Alan Seabaugh

Alan Thomas Seabaugh
Louisiana House of Representatives from District 5 (Caddo Parish)
Incumbent
Assumed office October 2010
Preceded by	Wayne Waddell
Personal details
Born	(1967-05-20) May 20, 1967
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Laura McClelland Seabaugh
Children	Four daughters
Alma mater	Captain Shreve High School Louisiana State University Paul M. Hebert Law Center
Occupation	Attorney
Religion	Southern Baptist

Alan Thomas Seabaugh (born May 20, 1967) is an attorney from Shreveport, Louisiana, who is a Republican member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from District 5 in Caddo Parish.

Background

Seabaugh graduated in 1985 from Captain Shreve High School and attended Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge on an academic scholarship. In 1990, he received his Bachelor of Arts degree. In 1993, he received his law degree from LSU's Paul M. Hebert Law Center.

Seabaugh is licensed to practice in all Louisiana state courts, in all three U.S. district courts in the State of Louisiana, and before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, based in New Orleans. His practice includes insurance defense and claims, contracts, family law, divorce, child support and custody, real estate law, property law, and civil and commercial litigation.

He is married to the former Laura McClelland and has four daughters. He is a member of the National Rifle Association, Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, National Federation of Independent Business, Alliance Defense Fund, Greater Shreveport Chamber of Commerce, the Shreveport and Louisiana Bar Associations, the Heritage Foundation, and the Federalist Society. He is the Executive Director of the South Highland Athletic Association and the administrator and coach of baseball, softball, and T-ball at his home church, Calvary Baptist of Shreveport.

2007 State Senate campaign

In 2007, Seabaugh unsuccessfully challenged Republican State Senator Sherri Smith Cheek of Keithville in Caddo Parish, who sought her second term in the upper legislative chamber. Seabaugh polled 14,725 votes (47 percent), but Cheek prevailed with 16,665 (53 percent). The district includes south Caddo and DeSoto Parish, the latter of which provided most of Cheek's margin of victory in the race.

Seabaugh said that Cheek "doesn't represent the values of the district. It begins and ends with her voting record. She runs as a Republican and votes like a Democrat." Seabaugh said that he was disturbed that so many from Caddo Parish had left Louisiana to seek economic opportunity elsewhere.

Cheek, meanwhile, was reelected in 2011 with a considerable margin over the more conservative Troy Terrell, a minister and a Republican from Mansfield.

Republican representative

Seabaugh was elected to the legislature in 2010 to fill a vacancy created by the resignation of Republican Wayne Waddell, who accepted the position of director of the Louisiana State Exhibit Museum at the fairgrounds in Shreveport.

A conservative Republican, Seabaugh received the backing of business and Christian groups as well as the newly-formed TEA Party to easily win election. He is the first member of the Louisiana legislature to have been elected as a "TEA Party Republican."

Seabaugh's first legislative session dealt with redistricting state legislative and congressional districts. Seabaugh took a leading role in drafting the map of Louisiana's House of Representative's districts authoring a key amendment which prevented the creation of an additional minority district in the Southern Hills area of Shreveport.. The "Seabaugh Amendment", which passed 59-46, became the primary basis of an objection to the redistricting plan from the Louisiana Legislative Black Caucus, the NAACP, and the National Urban League. Despite these objections, the plan was approved by the U.S. Justice Department.

In the 2011 legislative session, Seabaugh joined the House majority in opposition to a bill designed to promote the teaching and acceptance of homosexuality in Louisiana's public schools. The bill, which was sponsored and promoted by Forum For Equality a gay rights advocacy group, was promoted as an "anti-bullying" bill. Critics, including the Louisiana Family Forum, said that the legislation would be used to promote homosexual life-styles. Seabaugh proposed an amendment which defined bullying as "any intimidating, threatening, or abusive gesture, written, verbal, or physical act."

Seabaugh's amendment removed the controversial language. Nevertheless, Seabaugh still voted against the bill even with his attached amendment when the bill's author indicated that he would attempt to remove Seabaugh's amendment in the Senate. Seabaugh said that the proposed legislation was an attempt to compel public schools "to adopt into their code of student conduct this language which is straight out of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender model legislation playbook."

Seabaugh also introduced legislation to require presidential candidates to present proof that they meet the U.S. Constitutional qualifications for the office as a requirement to be listed on the Louisiana ballot. Governor Bobby Jindal had pledged to sign Seabaugh's bill had it reached his desk, but Seabaugh withdrew the bill because of a lack of legislative support.

Seabaugh has served as a member of Louisiana's Republican State Central Committee since 2008. He was a delegate and vice chairman of the Louisiana delegation to the 2008 Republican National Convention held in St. Paul, Minnesota. He was also a presidential elector that year for the unsuccessful McCain/Palin ticket. He was a delegate to the 2010 Southern Republican Leadership Conference which convened in New Orleans.

In the primary election held on October 22, 2011, Seabaugh handily defeated his opponent, fellow Republican Cynthia Norton Robertson, 6,031 votes (79.3 percent) to 1,578 (20.7 percent).

District 5 has been represented by a Republican since 1972. Prior to Waddell, the representative was the current state court Judge Roy Brun. Brun succeeded the late B. F. O'Neal, Jr., a Republican and the first District 5 representative.

Seabaugh serves as vice chairman of the Louisiana Legislative Delegation making him the Assistant Majority Leader of the Louisiana House of Representatives.

References

Louisiana House of Representatives
Preceded by Wayne Waddell	Louisiana State Representative from District 5 (Caddo Parish) Alan Thomas Seabaugh 2010–	Succeeded by Incumbent