Lane Carson

Lane Anderson Carson

Secretary
In office 2008–2013
Preceded by	Hunt Downer
Succeeded by	David LaCerte (interim)
Louisiana State Representative from District 99 (Orleans Parish)
In office 1976–1983
Preceded by	Orleans Parish districts not numbered until 1976
Succeeded by	Garey Forster
Personal details
Born	(1947-08-21) August 21, 1947 New Orleans, Orleans Parish Louisiana, USA
Political party	Republican (prior to 1977, Democrat)
Spouse(s)	Laura Carson
Children	Christopher Carson Rebecca C. Parks
Residence	Covington, St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana
Alma mater	Louisiana State University Tulane University Law School
Occupation	Attorney
Religion	Baptist
Military service
Service/branch	United States Army

Lane Anderson Carson (born August 21, 1947 in New Orleans, USA) is the former head of the Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs in the administration of Governor Bobby Jindal. Carson is also a licensed building contractor and real estate broker, and an attorney in private practice. He resides in Covington, the parish seat of St. Tammany Parish. He was previously chief of the Civil Division of the 22nd Judicial District of his parish.

Career

Carson was a platoon leader in the United States Army in South Vietnam during the Vietnam War . He was wounded and discharged and returned to the USA. He graduated in 1971 with a bachelor's degree from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. In 1974, he received his Juris Doctor degree from Tulane University Law School in New Orleans.

He served in the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1976 to 1983, representing House District 99 in Orleans Parish first as a Democrat (1976–1977), and thereafter as a member of the Republican Party.^[1] Carson was the first Vietnam War veteran to serve in the Louisiana legislature.

During his legislative tenure, Carson served on the Civil Law, House and Governmental, and Health and Welfare Committees and Veterans and Elderly Sub-committees. Carson voted for legislation allowing eyeglass and prescription drug advertising, permitting teachers to search for drugs and weapons, and accelerating the process of capital punishment. He voted to require restitution to victims of crime, to provide police with access to juvenile criminal records, and to enact stiff penalties for those engaging in child pornography.

After more than six years of legislative tenure, Carson resigned his House seat to become Assistant Secretary in the Louisiana Department of Health and Human Resources during the administration of Republican Governor David C. Treen. He was succeeded in the House seat by the French Quarter businessman Garey Forster. Carson later became an assistant district attorney in St. Tammany Parish, where, as chief of the Civil Division for more than twenty years, he was a legal advisor to St. Tammany Parish government and numerous boards and commissions.

In 1985, U.S. President Ronald W. Reagan nominated Carson, to the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board for a term which expired on December 3, 1988. In 2003, President George W. Bush appointed him to the board of directors of the National Institute of Building Sciences.

Carson belongs to many veterans organizations and was appointed by Republican Governor Mike Foster to the Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs to represent the Military Order of the Purple Heart. He was appointed to the Louisiana Military Hall of Fame Museum Board early in the 21st century.

In 2007, Governor-elect Bobby Jindal selected Carson to serve as Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs for the State of Louisiana.^[2] Carson led the department through a major transition period in veterans healthcare, veterans job creation and upgrades to the post-9/11 GI Bill. After over a decade of mismanagement and bureaucratic red tape, Carson revived plans to construct the Central Louisiana Veterans Cemetery in Leesville, Louisiana ^[3] and successfully secured the long-awaited Southeast Louisiana Veterans Cemetery in Slidell, Louisiana.^[4] Carson also led the department through two hurricanes which made landfall on Louisiana's coast - Hurricane Gustav and Hurricane Isaac. Carson served on the Governor's Emergency Response Team as the liaison to Veterans who needed assistance. Carson retired from the state after serving as Secretary for five years. After Carson's retirement, his Deputy Secretary, David LaCerte, succeeded him as Interim Secretary.^[5] His permanent successor as Veterans Affairs Secretary is former U.S. Representative Rodney Alexander of Jackson Parish.^[6]

Carson and his wife, Laura, have two children. A son, Christopher Carson, is a 2004 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, who has served as a surface warfare officer in the United States Navy. A daughter, Rebecca, an architect, is married to Nat Parks. Laura Carson is a retired assistant principal from the St. Tammany Parish public schools. Carson is Baptist.

References

↑ "Membership in the Louisiana House of Representatives, 1812-2008" (PDF). house.louisiana.gov. Retrieved October 17, 2009.
↑ "Governor-Elect Bobby Jindal Announces Secretaries". gov.louisiana.gov. Retrieved December 5, 2007.
↑ "Central Louisiana to get Veterans Cemetery". ksla.com. Retrieved July 5, 2010.
↑ "Slidell Veterans Cemetery to Open in 2014". nola.com. Retrieved August 21, 2013.
↑ "Louisiana Veterans Affairs Secretary Retires, deputy Secretary to Serve as Interim". nola.com. Retrieved December 28, 2012.
↑ "Governor Jindal Appoints Rodney Alexander as Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs". gov.louisiana.gov. Retrieved August 7, 2013.

External links

Preceded by At-large membership	Louisiana State Representative from District 98 (French Quarter and Orleans Parish) Lane Anderson Carson 1976–1982	Succeeded by Garey Forster

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