Rick Edmonds

Richard Phillip "Rick" Edmonds, Jr.
Louisiana State Representative for District 66 (East Baton Rouge Parish)
Incumbent
Assumed office January 11, 2016
Preceded by	Darrell Ourso
Personal details
Born	September 1956 Shreveport, Caddo Parish Louisiana, USA
Nationality	American
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Cynthia H. "Cindy" Edmonds
Children	Richie Edmonds J. Ben Edmonds Ryan Edmonds Zachary Edmonds
Parents	Richard, Sr., and Elsie Stone Edmonds
Residence	Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Alma mater	Fair Park High School East Texas Baptist University New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary
Occupation	Southern Baptist minister

Richard Phillip Edmonds, Jr., known as Rick Edmonds (born September 1956),^[1] is a Southern Baptist pastor in the capital city of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, who is a Republican member of the Louisiana House of Representatives for District 66 in East Baton Rouge Parish.

Edmonds is the son of Richard Edmonds, Sr. (1926-2003),^[2] who owned and operated the Louisiana Fence Company in Shreveport. His mother was the former Elsie Stone (c. 1931 – 2010), a daughter of Martin O. and Dera J. Mixon Stone. Rick Edmonds is a former pastor of the large Calvary Baptist Church in Shreveport. With his wife, Cynthia H. "Cindy" Edmonds (born February 1958), he has four sons, Richie Edmonds and wife, Holly, and J. Ben Edmonds and wife, Candice, both of Baton Rouge, and Ryan Edmonds and wife, Karla, and Zachary Edmonds and wife, Stephanie, both of Shreveport.^[3]

In 1974, Edmonds graduated from Fair Park High School in Shreveport.^[4] He received his Bachelor of Arts from East Texas Baptist University in Marshall, Texas, and his Master of Divinity from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.^[5] Edmonds is a pastor at the large Bethany Church in Baton Rouge. He is the former vice president of development of the conservative Louisiana Family Forum. In 2014, as the LFF vice president, Edmonds commended the conservative triumphs in the legislature that year: "one of the finest sessions that we've ever had."^[6]

In the legislative campaign, Edmonds hammered Ourso for support various tax hikes eleven times in the 2015 legislative session.^[7][8] Ourso had won the position in a special election earlier in the year to succeed Republican Hunter Greene, who was elected to a family court judgeship and like Edmonds is a native of Shreveport.^[7] Edmonds unseated Ourso in the runoff election on November 21, 2015,^[7] 7,109 votes (52.1 percent) to 6,540 (47.9 percent).^[9]

In 2016, Representative Edmonds was among the twenty-eight dissenters to the bipartisan majority in the House, which raised the state sales tax from four to five cents on the dollar for a 27-month period from April 1, 2016 to June 30, 2018. The tax hike was part of an even larger revenue measures pushed to passage by Democratic Governor John Bel Edwards.^[10] A House and Senate conference committee subsequently trimmed the five years approved by the Louisiana State Senate for the duration of the tax to 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.^[11]

References

1. "Richard Edmonds, September 1956". Louisiana Secretary of State. Retrieved November 27, 2015.
2. "Richard P. Edmonds". Findagrave.com. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
3. "Elsie Edmonds". Shreveport, Louisiana: KTBS-TV. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
4. "Rick Edmonds, Class of 1974". classmates.com. Retrieved January 1, 2016.
5. "Rep. Rick Edmonds (R-LA 66th District)". cigarrights.capwiz.com. Retrieved March 29, 2016.
6. Emily Lane (June 24, 2014). "Louisiana Family Forum says recent legislative session its best yet". New Orleans Times-Picayune. Retrieved March 29, 2016.
7. Rebekah Allen (November 21, 2015). "District 66 incumbent Darrell Ourso loses seat to Family Forum Vice President". The Baton Rouge Advocate. Retrieved November 27, 2015.
8. Mark Ballard (August 12, 2015). "Baton Rouge legislator Darrell Ourso hammered on increased taxes at Republican forum". The Baton Rouge Advocate. Retrieved January 10, 2016.
9. "Election Results". Louisiana Secretary of State. November 21, 2015. Retrieved March 29, 2016.
10. "State House of Representatives Vote to Increase Sales Tax". KEEL. February 25, 2016. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
11. "See the list: Examples of goods, services that'll now be taxed in Louisiana". The Baton Rouge Advocate. Retrieved April 1, 2016.