Jonathan Perry (Louisiana politician)
Encyclopedia
Jonathan Wayne Perry is a Republican
member of the Louisiana State Senate
from District 26 (Vermilion
and portions of Acadia
, Lafayette
, and St. Landry
parishes). An outgoing member of the Louisiana House of Representatives
from District 47 (Vermilion and Cameron
parishes), Perry won a special election for the state Senate held on February 19, 2011. The Senate vacancy occurred with the resignation of the Democrat
Nick Gautreaux, who accepted an appointment from Republican Governor Bobby Jindal
to head the Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles in Baton Rouge
.
Perry's victory is particularly significant because it realigns the Senate, where Republicans will have their first majority since Reconstruction, with twenty of the thirty-nine members.
Perry is also known as a comedian
and has released DVD
s of his stand-up Cajun
routines. Jonathan Perry is one of the most sought after Cajun Comedians in the world and is a past King of the International Cajun Joke Telling Contest™.
in Vermilion Parish, Louisiana
, where he still resides. In 1995, he obtained a Bachelor of Arts
degree in sociology
and criminal justice
from the University of Louisiana at Monroe
in Monroe
in Ouachita Parish
. Thereafter, he procured a Juris Doctor
from the historically black Southern University Law Center
in Baton Rouge.
Perry is married to his high school sweetheart, the former Christine LeBeouf, and the couple has four children, Molli, Meredith, Major, and Marlee. Perry is a former sergeant on the Kaplan city police force. While studying law, he served on the Kaplan City Council, the youngest person in that position in the history of his city. He is also a former assistant district attorney for the 15th Judicial District, which covers Acadia, Lafayette, and Vermilion parishes.
delegation and a member of the Louisiana Rural Caucus. Perry serves on the Louisiana Commission on Family and Marriage, the Louisiana Energy Council, and the Governor's Task Force on D.W.I. and Vehicular Homicide. Perry holds a 100 percent rating from the Louisiana Right to Life
Committee. Since 2008, he has been named "Outstanding Family Advocate" by the conservative Louisiana Family Forum
. In 2009, he received that organization's "Life and Liberty Award". He also carries a 100 percent rating from the trade association
, the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry
.
, who owns two oilfield service companies. Perry received 10,179 votes (52 percent) to Granger's 9,491 (48 percent). Perry's 53-47 percent margin in his own Vermilion Parish, where the majority of the ballots were cast in the race, proved decisive to his election. The voter turnout was nearly 36 percent.
The Louisiana blog The Dead Pelican reported near the end of the Senate campaign that Granger's campaign manager was from Washington State, not Louisiana, and in 2008 organized supporters of U.S. Senator Barack Obama
, the Democratic presidential nominee from Illinois
. Granger reported having raised $310,000 for the campaign and ran advertising accusing Perry of having voted to gut higher education and failure to have prosecuted a seven-time DWI offender while Perry was an assistant district attorney. In an interview on The Moon Griffon
Show talk radio program based from Monroe on February 17, 2011, Granger called himself a conservative and denied that he had the support of Obama in the special election. Records also reveal that Granger contributed to two Republican candidates from his area, former State Senator Craig Romero
and U.S. Representative Jeff Landry
, both of New Iberia
.
, of St. Martin Parish
, who preceded Perry in the Senate by only a month, has since the middle 1990s been performing in television commercials for his pharmacy in Parks
in the role of "Taunte Pills," a comic Cajun character.
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
member of the Louisiana State Senate
Louisiana State Legislature
The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...
from District 26 (Vermilion
Vermilion Parish, Louisiana
Vermilion Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Abbeville. As of the 2010 census, the population was 57,999....
and portions of Acadia
Acadia Parish, Louisiana
Acadia Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Crowley. According to the 2010 census, the population of Acadia Parish is 61,773. The parish was founded from parts of St...
, Lafayette
Lafayette Parish, Louisiana
Lafayette Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Lafayette. According to the 2010 Census, its population was recorded as 221,578....
, and St. Landry
St. Landry Parish, Louisiana
St. Landry Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is at the heart of Acadian/Cajun culture and heritage in Louisiana. The parish seat is Opelousas. According to the 2010 census, the population of St. Landry Parish is 83,384.St...
parishes). An outgoing member of the Louisiana House of Representatives
Louisiana State Legislature
The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...
from District 47 (Vermilion and Cameron
Cameron Parish, Louisiana
Cameron Parish is the parish with the most land area in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Cameron and as of 2010, the population was 6,839...
parishes), Perry won a special election for the state Senate held on February 19, 2011. The Senate vacancy occurred with the resignation of the Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
Nick Gautreaux, who accepted an appointment from Republican Governor Bobby Jindal
Bobby Jindal
Piyush "Bobby" Jindal is the 55th and current Governor of Louisiana and formerly a member of the United States House of Representatives. He is a member of the Republican Party....
to head the Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles in Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and is the second-largest city in the state.Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, medical, and research center of the American South...
.
Perry's victory is particularly significant because it realigns the Senate, where Republicans will have their first majority since Reconstruction, with twenty of the thirty-nine members.
Perry is also known as a comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
and has released DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
s of his stand-up Cajun
Cajun
Cajuns are an ethnic group mainly living in the U.S. state of Louisiana, consisting of the descendants of Acadian exiles...
routines. Jonathan Perry is one of the most sought after Cajun Comedians in the world and is a past King of the International Cajun Joke Telling Contest™.
Background
Perry graduated in 1991 from Kaplan High School in KaplanKaplan, Louisiana
Kaplan is a small city in Vermilion Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 5,177 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Abbeville Micropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
in Vermilion Parish, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, where he still resides. In 1995, he obtained a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree in sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
and criminal justice
Criminal justice
Criminal Justice is the system of practices and institutions of governments directed at upholding social control, deterring and mitigating crime, or sanctioning those who violate laws with criminal penalties and rehabilitation efforts...
from the University of Louisiana at Monroe
University of Louisiana at Monroe
The University of Louisiana at Monroe is a coeducational public university in Monroe, Louisiana and part of the University of Louisiana System.-History:...
in Monroe
Monroe, Louisiana
Monroe is a city in and the parish seat of Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 53,107, making it the eighth largest city in Louisiana. A July 1, 2007, United States Census Bureau estimate placed the population at 51,208, but 51,636...
in Ouachita Parish
Ouachita Parish, Louisiana
-National protected areas:* Black Bayou Lake National Wildlife Refuge* D'Arbonne National Wildlife Refuge -Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 147,250 people, 55,216 households, and 38,319 families residing in the parish. The population density was 241 people per square mile...
. Thereafter, he procured a Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
from the historically black Southern University Law Center
Southern University Law Center
Southern University Law Center, a campus of the Southern University System, opened for instruction in September 1947. Its concept was born out of a response of a lawsuit by an African American resident, Charles J. Hatfield, III, seeking to attend law school at a state institution...
in Baton Rouge.
Perry is married to his high school sweetheart, the former Christine LeBeouf, and the couple has four children, Molli, Meredith, Major, and Marlee. Perry is a former sergeant on the Kaplan city police force. While studying law, he served on the Kaplan City Council, the youngest person in that position in the history of his city. He is also a former assistant district attorney for the 15th Judicial District, which covers Acadia, Lafayette, and Vermilion parishes.
House service
Representative Perry served on the House committees of (1) Administration of Criminal Justice, (2) Agriculture, Forestry, Aquaculture and Rural Development, and (3) Ways and Means. He was the chairman of the House AcadianaAcadiana
Acadiana, or The Heart of Acadiana, is the official name given to the French Louisiana region that is home to a large Francophone population. Of the 64 parishes that make up Louisiana, 22 named parishes and other parishes of similar cultural environment, make up the intrastate...
delegation and a member of the Louisiana Rural Caucus. Perry serves on the Louisiana Commission on Family and Marriage, the Louisiana Energy Council, and the Governor's Task Force on D.W.I. and Vehicular Homicide. Perry holds a 100 percent rating from the Louisiana Right to Life
Right to life
Right to life is a phrase that describes the belief that a human being has an essential right to live, particularly that a human being has the right not to be killed by another human being...
Committee. Since 2008, he has been named "Outstanding Family Advocate" by the conservative Louisiana Family Forum
Louisiana Family Forum
Louisiana Family Forum is a social conservative non-profit advocacy group based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The organization supports Louisiana's covenant marriage law and opposes abortion and same-sex marriage...
. In 2009, he received that organization's "Life and Liberty Award". He also carries a 100 percent rating from the trade association
Trade association
A trade association, also known as an industry trade group, business association or sector association, is an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry...
, the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry
Louisiana Association of Business and Industry
The Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, known by the acronym LABI, is the largest and most successful business lobbying group in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It was founded in Baton Rouge in 1976, when Louisiana adopted a new right-to-work law during the administration of Democratic...
.
Senate election
Perry defeated the Democrat Nathan Charles Granger (born January 23, 1968), a member of the Vermilion Parish Police Jury from ErathErath, Louisiana
Erath is a town in Vermilion Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 2,187 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Abbeville Micropolitan Statistical Area.Erath is home of the Acadian Museum....
, who owns two oilfield service companies. Perry received 10,179 votes (52 percent) to Granger's 9,491 (48 percent). Perry's 53-47 percent margin in his own Vermilion Parish, where the majority of the ballots were cast in the race, proved decisive to his election. The voter turnout was nearly 36 percent.
The Louisiana blog The Dead Pelican reported near the end of the Senate campaign that Granger's campaign manager was from Washington State, not Louisiana, and in 2008 organized supporters of U.S. Senator Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
, the Democratic presidential nominee from Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
. Granger reported having raised $310,000 for the campaign and ran advertising accusing Perry of having voted to gut higher education and failure to have prosecuted a seven-time DWI offender while Perry was an assistant district attorney. In an interview on The Moon Griffon
Moon Griffon
Blane M. Griffon, known as Moon Griffon is a conservative radio talk show host who broadcasts statewide through station KMLB FM in Monroe, the seat of Ouachita Parish in northeastern Louisiana. He has sometimes been called the "Rush Limbaugh of Louisiana" though his program reflects his distinct...
Show talk radio program based from Monroe on February 17, 2011, Granger called himself a conservative and denied that he had the support of Obama in the special election. Records also reveal that Granger contributed to two Republican candidates from his area, former State Senator Craig Romero
Craig Romero
Craig Francis Romero is a New Iberia corporate salesman who represented District 22 in the Louisiana State Senate from 1993 to 2008. The district includes the parishes of Iberia, Lafayette, St. Martin, and Vermilion. Romero was president of the Iberia Parish government from 1984 to 1992. He...
and U.S. Representative Jeff Landry
Jeff Landry
Jeffrey Martin "Jeff" Landry is the U.S. Representative for . He is a member of the Republican Party and the Tea Party Caucus.-Early life, education, and military service:...
, both of New Iberia
New Iberia, Louisiana
New Iberia is a city in and the parish seat of Iberia Parish, Louisiana, United States, 30 miles southeast of Lafayette. In 1900, 6,815 people lived in New Iberia; in 1910, 7,499; and in 1940, 13,747...
.
Senatorial humorists
Stand-up comic Perry is not the only Louisiana state senator known for his humor and theatrics. Fred H. Mills, Jr.Fred Mills (Louisiana politician)
Fred Henry Mills, Jr. , is a pharmacist and banker from St. Martinville, Louisiana, who is a Republican member of the Louisiana State Senate, having won a special election on January 22, 2011, for the District 22 seat vacated in 2010 by the Independent Troy Hebert of Jeanerette.Mills had since 2008...
, of St. Martin Parish
St. Martin Parish, Louisiana
St. Martin Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is St. Martinville. As of the 2000 census, the population was 48,583.St...
, who preceded Perry in the Senate by only a month, has since the middle 1990s been performing in television commercials for his pharmacy in Parks
Parks, Louisiana
Parks is a village in St. Martin Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 533 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Lafayette Metropolitan Statistical Area....
in the role of "Taunte Pills," a comic Cajun character.