Beryl Amedee

Beryl Adams Amedee
Louisiana State Representative for the 51st district (Assumption, Lafourche, St. Mary, and Terrebonne parishes)
Incumbent
Assumed office January 11, 2016
Preceded by	Joe Harrison
Personal details
Born	October 1964 Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana, USA
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	John Paul Amedee
Children	Three sons
Parents	Joe and Carolyn Adams
Residence	Gray, Terrebonne Parish
Alma mater	H. L. Bourgeois High School
Occupation	Businesswoman, activist, and minister
Religion	Christianity: International Church of the Foursquare Gospel

Beryl Adams Amedee (born October 1964)^[1] is a Republican member of the Louisiana House of Representatives for District 51, which encompasses parts of Assumption, Lafourche, St. Mary, and Terrebonne parishes in the southern portion of Louisiana. The district specifically includes Bayou Black, Donner, Dulac, Schriever, Labadieville, Bayou L'Ourse, and the area southwest of Thibodaux in Lafourche Parish.^[2]

Background

The daughter of Joe Adams and the late Carolyn Adams, Amedee graduated from H. L. Bourgeois High School in Gray, a census designated place near Houma.^[3] She still resides in Gray with her husband, John Paul Amedee (born September 1963).^[4] The couple has three grown sons, whom she homeschooled, and six grandchildren.^[3]

A licensed minister since 1997, Amedee is affiliated with Vision Christian Center, an International Church of the Foursquare Gospel in Bourg in Terrebonne Parish. She has worked in counseling following numerous natural disasters.^[3]

Political life

Prior to her election to the state House, Amedee was a member of the Terrebonne Parish Council, based in the parish seat of Houma.^[5] Amedee is a former member of the Terrebonne Planning and Zoning Commission. She owns Forerunner Errand and Concierge Service. She formerly acted as a volunteer lobbyist for the conservative Louisiana Family Forum, with specialization in the field of education. She has worked with the Christian Home Educator Fellowship of Louisiana and the National Black Home Educator Association. Prior to entering the legislature, she pushed to end discriminatory practices against those who obtained their diplomas through homeschooling.^[3]

In the legislative primary election on October 24, 2015, Amedee led a three-candidate field with 3,391 votes (41 percent). The two-term incumbent Republican Joe Harrison of Napoleonville in Assumption Parish trailed with 3,070 votes (37 percent). In third place was the Democrat Howard J. Castay, Jr., who received a critical 1,899 votes (23 percent).^[6] In the runoff election on November 21, Amedee toppled Harrison, 4,101 votes (52 percent) to 3,783 (48 percent).^[7] Harrison had been a member of the conservative lobbying group, the American Legislative Exchange Council.^[8] In her successful election, Amedee carried the endorsement of several conservative groups, including the Family Research Council headed by former Louisiana State Representative Tony Perkins of Baton Rouge.^[9]

Early in 2016, in her first major vote of the special legislative session, Amedee was among the twenty-eight dissenters when a House bipartisan majority of seventy-six approved legislation by Democratic Representative Katrina Jackson of West Monroe, which beginning April 1, 2016, increases the state sales tax by one cent to a total of a nickel, excluding additional local amounts. The vote limited the tax hike to eighteen months, but in consultation with the Louisiana State Senate, the time was extended to twenty-seven months through June 30, 2018. Joining Amedee in opposing the tax hike was her area colleague, the Independent Representativbe Dee Richard. In the majority for the tax hike are Democrat Jerry "Truck" Gisclair of Larose and two other newcomer Republicans Jerome Zeringue and Tanner Magee, both of Houma.^[10]

References

1. "Beryl Amedee, October 1964". Louisiana Secretary of State. Retrieved November 27, 2015.
2. John DeSantis. "Councilwoman Amedee seeking state legislative seat". berylamedee.com. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
3. "Beryl Adams Amedee". zoominfo.com. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
4. "Beryl A. Amedee". intelius.com. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
5. "Adams Amedee defeats incumbent Joe Harrison in state Rep. District 51 race". KATC. Retrieved November 27, 2015.
6. "Election Returns". Louisiana Secretary of State. October 24, 2015. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
7. "Election Returns". Louisiana Secretary of State. November 21, 2015. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
8. Board of Directors - ALEC, April 17, 2012
9. "FRC Action Endorses Amedee for House 51". berylamedee.com. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
10. Jeremy Harper (February 27, 2016). "Local lawmakers mixed on tax hikes". Retrieved March 26, 2016.