Juan Anthony LaFonta (born November 1972) is a New Orleans personal injury attorney and former Democratic

State Representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United St ...

for

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

representing Louisiana House District 96. He was elected in 2005 during a special election and was unopposed in his 2007 re-election. He runs Juan Lafonta and Associates, L.L.C. LaFonta served as Louisiana first Freshmen legislator elected to Chairman of the Black Caucus. LaFonta also served on the Commerce Committee, the Insurance Committee, and the Retirement Committee. After

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...

, LaFonta also served on the House Special Committee on Disaster Planning,

Crisis Management Crisis management is the process by which an organization deals with a disruptive and unexpected event that threatens to harm the organization or its stakeholders. The study of crisis management originated with large-scale industrial and envi ...

, Recovery and Long-Term Revitalization.

Early life and education

LaFonta was born November 1972 in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, the son of a

bricklayer A bricklayer, which is related to but different from a mason, is a craftsperson and tradesperson who lays bricks to construct brickwork. The terms also refer to personnel who use blocks to construct blockwork walls and other forms of maso ...

and public school teacher. A graduate of

Brother Martin High School Brother Martin High School is a private, Catholic, all-boys college preparatory school run by the United States Province of the Brothers of the Sacred Heart in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orlea ...

, he received his undergraduate degree from the

University of New Orleans The University of New Orleans (UNO) is a Public university, public research university in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. First opened in 1958 as Louisiana State University in New Orleans, it is the largest public university and one of t ...

(1997) and his Juris Doctor from

Southern University Law Center Southern University Law Center is a public law school in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It is part of the historically black Southern University System and was opened for instruction in September 1947. It was authorized by the Louisiana State Board o ...

(2000.) LaFonta is also a former adjunct professor at

Dillard University Dillard University is a private, historically black university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded in 1930 and incorporating earlier institutions founded as early as 1869 after the American Civil War, it is affiliated with the United Church of C ...

in New Orleans. LaFonta is an African American man of Creole descent.

Political career

LaFonta was elected to the

Louisiana State Legislature The Louisiana State Legislature (; ) is the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is a bicameral legislature, body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 ...

in 2005 under a special election several months before Hurricane Katrina. LaFonta, represented District 96 which include the historic neighborhoods of

Faubourg "Faubourg" () is an ancient French term historically equivalent to "fore-town" (now often termed suburb or ). The earliest form is , derived from Latin , 'out of', and Vulgar Latin (originally Germanic) , 'town' or 'fortress'. Traditionally, t ...

, Marigny, Treme and Gentilly. LaFonta was the first ever freshman legislator to be elected to a

caucus A caucus is a group or meeting of supporters or members of a specific political party or movement. The exact definition varies between different countries and political cultures. The term originated in the United States, where it can refer to ...

in U.S. history when he became chair of the Louisiana Legislative Black Caucus. According to OurCampaigns.com LaFonta is "committed to

economic development In economics, economic development (or economic and social development) is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and object ...

in his community, working to ease the

tax burden In economics, tax incidence or tax burden is the effect of a particular tax on the distribution of economic welfare. Economists distinguish between the entities who ultimately bear the tax burden and those on whom the tax is initially imposed. The ...

on local businesses to help create jobs. He is a believer in accessible

healthcare Health care, or healthcare, is the improvement or maintenance of health via the preventive healthcare, prevention, diagnosis, therapy, treatment, wikt:amelioration, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other disability, physic ...

, championing the effort to rebuild Charity Hospital and pushing legislation to expand healthcare coverage and requirements on insurance companies." LaFonta served on several committees during his run in office including the Commerce Committee, the Retirement Committee, the Insurance Committee. After Hurricane Katrina, he served the House Special Committee on Disaster Planning, Crisis Management, Recovery and Long-Term Revitalization. LaFonta also negotiated 1.2 billion dollars for the gulf coast region after Hurricane Katrina. After losing the 2010 Democratic nomination in the 2010 U.S. House of Representatives elections, 2nd District, to fellow Democratic legislator

Cedric Richmond Cedric Levan Richmond (born September 13, 1973) is an American attorney, politician, and political advisor who is serving as senior advisor to the Democratic National Committee. Richmond was previously a senior advisor to the president and direct ...

, LaFonta endorsed the

incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position. In an election, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the position that is up for election, regardless of whether they are seeking re-election. There may or may not be ...

Republican

Joseph Cao Ánh Quang "Joseph" Cao ( ; ; born March 13, 1967) is a Vietnamese Americans, Vietnamese-American politician who was the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for from 2009 to 2011. A member of the Republican Party (United ...

, who was subsequently unseated by Richmond. LaFonta did not seek reelection to the state House in the 2011 primary. He was succeeded on January 9, 2012, by a fellow Democrat,

Terry Landry Sr. Terry Clyde Landry Sr. is an American politician from the Democratic Party of Louisiana. He was a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from 2012 to 2020. He was the first African-American superintendent of the Louisiana State Police ...

, a former superintendent of the

Louisiana State Police The Louisiana State Police (French: ''Police d’Etat de Louisiane'') is the state police agency of Louisiana, which has jurisdiction anywhere in the state, headquartered in Baton Rouge. It falls under the authority of the Louisiana Department o ...

from

Lafayette Parish Lafayette Parish () is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. According to the 2020 U.S. census, the parish had a population of 241,753, up from 221,578 at the 2010 United States census. The parish seat and largest city is Lafayett ...

Other notable positions

* Adjunct Professor of Public Health Law at Dillard University New Orleans * First Freshman legislator to be elected Chairman of the

Louisiana Legislative Black Caucus The Louisiana Legislative Black Caucus, (''also known as'' the LLBC) is an American political organisation composed of African Americans elected to the Louisiana Legislature. Priorities The primary purpose of the LLBC is to raise the quality of li ...

* Louisiana State Representative District #96 * Louisiana Latino Commission, Member *

Phi Beta Sigma Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. () is a historically African American fraternity. It was founded at Howard University in Washington, D.C. in 1914. The fraternity's founders, A. Langston Taylor, Leonard F. Morse, and Charles I. Brown, wanted to ...

fraternity member

Awards

Kentucky Colonel Kentucky Colonel is the highest title of honor bestowed by the US state of Kentucky. It is the most well-known colonelcy in the United States. A Kentucky Colonel Commission (the certificate) is awarded in the name of the Commonwealth by the go ...

, 2007 * Louisiana State Troopers Association, Legislator of the Year, 2011

References

External links

Representative Juan A. LaFonta
''official Louisiana House of Representatives site''
Juan LaFonta for Congress
''official campaign site'' *
Campaign contributions
from

OpenSecrets.org OpenSecrets is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that tracks and publishes data on campaign finance and lobbying, including a revolving door database which documents the individuals who have worked in both the public sector and ...