Fred Mills
| Fred Henry Mills, Jr. | |
 | |
Louisiana State Senator for District 22
| |
| In office January 24, 2011 – January 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Troy Hebert |
|---|---|
| Succeeded by | Blake Miguez |
Louisiana State Representative for
District 46 (St. Martin Parish) | |
| In office January 14, 2008 – January 24, 2011 | |
| Preceded by | Sydnie Mae Maraist Durand |
| Succeeded by | Mike Pete Huval |
| Born | January 13, 1955 |
| Political party | Democrat-turned-Republican (December 2010) |
| Spouse(s) | Deborah K. Mills |
| Occupation | Pharmacist; Banker |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Fred Henry Mills, Jr. (born January 13, 1955), 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 in Iberia Parish. Mills had since 2008 represented District 46 in the Louisiana House of Representatives.[1]
Contents
Background
Mills holds a degree in pharmacy from the University of Louisiana at Monroe. He owns Mills Cashway Pharmacy in Parks in St. Martin Parish. He is also the president and chief executive officer ofFarmers-Merchants Bank and Trust Company of Breaux Bridge.[2] Farmers-Merchants,originally established in 1932, also has a branch at 1525 Ambassador Caffery Parkway in Lafayette, Louisiana.[3]
Mills previously served on the St. Martin Parish Council. He and his wife, Deborah K. Mills, reside in St. Martinville but have business interests throughout the parish. He is a Roman Catholic.[1]
As legislator
In the nonpartisan blanket primary held on October 20, 2007, the incumbent Democrat representative, Sydnie Mae Maraist Durand, did not seek reelection. In a two-candidate field, Mills, then a Democrat himself, won outright by a wide margin over another Democrat, Marie Etienne of St. Martin Parish, 12,034 votes (84 percent) to 2,237 (16 percent).[4]
In 2008 and 2009, Mills received a 100 percent rating from the Louisiana Right to Life Federation. He has been rated 69 percent by the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry. The conservative Louisiana Family Forum rated him at 89 percent in 2009.[5]
Mills guided to passage in 2010 legislation to permit pharmacists to administer medication therapy services to patients in Louisiana. The interest group, the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, supported the legislation. The bill wassigned on June 25, 2010, by Republican then Governor Bobby Jindal. The measure authorizes the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals to create an MTM pharmacy program.[6]
NACDS president Steven C. Anderson said that the Louisiana measure "illustrates that pharmacist-administered medication therapy management is an important component in helping patients stay healthy and in reducing health-care costs. Pharmacists are uniquelyqualified to offer health screenings and counsel patients about how to take their medications in the right ways to achieve better results. The law will also enable pharmacists to assist patients in managing chronic diseases, such as diabetes."[6]
Party bolt
In 2010, Mills joined several legislative colleagues in switching allegiance from the Democrats to the Republicans.[7] Others who made the switch in December 2010 were Representative Noble Ellington of Winnsboro in Franklin Parish and state Senators John Alario of Westwego in Jefferson Parish, and John R. Smith of Leesville in Vernon Parish.[8] Though Mills switched parties, he is a Moderate Republican, not a conservative.
Mills polled 12,812 votes in the special Senate election, or 60 percent of the total. The runner-up, conservative Simone Champagne, then of Jeanerette, another recent Republican convert and formerly a state representative for Iberia Parish, received 4,040 votes (19 percent). Champagne campaigned as a "Reagan Republican" and had the open support of U.S. Senator David Vitter. Independent David Groner finished third with 2,534 votes (12 percent). The remaining ballots favoredtwo other Republican candidates and a second Independent hopeful. No Democrats sought the position.[9]
Two Republicans ran in an April 2 special election to fill the nine months remaining in Mills' House term. St. Martin Parish councilman Mike Pete Huval defeated St. Martinville city councilman Craig Prosper, 58-42 percent.[10]
Mills the humorist
Mills began writing advertising for his pharmacy in Parks, at first traditional commercials as a pharmacist in his smock counting pills. Then he began the role of a Cajun-accented character in drag called "Taunte Pills." As Mills explains, the Jayceeshad a charity fund-raising "womanless pageant. It was a spoof. We called it 'Le Femme de Mystique.'"[11] Later, responding to the Budweiser frogs commercial, Mills got the idea of having an old woman interactingwith Fred the pharmacist. "Those things took off . . . and we doubled our business with those ads."[11]
Mills held the title of "newest Louisiana state senator" for only a month. Jonathan W. Perry of Kaplan in Vermilion Parish, winner of a special election in District 26 on February 19, 2011,soon filled that billing, and coincidentally, he too is known for his humor, often appearing as a stand-up Cajun comic.[12]
Considered a Moderate Republican, Mills came under fire in September 2020 from the conservative radio commentator Moon Griffon, who questioned Mills' close ties to Democratic Governor John Bel Edwards and former Public Service Commissioner Scott Angelle, another Democrat-turned-Republican who refused to support the 2015 gubernatorial runoff candidate, former U.S. Senator David Vitter, after Angelle himself was eliminated in the primary. Angelle now serves in the Donald Trump administration. Griffon said that though he personally likes Mills he believes that the senator lacks compassion for people who have suffered economic effects from the Coronavirus pandemic. Griffon has called for the reopening of the semi-closed Louisiana economy, but Edwards and Mills have been hesitant to do so. Griffon said that those who wish to keep controls on the economy are almost entirely persons who have not suffered economic consequences from the shutdown.[13]
Mills singlehandedly preserves transgender surgeries in Louisiana
A close associate of Democratic Governor Edwards, Senator Mills in May 2023 singlehandedly and with the backing of four Democrats blocked in committee the proposed ban on transgender surgeries permitted on children in Louisiana. The failure to implement the ban is expected to make Louisiana an "oasis" for such procedures across the South.[14]
Mills will be succeeded in the Senate by the more conservative Blake Miquez, an outing state House member.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Fred Mills, Jr.. congress.org. Retrieved on December 18, 2010.
- ↑ Rep. Fred H. Mills, Jr.. house.louisiana.gov. Retrieved on December 18, 2010.
- ↑ Opening Event Confirms St.Martin Parish Based - FM Bank - Expansion into Lafayette. secured.goldleaf.com. Retrieved on December 18, 2010.
- ↑ Louisiana primary election returns, October 20, 2007. electionresults.sos.louisiana.gov. Retrieved on December18, 2010.
- ↑ Rep. Fred H. Mills, Jr. (LA). votesmart.org. Retrieved on December 18, 2010.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "NACDS Lauds Louisiana Medication Therapy Management Law. Pharmacynews.eu (July 15, 2010). Retrieved on December 18, 2010.
- ↑ Bill Barrow (December 14, 2010). St. Martin lawmaker dons GOP garb: Party switch latest in Louisiana trend. The New Orleans Times-Picayune. Retrieved on December 14, 2010.
- ↑ Ellington considers party switch. Monroe News Star (December 9, 2010). Retrieved on December 11, 2010.
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, January 22, 2011.
- ↑ Two qualify for House seat. The Baton Rouge Advocate. Retrieved on February 19, 2011.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 New stateSen. Fred Mills shows off comical side. The Shreveport Times, February 19, 2011. Retrieved on February 24, 2011.
- ↑ Rep. Perry, Jonathan (Biography). mobilelegs.com. Retrieved on February19, 2011.
- ↑ The Moon Griffon Show, September 25, 2020.
- ↑ Sara Cline (May 24, 2023). Republican-controlled committee rejects Louisiana bill to ban gender-affirming care for minors. Washington Post. Retrieved on May 25, 2023.
