Robby Carter
| Robert Johnston "Robby" Carter | |
 | |
Louisiana State Representative for District 72 (St. Helena, Tangipahoa, and East Feliciana parishes)
| |
| In office August 1996 – 2008 | |
| Preceded by | Buster J. Guzzardo, Sr. |
|---|---|
| Succeeded by | John Bel Edwards |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 11, 2016 | |
| Preceded by | John Bel Edwards |
| Born | October 20, 1960 |
| Political party | Democrat |
| Spouse(s) | Kerry Anthony Carter |
| Children | Robert Burrell Carter
Helen Ruth Carter |
| Residence | Greensburg, Louisiana, USA |
| Alma mater | Greensburg High School Southeastern Louisiana University |
| Occupation | Lawyer |
| Religion | United Methodist |
Robert Johnston Carter, known as Robby Carter (born October 20, 1960), is an attorney from Greensburg, Louisiana, who is a Democratic member of the Louisiana House of Representatives for District 72, which encompasses St. Helena, Tangipahoa, and East Feliciana parishes, all among the Florida parishes east of the capital city of Baton Rouge.
Background
Carter is the only son of Judge Burrell J. Carter and the former Helen Bridges. He has a sister, Libby Peak. Judge Carter was a mayor of Greensburg and a judge of the state and appellate courts from 1974 to 2012.[1]
Robby Carter graduated in 1978 from Greensburg High School in St. Helena Parish, as had his father in 1953. He received his undergraduate degree from Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond and his law degree from the Louisiana State University Law Center in Baton Rouge. He and his wife, the former Kerry Anthony, have three children.[2] He is the former chairman of the board of the Lallie Kemp Medical Center in Independence in Tangipahoa Parish, which is named for the wife of Bolivar Edwards Kemp, Sr. (1871-1933), a former member of the United States House of Representatives for Louisiana's 6th congressional district. Carter is a member of the Louisiana Cattleman’s and Forestry associations. He serves on the board of trustees of the Greensburg United Methodist Church.[2]
Carter has also been the town attorney for Greensburg and Montpelier, also in St. Helena Parish.[2]
Political life
Carter represented District 72 from 1996 to 2008 and again beginning on January 11, 2016. Sandwiched from 2008 to 2016 between Carter's terms was former Representative John Bel Edwards of Amite in Tangipahoa Parish, who was instead elected governor in the general election held on November 21, 2015. In that same election, Carter defeated another Democrat also named "Carter," Hunter Carter, 8,156 votes (63 percent) to 4,748 (37 percent).[3] Carter was first elected to the legislature on August 17, 1996, when in a special election he defeated the Republican Rhett Bergeron, 63 to 37 percent.[4] The seat had previously been held by the Democrat Buster J. Guzzardo, Sr., who resigned mid-way in the first year of his third term.[5] In 2003, for his third term, Carter defeated the Republican R. J. Saia, 82 to 18 percent.[6]
In his first legislative stint, Carter was vice chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, chairman of the Rural Caucus, and floor leader for then Democratic Governor Kathleen Blanco. He co-authored the Taylor Opportunity Program for Students, known as the TOPS program and named for the late New Orleans businessman Patrick F. Taylor. Carter worked to increase pay of teachers and university professors and to fund the Florida Parishes Technical College. He penned the legislation which halted the construction of an industrial landfill in St. Helena Parish. He pushed for completion of the Florida Parishes Arena in Amite, the FAARM Arena in Clinton, and the Interstate 55 Welcome Center in Kentwood in Tangipahoa Parish.[2]
In March 2016, Carter joined a House bipartisan majority to enact a one-cent increase in the state sales tax. State representatives voted 76 to 28 for the tax hike, a part of the revenue-raising measures pushed by Governor Edwards.[7] A House and Senate conference committee subsequently trimmed the duration of the tax from five years to twenty-seven months, effective from April 1, 2016 to June 30, 2018. Even the sale of Bibles and religious publications and Girl Scouts cookies are now subject to the tax.[8]
In the nonpartisan blanket primary held on October 12, 2019, Carter won reelection, 81-19 percent, in his race against the No Party candidate, Marylee Bellau.[9]
In 2023, the Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame in Winnfield announced the pending induction of Carter family members into the prestigious body.
Carter defeated fellow Democrat Roderick "Devon" Matthews in his bid for reelection to the state House in the primary election held on October 14, 2023. Carter polled 6,788 votes (68 percent) to Matthews' 3,261 (32 percent).[10]
References
- ↑ The Honorable Burrell J. Carter (1935-2019). The Baton Rouge Advocate (November 11, 2019). Retrieved on November 14, 2019.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Former Representative Robby Carter announces for District 72. Action News 17 (July 31, 2015). Retrieved on April 3, 2016; no longer on-line.
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, November 21, 2015.
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, August 17, 1996.
- ↑ Membership in the Louisiana House of Representatives, 1812-2020. house.louisiana.gov. Retrieved on November 14, 2019.
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, October 4, 2003.
- ↑ State House of Representatives Vote to Increase Sales Tax. KEEL (February 25, 2016). Retrieved on November 14, 2019.
- ↑ See the list: Examples of goods, services that'll now be taxed in Louisiana. The Baton Rouge Advocate. Retrieved on November 14, 2019.
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, October 12, 2019.
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, October 14, 2023.
