Charles McDonald (Louisiana politician)

Charles Richard McDonald
5th Congressional District Representative on the Louisiana Board of Regents
In office 2017 – December 31, 2022
Louisiana State Representative for District 14 (Morehouse and Ouachita parishes)
In office 1991–2008
Preceded by	John C. Ensminger
Succeeded by	Sam Little
Born	1939 Jackson Parish, Louisiana
Died	August 26, 2023 (aged 84)
Political party	Democrat
Spouse(s)	(1) Patsy Ruth Crain McDonald (died 2015) Mamie Jo Hale McDonald
Children	R. Scott McDonald Two grandchildren
Alma mater	University of Louisiana at Monroe Auburn University
Occupation	Educator
Religion	United Methodist
Military Service
Service/branch	United States Army
Rank	Second lieutenant with the Second Armored Cavalry
Battles/wars	Berlin Crisis

Charles Richard McDonald (born 1939 – August 26, 2023) was the representative for the Louisiana 5th congressional district on the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. He was appointed to the position in 2017 by Democratic Governor John Bel Edwards. His term expired on December 31, 2022.

A Democrat and a resident of Bastrop in Morehouse Parish, McDonald served from 1991 to 2008 as a state representative for Ouachita and Morehouse parishes in the northeastern portion of his state.

Career

A native of Jackson Parish, located south of Monroe, McDonald obtained three degrees in education from the University of Louisiana at Monroe. His educational experience spanned more than thirty years as a teacher, coach and principal. He spent seventeen years on the staff of ULM. He is a senior managing partner of Freedom Mobility, LLC which manufactures outdoor wheelchairs for wounded warriors. He owns CMAC & Associates, a health governmental consulting firm. He formerly served on the Learning Tech Board of Directors, a school for educationally challenged children.

McDonald served as the Director of Counseling, Placement and Testing and the Director of Financial Aid and Scholarships, in which capacity he worked to assist students in obtaining the resources they needed to succeed at ULM. He was considered instrumental in securing funding for many facility upgrades and improvements for ULM, including renovations to Malone Stadium. He also led the efforts to purchase the building that currently houses the ULM College of Pharmacy and worked closely with forer Governor Kathleen Blanco to obtain the funds to renovate the building into a state-of-the-art facility.

On April 20, 1991, McDonald won a special election to the state House, called when Republican John C. Ensminger was elected to the state Senate. McDonald defeated another Republican, Sonny G. Panzico (born c. 1940) of West Monroe, 3,052 votes (56.2 percent) to 2,377 (43.8 percent). Later in the year, McDonald faced two Democratic opponents in the regular nonpartisan blanket primary but failed to gain a required majority. He therefore was placed in a general election on November 16 with fellow Democrat Jess Smith, whom he defeated, 9,997 (56.2 percent) to 7,799 (43.8 percent). Thereafter, McDonald was unopposed for reelection in 1995, 1999, and 2003.

In 1997, McDonald joined in a bipartisan fashion with Republican Governor Murphy James "Mike" Foster Jr., to procure passage of Act 1375, a plan which opened the Taylor Opportunity Program for Students (TOPS) scholarship program to all with a 2.5 grade point average and at least a score of 19 on the ACT test. Family income was removed as a consideration for eligibility. Those with higher grades received $400 to $800 in extra funding to help meet the costs of other college expenses. McDonald's legislation was approved unanimously in both the House and Senate. TOPS is named for the late oilman Patrick F. Taylor of New Orleans, who in 1988 conceived the program. TOPS has benefited more than 616,000 students since it was launched in 1999 at an accumulative cost of almost $1.8 billion, funds which have put the state budget in shortfall. TOPS is expected to cost more than $354 million in fiscal year 2018-2019 alone.

Term-limited in the House in the primary election held on October 20, 2007, McDonald instead ran for the state Senate from District 33, which includes Ouachita, Morehouse, Claiborne, Union, and West Carroll parishes. In that race to succeed the term-limited Republican Senator Robert J. Barham of Oak Ridge in Morehouse Parish, McDonald received 16,058 votes (48.3 percent). He was defeated by the Republican candidate, the outgoing District 15 state Representative Mike Walsworth, a real estate developer from West Monroe who finished with 17,292 votes (51.7 percent).

McDonald's House seat was narrowly won in the general election held on November 17, 2007, by a Republican, Sam Little, a retired farmer from Bastrop. Little was then unseated in a reconfigured district in 2011.

McDonald died at the age of eighty-four in the summer of 2023. Current ULM president Dr. Ron Berry said that McDonald had "a true servant's heart, always working to help others. He was one of ULM's strongest advocates and supporters and a good friend to me and the university. Our deepest condolences and sympathy to his family and the many friends, former students, and colleagues whose lives were positively impacted by the gracious and generous life he lived."