Changes

Cortez is a co-owner and operator of La-Z-Boy Furniture and Stoma's Furniture and Interiors in Lafayette. He gained name identification in the community through his furniture advertising on local[[ television]] stations as well as his earlier profile as a coach.<ref>Kevin Blanchard, ''Alexander's not running: Republican honoring commitment to two-term limit," ''The Baton Rouge Morning Advocate,'' July 28, 2007.</ref>​

Cortez is a co-owner and operator of La-Z-Boy Furniture and Stoma's Furniture and Interiors in Lafayette. He gained name identification in the community through his furniture advertising on local[[ television]] stations as well as his earlier profile as a coach.<ref>Kevin Blanchard, ''Alexander's not running: Republican honoring commitment to two-term limit," ''The Baton Rouge Morning Advocate,'' July 28, 2007.</ref>​

==Political life==​

==Political life==

Cortez sought the House seat when the Republican Ernest Joseph "Ernie" Alexander, Jr. (1933-2012) was contemplating seeking a third term. Cortez has been allied with former state Senator Michael J. Michot, a former Democrat and Cortez's fraternity brother at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, and with the then [[Independent]]] (since Republican) former District 45 state Representative Joel Craig Robideaux (born 1962), both of whom actively supported Cortez in the race against [[Patrick LeBlanc]] through an organization called "Leadership for Louisiana." In the 2007 House primary, Cortez defeated fellow Republican Patrick LeBlanc, an architect who owned  the private-prison company LCS Corrections Services. Cortez received 7,742 votes (55.5 percent) compared to LeBlanc's 6,218 ballots (44.5 percent).<ref>Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, October 20, 2007.</ref> Less than five months after the election, LeBlanc  and his pilot died in a small-craft airplane crash near Abbeville in Vermilion Parish.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theind.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2183&Itemid=93|title=Home – IND Media|website=theind.com|access-date=February 16, 2018}}</ref>​

 

Cortez sought the House seat when the Republican Ernest Joseph "Ernie" Alexander, Jr. (1933-2012) was contemplating seeking a third term. Cortez has been allied with former state Senator Michael J. Michot, a former Democrat and Cortez's fraternity brother at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, and with the then [[Independent]]] (since Republican) former District 45 state Representative Joel Craig Robideaux (born 1962), both of whom actively supported Cortez in the race against [[Patrick LeBlanc]] through an organization called "Leadership for Louisiana." In the 2007 House primary, Cortez defeated fellow Republican Patrick LeBlanc, an architect who owned  the private-prison company LCS Corrections Services. Cortez received 7,742 votes (55.5 percent) compared to LeBlanc's 6,218 ballots (44.5 percent).<ref>Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, October 20, 2007.</ref> Less than five months after the election, LeBlanc  and his pilot died in a small-craft airplane crash near Abbeville in Vermilion Parish near Lafayette.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theind.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2183&Itemid=93|title=Home – IND Media|publisher=theind.com|access-date=February 16, 2018; no longer on-line}}</ref>​

Ernie Alexander and then [[U.S. Representative]] Charles Boustany, a Lafayette physician and former Democrat in Louisiana's since disbanded 7th congressional district, endorsed Patrick LeBlanc for the state House seat, rather than Cortez. Boustany and LeBlanc also endorsed the failed 2008 candidacy of former [[New York City]] [[Mayor]] [[Rudy Giuliani]] for the Republican presidential nomination. His opponents questioned LeBlanc regarding facilities in Bastrop in Morehouse Parish in north Louisiana and in [[San Antonio]], [[Texas]]. No charges, however, were ever brought against LeBlanc from wrongdoing regarding the prisons.<ref>[http://www.politicsla.com/site/memberblogs/how_about_manning_up/ PoliticsLA.com<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

Ernie Alexander and then [[U.S. Representative]] Charles Boustany, a Lafayette physician and former Democrat in Louisiana's since disbanded 7th congressional district, endorsed Patrick LeBlanc for the state House seat, rather than Cortez. Boustany and LeBlanc also endorsed the failed 2008 candidacy of former [[New York City]] [[Mayor]] [[Rudy Giuliani]] for the Republican presidential nomination. His opponents questioned LeBlanc regarding facilities in Bastrop in Morehouse Parish in north Louisiana and in [[San Antonio]], [[Texas]]. No charges, however, were ever brought against LeBlanc from wrongdoing regarding the prisons.<ref>[http://www.politicsla.com/site/memberblogs/how_about_manning_up/ PoliticsLA.com<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>