Jeff R. Thompson
| Jefferson Rowe "Jeff" Thompson | |
 | |
Judge of the Louisiana Circuit Court of Appeal for the Second Circuit, based in Shreveport
| |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office April 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Henry Newton Brown, Jr. |
|---|---|
Division B Judge of the
Louisiana 26th Judicial District Court | |
| In office January 2015 – April 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Ford E. Stinson, Jr. |
Louisiana State Representative for District 8 (Bossier Parish)
| |
| In office January 2012 – January 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Jane Holland Smith |
| Succeeded by | Mike Johnson |
| Born | March 10, 1965 Alexandria, Louisiana |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Toni Estelle Hurst Thompson |
| Religion | Southern Baptist |
Jefferson Rowe Thompson, known as Jeff Thompson (born March 10, 1965), is a lawyer in Bossier City, Louisiana, who is a judge of the Louisiana Court of Appeal for the Second Circuit, based in Shreveport.From 2015 to 2019, he was one of six judges who sit on the Louisiana 26th Judicial District. A Republican born in Alexandria, he served in the Louisiana House of Representatives for District 8 in Bossier Parish from 2012 to 2015.
On March 30, 2019, Thompson won his race in a special election to fill the seat of the retired Justice Henry Newton Brown, Jr. on the Court of Appeal. He defeated fellow Republican Jason Trevor Brown, the son of Henry Brown, 7,337 votes (76 percent) to 2,340 (24 percent). No Democrat filed for the seat.[1]
In 2011, Thompson was elected to the House when the term-limited incumbent, fellow RepublicanJane Holland Smith, also of Bossier City, ran instead, unsuccessfully, for the Louisiana State Senate. Thompson defeated fellow Republican and conservative Duke Lowrie, 4,991 votes (56.8 percent) to 3,803 (43.3 percent).[2] Smith, meanwhile, was defeated by the Republican businessman Barrow Peacock of Shreveport for the Senate seat vacated by Republican B. L. "Buddy" Shaw of Shreveport, who like Smith was an educator.
In 2008, Thompson was an unsuccessful candidate for the United States House of Representatives for Louisiana's 4th congressional district. The seat opened when the incumbent Jim McCrery stepped down to become a lobbyist. Thompson ran third in the primary, and the position eventually went to the Republican physician and businessman John Fleming of Minden.
In the spring of 2012, Representative Thompson worked to kill an anti-bullying bill sponsored by Patricia Smith, a Democrat from Baton Rouge. Conservative opponents to the legislation claimed that the measure is at odds with freedom of speech rulings by the United States Supreme Court. Thompson offered an amendment, which removed those sections of the bill that specify prohibitions against bullying in regard to sexual orientation, disabilities, and race. Smith said that the Thompson amendment effectively killed the focus of the legislation, and she withdrew it from further consideration.[3]
Thompson and his wife, the former Toni Estelle Hurst (born November 30, 1967), reside in Benton, Louisiana.[4] They are members of the large Cypress Baptist Church there.
References
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, Multiparish Election Returns, March 30, 2019.
- ↑ Legislative election returns; Bossier Parish, District 8. Louisiana Secretary of State (October 22, 2011). Retrieved on March 18, 2019.
- ↑ Will Sentell, "Changes doom bullying proposal," May 1, 2012. Baton Rouge Morning Advocate. Retrieved on May 15, 2012.
- ↑ Toni Thompson. Mylife.com. Retrieved on September 13, 2017.
