Ed Price (Louisiana politician)

Edward Joseph Price, known as Ed Price (born May 1953),^[1] is an American businessman and politician serving as a member of the Louisiana State Senate for district 2, which includes parts of Ascension, Assumption, Iberville, Lafourche, St. Charles, St. John the Baptist, St. James, and West Baton Rouge parishes.

On May 27, 2017, in a turnout of 20.2 percent of registered voters in a special election, Price defeated his fellow Democrat, Warren Harang, III, 9,224 (63 percent) to 5,507 (37 percent) for the right to finish the remainder of fellow Democrat Troy E. Brown's term in the State Senate.^[2]

In 2012, Price was elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives for District 58 in Ascension, Iberville, and St. James parishes near the capital city of Baton Rouge. ^[3]

Education[]

Price was born in 1953. He graduated from Grambling State University in 1975.

Career[]

He is a supervisor at BASF.^[3] He formerly resided in New Orleans and Darrow.^[4]

In the November 19, 2011, runoff election in House District 58 to choose a successor to Democrat Elton M. Aubert, Price defeated his intra-party rival, Dwayne "Gully" Bailey, 4,816 (58.3 percent) to 3,447 (41.7 percent).^[5] Two other Democrats, Heurlin Christopher "Chris" Delpit (born August 1959) and Gail Cherise Holland (born August 1964), both also of Gonzales, were eliminated in the nonpartisan blanket primary for the House held earlier on October 22.^[6]

Representative Price is vice-chairman of the Louisiana Black Caucus and is a member of the Louisiana Rural Caucus.^[3]

Price's legislative ratings have ranged from 36 to 67 percent from the conservative . Endorsed by the AFL-CIO, Price is ranked 100 percent by the Louisiana Association of Educators. In 2013 and 2014, the conservative Louisiana Family Forum scored him 50 and 33 percent, respectively. He has been rated from 75 to 100 percent by Louisiana Right to Life though he did not vote on the 2014 requirement that abortion providers have hospital admitting privileges near their clinics; the measure passed the House, 88-5.^[7]

In 2014, Price voted to extend the time for implementation of the Common Core State Standards Initiative. He did not vote on the issue of prohibiting the transportation of dogs in the bed of a pick-up truck on interstate highways. In 2013, Price voted to reduce penalties for possession of marijuana. He opposed lifetime concealed carry gun permits and objected as well to the taking of weapons into restaurants. He supported making information about permit holders a matter of public record. He opposed allowing deductions on state income tax deductions to taxpayers who contribute to scholarship funds. In 2012, he voted to prohibit the use of telephones while driving. He opposed the reduction of the number of hours that polling locations remain open. Louisiana has traditionally had 14-hour polling days.^[7]

Price and Harang, a resident of Donaldsonville, led a 13-candidate field in the first round of balloting on April 29 to choose Troy Brown's successor in the state Senate.^[8] Price then defeated Harang in the second round of balloting.

References[]