Robert Kostelka
Encyclopedia
Robert William Kostelka, usually known as Bob Kostelka (born February 18, 1933), is a former district attorney
, district judge
, and circuit judge, and, currently, a Republican
member of the Louisiana State Senate
from Monroe
, who has represented Ouachita, Lincoln, and Jackson parishes in District 35 since 2004. He was unopposed for a second Senate term in the October 20, 2007, nonpartisan blanket primary. Kostelka retired from his circuit judgeship in 2003, when he reached the age of seventy, as required by an amendment
to the Louisiana Constitution
of 1974.
Kostelka endorsed U.S. Senator John McCain
of Arizona
for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination
. He told delegates at the state convention in Baton Rouge on February 16, 2008, that they should coalesce behind McCain, who trailed former Governor
Michael Dale "Mike" Huckabee
of Arkansas
in the February 9 Louisiana presidential primary. "Can you believe the United States is on the verge of electing Barack Hussein Obama
or the wife of Monica's ex-boyfriend?", a reference to Monica Lewinsky
, the White House
intern
who had an affair with former U.S. President Bill Clinton
. "It's enough to make you want to cry," the Monroe Republican continued.
In 1992, Kostelka was nominated by then President George Herbert Walker Bush for the federal judgeship held by the retiring Richard M. Nixon appointee Thomas E. Stagg, Jr.
, of Shreveport
in Caddo Parish. The nomination died with the election of Bill Clinton as president.
of Georgia
. After high school, Kostelka attended the Methodist-affiliated Centenary College
in Shreveport. He then transferred to Louisiana State University
in Baton Rouge, where he received his bachelor of arts
degree. In 1957, Kostelka obtained his law degree from LSU. He later received training for prosecuting attorneys at the Northwestern University School of Law
in Chicago
. He was a member of Kappa Alpha Society
and the Phi Delta Phi
legal fraternity
. He is a member of the American Bar
, Louisiana Bar, and the Appellate Judges' associations.
Kostelka has long been a member of the Salvation Army
, was the Monroe chairman for three terms, and was named "Citizen of the Year" in 1971. He has been a member of Rotary International
in Monroe since 1968. He was worked in Boy Scouts of America
and the YMCA
. He is a member of the National Rifle Association
, Ducks Unlimited
, Bass Research Foundation, National Wildlife Federation
, the Arthritis Foundation
, and the Muscular Dystrophy Association
.
Kostelka has been a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Monroe since 1968. He is an elder and a former Sunday school
teacher.
Kostelka has been twice married. His first wife, the former Bobbie Ann Morales (1936–1983) of Port Allen
in West Baton Rouge Parish died of breast cancer
. She was the mother of four of his children, including R. Clifton Kostelka of San Antonio
, who died of AIDS
in 1995. Kostelka later married the former Felicia Marie Danna (born 1958) of West Monroe
, also in Ouachita Parish. Bob and Felicia Kostelka have one child from their marriage.
Kostelka's hobbies include backpacking
and hiking
, bass and trout
fishing
, jogging
and tennis
, and outdoor and wildlife photography
.
" a centerpiece of his campaign even before the term was widely used. He vowed to use the district attorney's office to prosecute violators of obscenity
laws. Kostelka, however, was defeated by J. Carl Parkerson, 21,639 (57.2 percent) to 16,203 (42.8 percent).
By 1972, Kostelka had switched to Republican affiliation and ran in the general election to challenge Parkerson for a full six-year term, and he lost again, even though he supposedly would have benefited from the successful Nixon
-Agnew
ticket in Louisiana. Kostelka received 16,518 votes the second time, almost identical to his raw votes as a Democrat. Parkerson again prevailed with 25,556 votes (60.7 percent). Kostelka's percent of the vote declined by 3.5 points even though his actual vote was stable from one election to the next. On vacating the D.A.'s office, he established a private law practice in Monroe.
In 1998, however, he left the district court when he was elected without opposition to the Louisiana State Second Circuit Court of Appeal, based in Monroe. He retired from the judgeship and ran for the state Senate in 2003. Kostelka was succeeded as district judge by state Representative Jimmy Dimos
, a Democrat who had served as Speaker
of the Louisiana House of Representatives
in the Charles E. Roemer, III
, administration from 1988 to 1992.
Democratic state Senator Charles Jones). Kostelka stressed his conservative and generally pro-business views, as opposed to the moderate to even liberal and pro-labor votes that Jones had cast in his one legislative term. Still, Kostelka won only by a narrow margin, 17,331 (52 percent) to 16,964 (48 percent), according to official returns from 112 precincts in the three parishes.
In the Senate, Kostelka has been a member of the Insurance, Judiciary A, and Homeland Security committees.
Kostelka has demonstrated the ability to work with Democratic colleagues when the Senate lacked a Republican majority. One of his colleagues, Robert Adley
, a Democrat (later Republican) from Bossier City in Bossier Parish
, affectionately referred to Kostelka as "my lawyer." Adley's remark came when Kostelka slipped Adley a note during debate, which said that a compromise on an oil
cleanup bill was almost completed, and the issue then before the Senate should be tabled.
Kostelka won his third term in the state Senate in the primary election held on October 22, 2011. He defeated his fellow Republican Jeff Guerriero, 14,638 votes (52 percent) to 13,488 votes (48 percent).
, a Baton Rouge Democrat, who later in the year would be elected mayor
-president of the City of Baton Rouge and East Baton Rouge Parish. The liberal Holden had argued that the Kostelka amendment could easily be overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Kostelka said that a federal constitutional ban on marriage between members of the same sex is required, but he also favored addressing the matter in the state constitution. The purpose of marriage is to continue the human species, he noted. Kostelka also noted that he "had a son who died of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
. I loved my son, and I cherish his memory, but, as I told him, I could never accept his life-style."
Four senators in committee, two from each party, joined Kostelka in voting for the proposal, which the legislature and then the Louisiana electorate approved in 2004. Holden and fellow liberal black Senator Cleo Fields
, also of Baton Rouge, opposed the amendment.
The bill was opposed by several groups because it failed to provide protection for parents who are being abused by the existing child-support laws. Child support orders in excess of 50 percent of a person's net income are not uncommon under current law.
The "Deadbeat Parents Punishment Act" makes nonpayment of child support a criminal offense that could send a non-paying parent to jail. Bowler predicted that the new law will have no impact on the collection of overdue support payments. Incarcerating a parent could cost the person his job and make it even harder for the individual to find another livelihood, she said. Kostelka and other supporters, however, said that the fear of criminal penalties could compel more who are in arrears to catch up with their payments. At the time, the amount of child support in arrears in Louisiana was believed to be approximately $800 million. The law applies to parents who either owe more than $5,000 or have gone more than a year without making payments.
District attorney
In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...
, district judge
Judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...
, and circuit judge, and, currently, a Republican
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 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...
, who has represented Ouachita, Lincoln, and Jackson parishes in District 35 since 2004. He was unopposed for a second Senate term in the October 20, 2007, nonpartisan blanket primary. Kostelka retired from his circuit judgeship in 2003, when he reached the age of seventy, as required by an amendment
Constitutional amendment
A constitutional amendment is a formal change to the text of the written constitution of a nation or state.Most constitutions require that amendments cannot be enacted unless they have passed a special procedure that is more stringent than that required of ordinary legislation...
to the Louisiana Constitution
Louisiana Constitution
The Constitution of the State of Louisiana is the cornerstone of Louisiana state law ensuring the rights of individuals, describing the distribution and power of state officials and local government, establishes the state and city civil service systems, creates and defines the operation of a state...
of 1974.
Kostelka endorsed U.S. Senator John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
of Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination
Nomination
Nomination is part of the process of selecting a candidate for either election to an office, or the bestowing of an honor or award.In the context of elections for public office, a candidate who has been selected by a political party is normally said to be the nominee of that party...
. He told delegates at the state convention in Baton Rouge on February 16, 2008, that they should coalesce behind McCain, who trailed former Governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
Michael Dale "Mike" Huckabee
Mike Huckabee
Michael "Mike" Dale Huckabee is an American politician who served as the 44th Governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007. He was a candidate in the 2008 United States Republican presidential primaries, finishing second in delegate count and third in both popular vote and number of states won . He won...
of Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
in the February 9 Louisiana presidential primary. "Can you believe the United States is on the verge of electing Barack Hussein 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...
or the wife of Monica's ex-boyfriend?", a reference to Monica Lewinsky
Monica Lewinsky
Monica Samille Lewinsky is an American woman with whom United States President Bill Clinton admitted to having had an "improper relationship" while she worked at the White House in 1995 and 1996...
, the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
intern
Intern
Internship is a system of onthejob training for white-collar jobs, similar to an apprenticeship. Interns are usually college or university students, but they can also be high school students or post graduate adults seeking skills for a new career. They may also be as young as middle school or in...
who had an affair with former U.S. President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
. "It's enough to make you want to cry," the Monroe Republican continued.
In 1992, Kostelka was nominated by then President George Herbert Walker Bush for the federal judgeship held by the retiring Richard M. Nixon appointee Thomas E. Stagg, Jr.
Tom Stagg
Thomas Eaton "Tom" Stagg, Jr. , is a Louisiana attorney, businessman, politician, and jurist who has served as a United States federal judge for the Western District of Louisiana since his appointment by President Richard Nixon in the spring of 1974...
, of Shreveport
Shreveport, Louisiana
Shreveport is the third largest city in Louisiana. It is the principal city of the fourth largest metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana and is the 109th-largest city in the United States....
in Caddo Parish. The nomination died with the election of Bill Clinton as president.
Early years, education, affiliations
The Shreveport-born Kostelka graduated from C.E. Byrd High School, as have numerous political figures, including former U.S. Senator J. Bennett Johnston, Jr., of Louisiana and current U.S. Senator Saxby ChamblissSaxby Chambliss
Clarence Saxby Chambliss, Jr. is the senior United States Senator from Georgia. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a U.S. Representative ....
of Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
. After high school, Kostelka attended the Methodist-affiliated Centenary College
Centenary College of Louisiana
Centenary College of Louisiana is a primarily undergraduate, liberal arts and sciences college in Shreveport, Louisiana. The college is one of the founding members of the Associated Colleges of the South, a pedagogical organization consisting of sixteen Southern liberal arts colleges...
in Shreveport. He then transferred to Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...
in Baton Rouge, where he received his 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 1957, Kostelka obtained his law degree from LSU. He later received training for prosecuting attorneys at the Northwestern University School of Law
Northwestern University School of Law
The Northwestern University School of Law is a private American law school in Chicago, Illinois. The law school was founded in 1859 as the Union College of Law of the Old University of Chicago. The first law school established in Chicago, it became jointly controlled by Northwestern University in...
in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. He was a member of Kappa Alpha Society
Kappa Alpha Society
The Kappa Alpha Society , founded in 1825, was the progenitor of the modern fraternity system in North America. It was the first of the fraternities which would eventually become known as the Union Triad...
and the Phi Delta Phi
Phi Delta Phi
Phi Delta Phi, ΦΔΦ, is the world's second largest legal fraternity. Phi Delta Phi is the second oldest legal organization in continuous existence in the United States and third oldest in North America...
legal fraternity
Fraternities and sororities
Fraternities and sororities are fraternal social organizations for undergraduate students. In Latin, the term refers mainly to such organizations at colleges and universities in the United States, although it is also applied to analogous European groups also known as corporations...
. He is a member of the American Bar
American Bar Association
The American Bar Association , founded August 21, 1878, is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. The ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of academic standards for law schools, and the formulation...
, Louisiana Bar, and the Appellate Judges' associations.
Kostelka has long been a member of the Salvation Army
Salvation Army
The Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries....
, was the Monroe chairman for three terms, and was named "Citizen of the Year" in 1971. He has been a member of Rotary International
Rotary International
Rotary International is an organization of service clubs known as Rotary Clubs located all over the world. The stated purpose of the organization is to bring together business and professional leaders to provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help...
in Monroe since 1968. He was worked in Boy Scouts of America
Boy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with over 4.5 million youth members in its age-related divisions...
and the YMCA
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
. He is a member of the National Rifle Association
National Rifle Association
The National Rifle Association of America is an American non-profit 501 civil rights organization which advocates for the protection of the Second Amendment of the United States Bill of Rights and the promotion of firearm ownership rights as well as marksmanship, firearm safety, and the protection...
, Ducks Unlimited
Ducks Unlimited
Ducks Unlimited is an international non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation of wetlands and associated upland habitats for waterfowl, other wildlife, and people. It currently has approximately 780,000 members, mostly in the United States and Canada.-Introduction:Ducks Unlimited was...
, Bass Research Foundation, National Wildlife Federation
National Wildlife Federation
The National Wildlife Federation is the United States' largest private, nonprofit conservation education and advocacy organization, with over four million members and supporters, and 48 state and territorial affiliated organizations...
, the Arthritis Foundation
Arthritis Foundation
The Arthritis Foundation is the largest national nonprofit organization solely dedicated to the prevention, control and cure of arthritis, the leading cause of disability in the United States....
, and the Muscular Dystrophy Association
Muscular Dystrophy Association
The Muscular Dystrophy Association is an American organization which combats muscular dystrophy and diseases of the nervous system and muscular system in general by funding research, providing medical and community services, and educating health professionals and the general public...
.
Kostelka has been a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Monroe since 1968. He is an elder and a former Sunday school
Sunday school
Sunday school is the generic name for many different types of religious education pursued on Sundays by various denominations.-England:The first Sunday school may have been opened in 1751 in St. Mary's Church, Nottingham. Another early start was made by Hannah Ball, a native of High Wycombe in...
teacher.
Kostelka has been twice married. His first wife, the former Bobbie Ann Morales (1936–1983) of Port Allen
Port Allen, Louisiana
Port Allen is a city in and the parish seat of West Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, United States. Port Allen is located between Interstate 10 and US Highway 190 on the West bank of the Mississippi River. The population was 5,180 at the 2010 census...
in West Baton Rouge Parish died of breast cancer
Breast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from ducts are known as ductal carcinomas; those originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas...
. She was the mother of four of his children, including R. Clifton Kostelka of San Antonio
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
, who died of AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
in 1995. Kostelka later married the former Felicia Marie Danna (born 1958) of West Monroe
West Monroe, Louisiana
West Monroe is a city in Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 13,250 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Monroe Metropolitan Statistical Area....
, also in Ouachita Parish. Bob and Felicia Kostelka have one child from their marriage.
Kostelka's hobbies include backpacking
Backpacking (wilderness)
Backpacking combines the activities of hiking and camping for an overnight stay in backcountry wilderness...
and hiking
Hiking
Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...
, bass and trout
Trout
Trout is the name for a number of species of freshwater and saltwater fish belonging to the Salmoninae subfamily of the family Salmonidae. Salmon belong to the same family as trout. Most salmon species spend almost all their lives in salt water...
fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
, jogging
Jogging
Jogging is a form of trotting or running at a slow or leisurely pace. The main intention is to increase fitness with less stress on the body than from faster running.-Definition:...
and tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
, and outdoor and wildlife photography
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
.
Two defeats for district attorney
Kostelka was an assistant district attorney (1964–1971) and then briefly the appointed Democratic district attorney for the Louisiana Fourth District Court from 1971 to 1972. He ran in the November 6, 1971, Democratic primary for an unexpired term as district attorney. He made "social conservatismSocial conservatism
Social Conservatism is primarily a political, and usually morally influenced, ideology that focuses on the preservation of what are seen as traditional values. Social conservatism is a form of authoritarianism often associated with the position that the federal government should have a greater role...
" a centerpiece of his campaign even before the term was widely used. He vowed to use the district attorney's office to prosecute violators of obscenity
Obscenity
An obscenity is any statement or act which strongly offends the prevalent morality of the time, is a profanity, or is otherwise taboo, indecent, abhorrent, or disgusting, or is especially inauspicious...
laws. Kostelka, however, was defeated by J. Carl Parkerson, 21,639 (57.2 percent) to 16,203 (42.8 percent).
By 1972, Kostelka had switched to Republican affiliation and ran in the general election to challenge Parkerson for a full six-year term, and he lost again, even though he supposedly would have benefited from the successful Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
-Agnew
Spiro Agnew
Spiro Theodore Agnew was the 39th Vice President of the United States , serving under President Richard Nixon, and the 55th Governor of Maryland...
ticket in Louisiana. Kostelka received 16,518 votes the second time, almost identical to his raw votes as a Democrat. Parkerson again prevailed with 25,556 votes (60.7 percent). Kostelka's percent of the vote declined by 3.5 points even though his actual vote was stable from one election to the next. On vacating the D.A.'s office, he established a private law practice in Monroe.
Election to state judgeships
Kostelka was first elected on December 18, 1982, to an unexpired term on the Fourth Judicial District Court, consisting of Ouachita and Morehouse parishes. He was reelected to six-year terms in 1984, 1990 and 1996, with minimal or no opposition.In 1998, however, he left the district court when he was elected without opposition to the Louisiana State Second Circuit Court of Appeal, based in Monroe. He retired from the judgeship and ran for the state Senate in 2003. Kostelka was succeeded as district judge by state Representative Jimmy Dimos
Jimmy Dimos
Jimmy N. Dimos is a retired state Fourth Judicial District Court judge based in Monroe in Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, United States. Dimos is also a former Democratic member of the Louisiana House of Representatives, having served from 1976 to 1999...
, a Democrat who had served as Speaker
Speaker (politics)
The term speaker is a title often given to the presiding officer of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body. The speaker's official role is to moderate debate, make rulings on procedure, announce the results of votes, and the like. The speaker decides who may speak and has the...
of the Louisiana House of Representatives
Louisiana House of Representatives
The Louisiana House of Representatives is the lower house in the Louisiana State Legislature, the state legislature of the US state of Louisiana. The House is composed of 105 Representatives, each of whom represents approximately 42,500 people . Members serve four-year terms with a term limit of...
in the Charles E. Roemer, III
Buddy Roemer
Charles Elson "Buddy" Roemer III is an American politician who served as the 52nd Governor of Louisiana, from 1988 to 1992. He was elected as a Democrat but switched to the Republican Party on March 11, 1991...
, administration from 1988 to 1992.
Three Senate elections
Kostelka challenged freshman Senator William "Bill" Jones (not to be confused with former African-AmericanAfrican American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
Democratic state Senator Charles Jones). Kostelka stressed his conservative and generally pro-business views, as opposed to the moderate to even liberal and pro-labor votes that Jones had cast in his one legislative term. Still, Kostelka won only by a narrow margin, 17,331 (52 percent) to 16,964 (48 percent), according to official returns from 112 precincts in the three parishes.
In the Senate, Kostelka has been a member of the Insurance, Judiciary A, and Homeland Security committees.
Kostelka has demonstrated the ability to work with Democratic colleagues when the Senate lacked a Republican majority. One of his colleagues, Robert Adley
Robert Adley (Louisiana politician)
Robert Roy Adley , is a businessman and politician from Benton, Louisiana, who is a Republican member of the Louisiana State Senate...
, a Democrat (later Republican) from Bossier City in Bossier Parish
Bossier Parish, Louisiana
Bossier Parish is named for Pierre Bossier, a 19th-century Louisiana state senator and U.S. representative from Natchitoches Parish.Bossier Parish was spared fighting on its soil during the American Civil War...
, affectionately referred to Kostelka as "my lawyer." Adley's remark came when Kostelka slipped Adley a note during debate, which said that a compromise on an oil
Oil
An oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and does not mix with water but may mix with other oils and organic solvents. This general definition includes vegetable oils, volatile essential oils, petrochemical oils, and synthetic oils....
cleanup bill was almost completed, and the issue then before the Senate should be tabled.
Kostelka won his third term in the state Senate in the primary election held on October 22, 2011. He defeated his fellow Republican Jeff Guerriero, 14,638 votes (52 percent) to 13,488 votes (48 percent).
Opposition to same-sex marriage
In 2004, in his first term in the Senate, Kostelka sponsored an amendment to the Louisiana Constitution to limit the meaning of "marriage" to the union of one male and one female and to forbid same-sex unions. He was able to personalize the debate on the Senate floor, when he clashed with Senator Kip HoldenKip Holden
Melvin L. "Kip" Holden is the Democratic Mayor-President of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana. The parish includes the state capitol of Baton Rouge and smaller suburban cities like Baker, Central City and Zachary. He was elected the city's mayor on November 3, 2004. He unseated the Republican...
, a Baton Rouge Democrat, who later in the year would be elected mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
-president of the City of Baton Rouge and East Baton Rouge Parish. The liberal Holden had argued that the Kostelka amendment could easily be overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Kostelka said that a federal constitutional ban on marriage between members of the same sex is required, but he also favored addressing the matter in the state constitution. The purpose of marriage is to continue the human species, he noted. Kostelka also noted that he "had a son who died of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
. I loved my son, and I cherish his memory, but, as I told him, I could never accept his life-style."
Four senators in committee, two from each party, joined Kostelka in voting for the proposal, which the legislature and then the Louisiana electorate approved in 2004. Holden and fellow liberal black Senator Cleo Fields
Cleo Fields
Cleo Fields is a lawyer and politician. He is a former member of the United States House of Representatives from Louisiana....
, also of Baton Rouge, opposed the amendment.
Kostelka targets "deadbeat" parents
Kostelka sponsored legislation to make it illegal for a man or woman intentionally to withhold child support payments. He got the bill passed, and Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco signed it into law.The bill was opposed by several groups because it failed to provide protection for parents who are being abused by the existing child-support laws. Child support orders in excess of 50 percent of a person's net income are not uncommon under current law.
The "Deadbeat Parents Punishment Act" makes nonpayment of child support a criminal offense that could send a non-paying parent to jail. Bowler predicted that the new law will have no impact on the collection of overdue support payments. Incarcerating a parent could cost the person his job and make it even harder for the individual to find another livelihood, she said. Kostelka and other supporters, however, said that the fear of criminal penalties could compel more who are in arrears to catch up with their payments. At the time, the amount of child support in arrears in Louisiana was believed to be approximately $800 million. The law applies to parents who either owe more than $5,000 or have gone more than a year without making payments.
External links
- http://senate.legis.state.la.us/Kostelka/biography.asp
- http://www.sos.louisiana.gov:8090/cgibin/?rqstyp=elcms3&rqsdta=111503
- http://www.sos.louisiana.gov:8090/cgibin/?rqstyp=elcms3&rqsdta=100403
- http://www.kplctv.com/Global/story.asp?S=2020965&nav=0nqxOduK
- http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/politics/2749616.html
- http://ssdi.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/ssdi.cgi