Rob Shadoin

Robert Ermon Shadoin, known principally as Rob Shadoin (born August 24, 1953), is a Republican former member of the Louisiana House of Representatives for District 12, which includes Lincoln and Union parishes in North Louisiana. An attorney in Ruston, Louisiana,[1] Shadoin resigned his legislative seat in 2018 to join the administration of Democratic Governor John Bel Edwards as the deputy counsel in the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries under agency secretary Jack Montoucet.[2]

Robert Ermon "Rob" Shadoin
Louisiana State Representative for District 12 (Lincoln and Union parishes)
In office January 9, 2012 – 2018
Preceded by	Hollis Downs
Succeeded by	Chris Turner
Member of the Lincoln Parish School Board
In office 1994 – December 2006
Personal details
Born	August 24, 1953 Birthplace missing
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Carol Brasuell Shadoin
Children	Four children
Residence	Ruston, Lincoln Parish, Louisiana
Alma mater	Ruston High School Louisiana Tech University Louisiana State University Law Center
Occupation	Attorney

Background

In 1971, Shadoin graduated from Ruston High School and in 1975 obtained a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Louisiana Tech University, at which he a member of Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. In 1978, he received his Juris Doctor degree from Louisiana State University Law Center in Baton Rouge.[3] From 1991 to 1994, Shadoin served as the Ruston city attorney. From 1994 to 2006, he was a member of the Lincoln Parish School Board.[4] Shadoin and his wife, the former Carol Brasuell, have four children.[1]

Political life

A Moderate Republican, Shadoin defeated the more conservative fellow Republican, Jason Paul Bullock (born 1977), also of Ruston, in the general election held on November 19, 2011, to choose a successor to Republican Hollis Downs, a professor at Louisiana Tech University. In a low-turnout contest, Shadoin received 4,186 votes (54.4 percent) to Bullock's 3,513 votes (45.6 percent).[5] In the nonpartisan blanket primary held on October 22, Bullock had led the balloting with 45 percent, with Shadoin trailing at 39 percent. A third Republican candidate, Jacob "Jake" Halley, of Farmerville, a consultant with an emergency preparedness company,[6] held the remaining but critical 16 percent of the primary vote. No Democrat sought the position.[7] Halley emphasized the need to promote tourism in both parishes; Bullock, who operates a business that rents construction equipment, the importance of small business, and Shadoin, his legal and political experience and a call for streamling and repeal of unnecessary laws.[6]

Shadoin served on these House committees: (1) Civil Law and Procedure, (2) Education, and (3) Judiciary.

In May 2013, Shadoin spoke at the Louisiana Film and Entertainment Association event, "Laissez Louisiana Film Rouler" held in Baton Rouge to support the state's film industry.[8]

In 2013, Shadoin voted for a judicial pay raise, which the legislature approved. He favored the removal of term limits on judges, but that amendment failed in the House. He supported a state law which now requires that women working for the state receive the same pay as men in the same job, something already required under a federal provision in 1963. He voted for surrogacy contracts for couples designating another woman to bear their child, a measure handily approved by the legislature. Shadoin voted with the House majority to oppose reductions on penalties for possession of marijuana, to prohibit state enforcement of federal firearm regulations on weapon manufacturers, and to prohibit the publication in the public record of the names of those with concealed weapon permits.[9] On all of these issues, Shadoin voted exactly as his Democratic colleague in neighboring District 10, Gene Reynolds of Minden in Webster Parish.[10]

Shadoin's legislative ratings have ranged from 44 to 62 percent from the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry. In 2012, he was rated 40 percent by the National Federation of Independent Business, low business scores for a Republican legislator. In 2013 and 2014, he was rated 88 and 89 percent, respectively, by the conservative Louisiana Family Forum. In 2013 and 2014, Louisiana Right to Life scored him 75 and 100 percent, respectively. In 2013 and 2014, the Louisiana Association of Educators rated him 67 and 75 percent, respectively.[11]

In 2013, Shadoin and State Senator Mike Walsworth of West Monroe obtained passage of legislation to name the Louisiana Highway 33 bridge over Lake D'Arbonne in Farmerville in honor of the late State Representative James Peyton Smith of Union Parish. Shadoin's district includes a part of the territory once represented by Smith, whom Shadoin calls "one of the greatest men of Union Parish".[12]

Shadoin ran unopposed for reelection to a second term in the nonpartisan blanket primary held on October 24, 2015.[13]

Tax issues

In March 2016, Shadoin joined a House bipartisan majority for a one-cent increase in the state sales tax. State representatives voted 76 to 28 for the tax hike, a part of the revenue-raising measures pushed by new Democratic Governor John Bel Edwards.[14] A House and Senate conference committee subsequently trimmed the five years for the duration of the tax to expire instead after twenty-seven months, effective from April 1, 2016 to June 30, 2018. Even the sale of Bibles and religious publications and Girl Scout cookies are now subject to the tax.[15] On June 9, 2016, radio talk show host Moon Griffon accused Shadoin of espousing a Democrat voting record based on the lawmakers support for tax increases, which Shadoin declared necessary to support higher education.[16]

On May 9, 2017, Shadoin introduced four previously separate pieces of legislation which collectively would have raised taxes on businesses and lowered them for what he said would constitute 90 percent of individual taxpayers. The combination of the four bills into one was suggested by Shadoin's Democratic colleague, Major Thibaut of New Roads. When his measure was killed in the House Ways and Means Committee, Shadoin said, "You can kiss tax reform goodbye."[17] Democratic Governor John Bel Edwards, who backed the Shadoin bill, blamed its defeat on lobbyists. "It is disappointing that a small group of members on the House small group of members on the House Ways and Means Committee would block a tax cut for 90 percent of individual tax filers in Louisiana but refused to ask the 80 percent of corporations that pay absolutely nothing in state income taxes to pay their fair share."[17] Moon Griffon again challenged Shadoin on the tax plan on the premise that the bill is based on misleading information because "tax filers" are not necessarily "taxpayers." He again questioned Shadoin's Republican credentials: "The 'R' after his name means Ruston, not Republican," Griffon said.[18] Shadoin's Republican colleague, Jay Morris of Monroe, said that the bills "would not help the state's fiscal situation and would in fact make it worse. At the same time it would have made the tax code much more progressive (making higher income earners pay more) and would have eliminated the deduction for federal income. The committee didn't see the benefit from a set of bills that made the state fiscal situation worse in the name of purported tax reform."[17] In June 2017, Jeffrey D. Sadow, a political science professor at Louisiana State University in Shreveport, penned an Internet blog article critical of Shadoin and John Alario of Westwego, the President of the Louisiana State Senate. Sadow contends that Shadoin's backing for tax increases works to the advantage of Democratic Governor John Bel Edwards, as Edwardse seeks a second term in 2019.[19]

House successor pending

Two Republican candidates sought to succeed Shadoin in the February 23, 2019 special election. The Ruston businessman, Chris Turner, the owner of a pharmacy,[2] defeated Jake Halley of Farmerville, 3,561(70 percent) to 1,537 (30 percent).[20]

Though Turner ran as a conservative political "outsider" and had not previously held elected office, the columnist, Sam Hanna, Jr., publisher of the Ouachita Citizen in West Monroe, said that Turner carries "the blessing of the ruling class in Baton Rouge."[21]

References

1. "Representative Rob Shadoin's Biography". votesmart.org. Retrieved August 21, 2013.
2. Greg Hilburn (November 26, 2018). "Ruston businessman declares for Shadoin's former House seat". The Monroe News-Star. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
3. "Representative Robert E. Shadoin, District 12". house.louisiana.gov. Retrieved February 26, 2012.
4. "Rep. Rob Shadoin". lungcanceralliance.www3.capwiz.com. Retrieved August 21, 2013.
5. Louisiana Secretary of State, General election returns, November 19, 2011
6. "TEA Party Hosts District 12 State Rep Candidates". Lincolnparishnewsonline.wordpress.com. September 14, 2011. Retrieved August 21, 2013.
7. Louisiana Secretary of State, Primary election returns, October 22, 2011
8. "Chelsa Brasted, Rob Shadoin LFEA May 14, 2013". photos.nola.com. Retrieved August 21, 2013.
9. "Representative Rob Shadoin's Voting Records". votesmart.org. Retrieved August 21, 2013.
10. "Representative Gene Reynolds Voting Records". Project Vote Smart. Retrieved August 21, 2013.
11. "Rob Shadoin's Ratings and Endorsements". Project Vote Smart. Retrieved May 19, 2015.
12. "Greg Hilburn, State honors the late Rep. Smith with bridge renaming, September 12, 2013". The Monroe News-Star. Archived from the original on May 14, 2014. Retrieved September 13, 2013.
13. "See who has already won election". The Monroe News-Star. September 11, 2015. Retrieved September 12, 2015.
14. "State House of Representatives Vote to Increase Sales Tax". KEEL. February 25, 2016. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
15. "See the list: Examples of goods, services that'll now be taxed in Louisiana". The Baton Rouge Advocate. Retrieved April 1, 2016.
16. The Moon Griffon Show, June 9, 2016
17. Greg Hilburn (May 9, 2017). "GOP lawmaker: 'You can kiss reform goodbye'". The Town Talk. Retrieved May 11, 2017.
18. The Moon Griffon Show, May 10, 2017.
19. Jeffrey D. Sadow (June 3, 2017). "Republican pretenders - of RINOs - really serving Gov . Edwards in legislature". The Baton Rouge Advocate. Retrieved June 6, 2017.
20. "Election Returns". Louisiana Secretary of State. February 23, 2019.
21. Sam Hanna, Jr., "Who Wants to Serve?", The Colfax Chronicle, Grant Parish, Louisiana, January 31, 2019, p. 4.