with South Park Mall as an anchor, while many service, health care and professional companies have developed closer to the core of the city. Many constituents are employed by the more than 250 manufacturers that call the northwestern corner of Louisiana home – a majority of them are located outside of the district, though. Two major players include a General Motors truck assembly plant and an AT&T Consumer Products plant.
  A bright spot in the district is the Louisiana Center for Manufacturing Sciences, a Shreveport-based research and implements technological innovation in manufacturing sciences and micro-manufacturing capabilities. It has several high-profile consortium members like the Boeing Company. On the horizon, look for the Red River port facilities to continue their rapid development.
• Social: Although not as affluent as their District 6 counterparts, residents are comfortable middle-to upper-middle class. An exception is the Ellerbe Road area, which has become one of the wealthiest spots in Shreveport. Residents throughout the district tend to be small-business owners and professionals, while others earn solid paychecks in the area’s industrial parks.
• Political: This district is one of the most politically and socially conservative in the state, with a large percentage of Republican voters and major influences from area Protestant churches. However, that influence was not strong enough to undermine programming sentiment in the district. Voters here approved both riverboat casinos and video poker in 1996.

• Wayne Waddell is an intelligent, business-oriented conservative who is accessible and available to the public. He was first elected to the Legislature in 1997 by filling a seat left vacant by Judge Roy Brun. Since then, Waddell has wielded great influence over issues important to rural voters, especially since he once served as chairman of the powerful Rural Legislative Caucus.
• As a member of the House and Governmental Affairs Committee, he’ll play major role in the upcoming redistricting process. He also plans on using his membership to continue pushing open records extensions in the executive branch and elsewhere.
• Waddell’s business background has translated into solid support for the business position on labor and management issues. As such, his voting record regularly earns a fairly-substantial LABI rating.
• More recently, Waddell, a Republican, has taken up crime as a policy issue. In the session leading up to reelection, Waddell pushed a bill through the Legislature that imposed new fines for subsequent marijuana-possession convictions. He has also authored legislation to increase fines on environmental violations as a way to raise money for parish governments.
• A local pet project for Waddell is the Caddo/Bossier Port and a statewide issue of passion is voting access for citizens. In fact, he once sponsored a measure calling for detailed voting information to be posted on the Internet.