Mike Pete Huval
| Michael Paul "Mike Pete" Huval | |
 | |
Louisiana State Representative for District 46 (Iberia, St. Landry,
and St. Martin parishes) | |
| In office April 2011 – January 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Fred Mills |
|---|---|
| Succeeded by | Chad M. Boyer (unopposed) |
District 4 member of the
St. Martin Parish Council | |
| In office 1996 – 2011 | |
| Born | February 1, 1956 St. Martin Parish, Louisiana |
| Political party | Democratic-turned-Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Vickie Collette Huval |
| Children | Brooke Lynn Huval |
| Alma mater | University of Louisiana at Lafayette |
| Occupation | Insurance agent |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Michael Paul Huval, known as Mike Pete Huval (born February 1, 1956), is an insurance agent from Breaux Bridge in south Louisiana, who is a Democrat-turned-Republican state representative for District 46 in Iberia, St. Landry, and St. Martin parishes, a position that he has held since a special election in 2011.
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Background
A native of St. Martin Parish, Huval attended the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. He and his family are active in the St. Joseph Catholic Church in Parks in St. Martin Parish. He is also a member of the Knights of Columbus Catholic men's organization. He is a former president of both the Breaux Bridge Chamber of Commerce and his local Kiwanis International. Huval and his wife, the former Vickie Collette, reside in St. Martin Parish. He is the father of an adult daughter, Brooke Lynn Huval.[1]
Political life
In the special election held on April 2, 2011, Huval was elected to fill the vacancy created by the election of Representative Fred Mills to the state Senate. Huval defeated another Republican, Craig G. Prosper (born 1967), a city council member in the parish seat of St. Martinville, 4,338 votes (58 percent) to 3,144 (42 percent).[2]
From 1996 to 2011, Huval was the District 4 member of the St. Martin Parish governing council. He won his first race for the council, then known as the police jury, in the fall of 1995, with 51 percent of the vote in a three-candidate all Democratic race.[3] In that capacity, he was active in the Louisiana Police Jury Association. In 2003, he established the Mike Huval Agency based in Breaux Bridge and Opelousas in St. Landry Parish.[1]
On May 19, 2015, Representative Huval joined three fellow Moderate Republicans sitting on the House Civil Law and Procedure Committee who voted to table on a 10-2 vote the proposed Marriage and Conscience Act, authored by Republican then state Representative Mike Johnson of Bossier Parish, who in 2016 was elected to Louisiana's 4th congressional district seat. Johnson's legislation carried the support of the conservative Louisiana Family Forum and Republican then Governor Bobby Jindal. Nancy Landry, another Moderate Republican from Lafayette, also opposed the Marriage and Conscience Act. She left the House in 2019 to become chief of staff to Louisiana Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin. Only fellow Republican Ray Garofalo of Chalmette in St. Bernard Parish, stood with Johnson. After the defeat, Jindal announced an executive order to implement the measure. Johnson explained that the measure was designed to block the state government from retaliatory action against a company because the owner may oppose same-sex marriage.[4]
In the runoff election held on November 16, 2019, Huval narrowly won reelection to a third term by defeating another Republican businessman, Keith Baudin (born 1962), a drilling supervisor for a petroleum company. Huval polled 7,744 votes (51 percent) to Baudin's 7,480 (49 percent).[5]
Huval joins Democrats in choosing House Speaker
On January 13, 2020, Huval was among twenty-three Republican lawmakers, known as the Fraud Squad, who voted for the Moderate Republican Clay Schexnayder of Ascension Parish, whose election as Speaker depended heavily on the votes of thirty-five Democratic lawmakers, along with two Independents, and the Republican defectors. Statewide radio commentator Moon Griffon coined the term "Fraud Squad" for the twenty-three dissidents nominally in the Republican Party.[6]
Huval was term-limited in the primary held on October 14, 2023.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Michael Huval: The Voter's Self Defense System. Project Vote Smart.
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, Special Legislative Election Returns, April 2, 2011.
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, October 21, 1995.
- ↑ Emily Lane, "Louisiana's religious freedom bill effectively defeated in committee," The New Orleans Times-Picayune, May 19, 2015.
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, November 16, 2019.
- ↑ The Moon Griffon Show, January 23, 2020.
