In Legislature, Rep. Ted James Led Fight Against Incorporation, New School SystemIn Legislature, Rep. Ted James Led Fight

Since being elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives in 2011, Rep. Ted James has led the opposition to self determination for the people of St. George.  

Rep. James didn’t just sit quietly and vote against St. George. Rather, he took the lead in introducing legislation and speaking against the incorporation of the City of St. George and creation of the Southeast Community School System.

He also used his fight against St. George to his political benefit, stirring up anti-St. George rhetoric in the black community.  James continued to voice his opposition to St. George this year.

In 2012, the Louisiana Senate passed SB299, a constitutional amendment by Sen. Bodi White to create the Southeast Community School District, following in the footsteps of Baker, Central, and Zachary.  However, when the bill got to the Louisiana House, James led the opposition the legislation. He succeeded in depriving it of the required two-thirds’ vote.  The vote was 61-35. But for his opposition, St. George could very well have had an independent school district for the past 12 years.

He also took the lead in fighting SB 563, the statute creating the school district.

In 2014, James authored legislation to make it virtually impossible to create the City of St. George.  His HB1212 would have required that the incorporation of a new municipality would have to be approved parishwide.  The petition drive was already underway to form the City of St. George, and this would have changed the rules retroactively.

Then in 2017, Rep. James introduced HB15, which provided that in East Baton Rouge Parish and only in East Baton Rouge Parish, no new municipality could be incorporated unless voted on and approved parishwide.

That legislation would have violated the Louisiana Constitution, which provides that the legislature shall provide for the incorporation of municipalities uniformly statewide.

Now, as a candidate for Mayor-President, James’ record in the Louisiana Legislature is coming back to haunt him.

The St. George Movement has had two major goals:

• The incorporation of the City of St. George

• The creation of an independent community school system in the southeast part of East Baton Rouge Parish.

Since 2012, Rep. Ted James has been the most vocal opponent in the Louisiana Legislature of the goals of the movement.