Tony Bacala

Anthony Joseph Bacala, Jr., known as Tony Bacala (born July 1957),[1] is a law enforcement officer from Prairieville, Louisiana, who is a Republican member of the Louisiana House of Representatives for District 59 in Ascension Parish.

Anthony Joseph "Tony" Bacala, Jr.
Louisiana State Representative for District 59 (Ascension Parish)
Incumbent
Assumed office January 2016
Preceded by	Eddie J. Lambert
Personal details
Born	July 1957
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Lisa Faucheux Bacala
Residence	Prairieville Ascension Parish Louisiana, USA
Alma mater	East Ascension High School Louisiana State University FBI National Academy
Occupation	Law-enforcement officer

Background

A Roman Catholic, Bacala graduated from East Ascension High School in Gonzales and in 1982 received his degree from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. He is the president of the LSU Law Enforcement Institute. In 2004, he graduated from the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia. He was employed from 1977 to 2015 with the Ascension Parish Sheriff's Department. He is a member of the Industrial Development Board of Ascension Parish.[2]

Bacala is married to the former Lisa Faucheux (born July 1962), a Republican[3] who is employed by the Ascension Parish School Board.[4]

House tenure

On January 11, 2016, Bacala succeeded outgoing Republican Representative Eddie J. Lambert, also of Prairieville, who instead moved up to the District 18 seat in the Louisiana State Senate. In the primary election of October 24, 2015, Bacala, with 6,987 votes (66 percent), defeated two other Republicans, Pat Bell, with 2,654 votes (25.1 percent), and Rusty Messer, who ran third with 947 votes (8.9 percent).[5]

He serves on the House Committees of Criminal Justice, Retirement, and Appropriations. He also sits on the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget.[2]

In July 2017, House Republicans named the conservative Bacala as their caucus vice chairman to succeed John Schroder of Covington in St. Tammany Parish, who resigned his House seat to run in the October 14 special election for state treasurer. By secret ballot, Bacala defeated 29 to 26, his colleague Chris Leopold of Belle Chase in Plaquemines Parish, who is considered more moderate in outlook than Bacala. The majority leader is Lance Harris of Alexandra; Republican Taylor Barras of New Iberia, another conservative, is the House Speaker.[6]

References

1. "Anthony Bacala, July 1957". Louisiana Secretary of State. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
2. "Tony Bacala". Project Vote Smart. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
3. "Lisa Bacala, July 1962". Louisiana Secretary of State. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
4. "Lisa F. Bacala". intelius.com. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
5. "Results for Election Date: 10/24/2015". Louisiana Secretary of State. Retrieved October 25, 2015.
6. Greg Hilburn (July 25, 2017). "Conservatives tighten grip in La. House". The Monroe News-Star. Retrieved July 26, 2017.