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Scogin served on three House committees: Natural Resources, Education, and Health and Welfare .<ref name=stfc/> He was active in efforts to fight crime in Louisiana: "The public is still insisting that those who violate the law be taken off the streets."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.burkfoster.com/1980sAlternatives.doc|title=Louisiana Corrections in the 1980s: In Search of Alternatives|publisher=burkfoster.com|accessdate=April 24, 2010}}</ref> He supported efforts by the interest group Save Our Wetlands to halt the receding of the [[Gulf of Mexico]] coastline in Louisiana. Save Our Wetlands filed suit against the [[United States Army Corps of Engineers]] to block the draining of vast acreage about New Orleans International Airport. The Corps proposed that the airport be moved to St. Charles Parish, and that new levees be built in the drained areas so that housing developments could be constructed.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://web.archive.org/web/20080827174911/http://saveourwetlands.org/edenislehistory.htm|title=The Creation of Save Our Wetlands and its Early Legal Battles|publisher=saveourwetlands.org|accessdate=April 24, 2010}}</ref>​

Scogin served on three House committees: Natural Resources, Education, and Health and Welfare .<ref name=stfc/> He was active in efforts to fight crime in Louisiana: "The public is still insisting that those who violate the law be taken off the streets."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.burkfoster.com/1980sAlternatives.doc|title=Louisiana Corrections in the 1980s: In Search of Alternatives|publisher=burkfoster.com|accessdate=April 24, 2010}}</ref> He supported efforts by the interest group Save Our Wetlands to halt the receding of the [[Gulf of Mexico]] coastline in Louisiana. Save Our Wetlands filed suit against the [[United States Army Corps of Engineers]] to block the draining of vast acreage about New Orleans International Airport. The Corps proposed that the airport be moved to St. Charles Parish, and that new levees be built in the drained areas so that housing developments could be constructed.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://web.archive.org/web/20080827174911/http://saveourwetlands.org/edenislehistory.htm|title=The Creation of Save Our Wetlands and its Early Legal Battles|publisher=saveourwetlands.org|accessdate=April 24, 2010}}</ref>​

 

Scogin was among the citizens and leaders of St. Tammany Parish who opposed the Army Corps of Engineers "Hurricane Barrier Project", having viewed the proposal as an environmental threat to Lake Pontchartrain and a bottomless reservoir for the flooding of Slidell and the entire parish. The dissidents feared that water, with nowhere to run off,  would top the dam/barrier and flood their communities. Scogin was prophetic in that the Corps project, had it been constructed, presumably would have created a flood bowl similar to what happened to New Orleans during [[Hurricane Katrina]] in 2005.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://saveourwetlands.org/response2latimes.html|title=Response to the L.A. Times Article, "A Barrier That Could Have Been"|publisher=saveourwetlands.org|accessdate=April 24, 2010}}</ref>​

Scogin was among the citizens and leaders of St. Tammany Parish who opposed the Army Corps of Engineers "Hurricane Barrier Project", having viewed the proposal as an environmental threat to Lake Pontchartrain and a bottomless reservoir for the flooding of Slidell and the entire parish. The dissidents feared that water, with nowhere to run off,  would top the dam/barrier and flood their communities. Scogin was prophetic in that the Corps project, had it been constructed, presumably would have created a flood bowl similar to what happened to New Orleans during [[Hurricane Katrina]] in 2005.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://saveourwetlands.org/response2latimes.html|title=Response to the L.A. Times Article, "A Barrier That Could Have Been"|publisher=saveourwetlands.org|accessdate=April 24, 2010}}</ref>​

 

Scogin was first elected to the House from District 76 as a Democrat in the [[general election]] held on February 1, 1972, when his party's nominee, Edwin Edwards, defeated Republican [[David C. Treen]], then of Jefferson Parish and later of St. Tammany, to win his first term as governor of Louisiana. Scogin was preceded by three at-large House members, including Lawrence A. Sheridan, who later took the District 75 seat in Washington Parish, before the state went to complete single-member districting in the 1971-1972 election cycle.<ref name=dist76>{{cite web|url=http://www.fanthefire.tv/wiki/House_District_76/|title=House District 76|publisher=fanthefire.tv|accessdate=April 24, 2010}}</ref>​

Scogin was first elected to the House from District 76 as a Democrat in the [[general election]] held on February 1, 1972, when his party's nominee, Edwin Edwards, defeated Republican [[David C. Treen]], then of Jefferson Parish and later of St. Tammany, to win his first term as governor of Louisiana. Scogin was preceded by three at-large House members, including Lawrence A. Sheridan, who later took the District 75 seat in Washington Parish, before the state went to complete single-member districting in the 1971-1972 election cycle.<ref name=dist76>{{cite web|url=http://www.fanthefire.tv/wiki/House_District_76/|title=House District 76|publisher=fanthefire.tv|accessdate=April 24, 2010}}</ref>​

 

Scogin won again as a Democrat in the 1975 and 1979 elections. Shortly after the 1979 general election, even before Treen took office as governor to succeed the then term-limited Edwards, Scogin switched to the [[Republican Party]].<ref>John Clements, ''Taylor's Encyclopedia of Government Officials, Supplement to Vol. VII, [[Dallas]], [[Texas]]: Political Research, Inc., 1980), p. 8.</ref> He won new terms as a Republican in 1983 and 1987.<ref name=dist76/> In his last election on October 24, 1987, Scogin defeated the Democrat Earl D. Broom, 8,396 votes (56.6 percent) to 6,344 (43.4 percent).<ref>Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, October 24, 1987.</ref>​

Scogin won again as a Democrat in the 1975 and 1979 elections. Shortly after the 1979 general election, even before Treen took office as governor to succeed the then term-limited Edwards, Scogin switched to the [[Republican Party]].<ref>John Clements, ''Taylor's Encyclopedia of Government Officials, Supplement to Vol. VII, [[Dallas]], [[Texas]]: Political Research, Inc., 1980), p. 8.</ref> He won new terms as a Republican in 1983 and 1987.<ref name=dist76/> In his last election on October 24, 1987, Scogin defeated the Democrat Earl D. Broom, 8,396 votes (56.6 percent) to 6,344 (43.4 percent).<ref>Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, October 24, 1987.</ref>​

 

On November 16, 1991, after five terms, Scogin was unseated, 8,399 (52.7 percent) to 7,534 (47.3 percent), by a fellow Republican, Suzanne Mayfield Krieger, also of Slidell.  On that same day, Edwards defeated [[David Duke]] to procure a fourth nonconsecutive term as governor. Krieger left the post after a single term when she ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor in the 1995 nonpartisan blanket primary.<ref>Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, November 16, 1991.</ref>​

On November 16, 1991, after five terms, Scogin was unseated, 8,399 (52.7 percent) to 7,534 (47.3 percent), by a fellow Republican, Suzanne Mayfield Krieger, also of Slidell.  On that same day, Edwards defeated [[David Duke]] to procure a fourth nonconsecutive term as governor. Krieger left the post after a single term when she ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor in the 1995 nonpartisan blanket primary.<ref>Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, November 16, 1991.</ref>​

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In 2007, the Louisiana legislature named the boat launch at U.S. Highway 90 and the Pearl River the '''Edward C. Scogin Memorial Boat Launch.'''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www2.stpgov.org/agenda/07-nov/07nov-agenda.htm|title=St. Tammany Parish Council Meeting|date=November 1, 2007|publisher=St. Tammany Parish government|accessdate=April 24, 2010}}</ref>​

In 2007, the Louisiana legislature named the boat launch at U.S. Highway 90 and the Pearl River the '''Edward C. Scogin Memorial Boat Launch.'''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www2.stpgov.org/agenda/07-nov/07nov-agenda.htm|title=St. Tammany Parish Council Meeting|date=November 1, 2007|publisher=St. Tammany Parish government|accessdate=April 24, 2010}}</ref>​

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In 2008, State Senator A.G. Crowe, who followed Suzanne Krieger in the District 76 House seat, praised both Scogin and former state Senator Gerry E. Hinton, also of Slidell, for their "foresight" in making sure that the [[infrastructure]] in St. Tammany Parish kept up with the population. Crowe said that Scogin and Hinton were the prime sponsors of the new Fremeaux interchange on Interstate 10.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.agcrowe.com/pg-51-15-pressviewer.aspx?pressid=395|title=Fremeaux Interchange at I-10 in Slidell Opens Today|date=September 28, 2008|publisher=agcrowe.com|accessdate=April 24, 2010}}</ref>​

In 2008, State Senator Almond Gaston "A.G." Crow, Jr., who earlier followed Suzanne Krieger in the District 76 House seat, praised both Scogin and former state Senator Gerry E. Hinton, also of Slidell, for their "foresight" in making sure that the [[infrastructure]] in St. Tammany Parish kept up with the population. Crowe said that Scogin and Hinton were the prime sponsors of the new Fremeaux interchange on Interstate 10.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.agcrowe.com/pg-51-15-pressviewer.aspx?pressid=395|title=Fremeaux Interchange at I-10 in Slidell Opens Today|date=September 28, 2008|publisher=agcrowe.com|accessdate=April 24, 2010}}</ref>​

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[[Ron Gomez]], a legislative colleague of Scogin's from 1980 to 1989, in his autobiographical ''My Name Is Ron And I'm a Recovering Legislator: Memoirs of a Louisiana State Representative,'' describes Scogin as "crotchety" and "salty," noting the lawmaker's traditional opposition to pork barrel spending in a key vote during the administration of Governor [[Buddy Roemer]]:​

[[Ron Gomez]], a legislative colleague of Scogin's from 1980 to 1989, in his autobiographical ''My Name Is Ron And I'm a Recovering Legislator: Memoirs of a Louisiana State Representative,'' describes Scogin as "crotchety" and "salty," noting the lawmaker's traditional opposition to pork barrel spending in a key vote during the administration of Governor [[Buddy Roemer]]:​

I'm voting 'no' on this bacon-wrapped budget. I'm one person who doesn't intend to be made a steer by the Senate. I refuse to be neutered and spayed. If you like pork, vote for this bill. I don't like pork."<ref>Ron Gomez, pp. 59, 259.</ref>​

I'm voting 'no' on this bacon-wrapped budget. I'm one person who doesn't intend to be made a steer by the Senate. I refuse to be neutered and spayed. If you like pork, vote for this bill. I don't like pork."<ref>Ron Gomez, pp. 59, 259.</ref>​

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"Often with the state in . . . financial disarray, Ed Scogin, the raspy-voiced ex-police juror from Slidell who reveled in his role of conservative conscience of the House would purposefully stride to the well of the chamber. Standing behind the microphone, he would plant his right elbow on the podium, his hand against his jaw and cheek, take a deep breath and growl, 'How long, Louisiana, how long?' He is yet to be answered."<ref>Ron Gomez, pp. 268.</ref>​

"Often with the state in . . . financial disarray, Ed Scogin, the raspy-voiced ex-police juror from Slidell who reveled in his role of conservative conscience of the House would purposefully stride to the well of the chamber. Standing behind the microphone, he would plant his right elbow on the podium, his hand against his jaw and cheek, take a deep breath and growl, 'How long, Louisiana, how long?' He is yet to be answered."<ref>Ron Gomez, pp. 268.</ref>​</blockquote>

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Ed and Thelma Scogin are interred at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Slidell<ref name=thelma/>​

Ed and Thelma Scogin are interred at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Slidell<ref name=thelma/>​