Buddy Amoroso

Anthony Joseph "Buddy" Amoroso, IV
District 8 member of the Baton Rouge Metro Council
In office January 1, 2013 – June 30, 2018
Preceded by	Mike Walker
Born	December 5, 1956 Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Died	June 30, 2018 (aged 61) St. Francisville West Feliciana Parish
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Denise Waters Amoroso (married c. 1981-2018, his death)
Children	Anthony Amoroso, V Elaine Swart Michal Ann Traina Five grandchildren Parents: Anthony J., III, and Patricia Hidalgo Amoroso
Alma mater	Broadmoor High School Oral Roberts University
Occupation	Businessman
Religion	Presbyterian

Anthony Joseph Amoroso, IV, known as Buddy Amoroso (December 5, 1956 – June 30, 2018), was a businessman in his native Baton Rouge, Louisiana, who at the time of his death was serving his second term on the Baton Rouge Metro Council as the representative for District 8 in the southeastern portion of the parish. He was a Republican and a constant presence on the third floor of City Hall.

Of Italian-American descent, Amoroso was the only son of Anthony "Tony" Amoroso, III (1932-2000), and the former Patricia Hidalgo (born Septemnber 17, 1931). He had four married sisters. He attended Broadmoor High School and graduated from the private Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He worked in his family business, Prime Properties, begun by his father, who was a founding elder of Christian Life Fellowship and also served as an international director of Full Gospel Businessmen's Fellowship.

Amoroso was a founding member and co-chair of Baton Rouge Tax Busters. He was active in the Boy Scouts through Trinity Lutheran Church. He was a board member of the East Baton Rouge Airport Commission and the Alcohol Beverage Control Board. He was the chairman of the Baton Rouge Apartment Association and had been president of the Apartment Association of Louisiana. In 2012, he ran unopposed for the Metro Council. When he sought reelection in 2016, he polled 8,489 votes (66 percent) against two Democratic opponents, Antoine Pierce and Wendell Piper. Councilman Amoroso sought to heal political divisions and to seek common-sense solutions to municipal and parish affairs. He worked to create the Smart City Committee to find ways to streamline government and used technology to improve traffic. He supported body cameras for law-enforcement officers. At the time of his passing, he was seeking to develop a comprehensive reform of the Flood Plain Development Code.

Amoroso was killed at the age of sixty-one in a bicycle accident on Louisiana Highway 66 west of St. Francisville in West Feliciana north of Baton Rouge. He was in training for a cross-Texas race in August with his bicycling companion, Thomas Clement (born c. 1947), who was seriously injured in the mishap but physically survived. Nicholas Alexander (born May 5, 1997) of Lafayette paid a $17,500 bond and was released from the West Feliciana Parish Detention Center, where he had been held for negligent homicide and negligent injury. A toxicology test was performed on the driver; results are pending.

Amoroso and his wife of thirty-seven years, the former Denise Waters, have a son, Anthony, V, and two daughters, Elaine Swart (husband Thaddeaus) and Michal Ann Traina (husband Joshua), and five grandchldren. Private services were held on July 6, 2018, at Christ Presbyterian Church, of which Amoroso was a member and deacon. More than a thousand persons, including Thomas Clement in a wheelchair, attended his wake. Many spoke of his keen sense of humor and dedication to purpose. Speakers acknowledged how Amoroso used his personal charm to remain friendly with people regardless of their backgrounds or political views. Many said that he was a rare example of a political leader who refused to make arguments personal and who tried to emphasize that he had a life outside of being an elected official. Mike Walker, Amoroso's predecessor on the Metro council said that he spoke with Amoroso every week until the tragic accident. "I didn't get to talk with him this week except in my prayers," Walker said.