Robert Waddell
| Robert Paul "Bobby" Waddell, Sr. | |
Louisiana State Representative
for District 4 (Caddo Parish) | |
| In office 1980 – 1990 | |
| Preceded by | V. C. Shannon |
|---|---|
| Succeeded by | Tommy Armstrong |
| In office January 1, 1991 – December 31, 2020 | |
| Succeeded by | Donald E. Hathaway, Jr. |
| Born | May 19, 1948 Shreveport, Louisiana |
| Political party | Democrat-turned-Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Sharon Roxanne Raines Waddell |
| Children | Robert Waddell, Jr.
Amanda Elizabeth Waddell |
| Alma mater | Louisiana Tech University (Ruston) Louisiana State University |
| Occupation | Attorney |
Robert Paul Waddell, Sr., known as Robert P. "Bobby" Waddell (born May 19, 1948), is a former judge of the 1st Judicial District Court based in his native Shreveport, Louisiana. He held the Section 3, Division A judgeship from 1991 to 2020. His last term expired on December 31, 2020.[1]
From 1980 to 1990, Waddell was a Democratic state representative for Caddo Parish. He ran unopposed in 1983. In 1987, Waddell's only opponent, former state Senator C. Kay Carter, Jr., a fellow Democrat, died of a heart attack in his car after he had attended a campaign forum.[2]
Waddell resigned his house seat in 1990 upon his election as a judge. His interim House successor was Republican Tommy Armstrong,[3] who had earlier served from 1987 to 1989 as the president of the Caddo Parish Commission, the parish governing board, formerly known as the police jury. Armstrong did not seek the District 4 seat in 1992, as the district lines were changed under the 1990 census so that a Republican had little likelihood of winning the seat. He therefore ran for the Louisiana State Senate and was narrowly defeated by Ron Bean, a Moderate Republican.[4] While on the bench, Waddell switched his own registration to Republican.[1]
Waddell has been active in fundraising for the museum of the former Mansfield Female College in Mansfield in DeSoto Parish, south of Shreveport. In 1930, the female college merged into Methodist-affiliated Centenary College in Shreveport.[5]
Waddell is the younger of two children of the late Billie McKinney, the first wife of Paul Kenneth Waddell (1916-2000), a native of California who moved to Shreveport as a young boy and earned his livelihood as a postal inspector.[6] He graduated in 1970 from Louisiana Tech University in Ruston. He obtained his legal credentials from the Paul M. Hebert Law Center at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. He and his wife, the former Sharon Roxanne Raines (born February 21, 1956), have three children, Robert Waddell, Jr., Sharon Elizabeth Waddell, and Erin Leigh Waddell Garrett, the judge of the 1st Judicial District, Section 3, District K.[7]
The author is unable to determine if Judge Waddell is related to Wayne Waddell, a former state representative and former direct6or of the Louisiana State Exhibit Museum. The two are the same age.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Louisiana Elected Officials. Louisiana Secretary of State. Retrieved on April 29, 2021.
- ↑ "C. Kay Carter dies," Minden Press-Herald, September 1, 1987, p. 1.
- ↑ Membership of the Louisiana House of Representatives, 1812-2024. Louisiana House of Representatives. Retrieved on April 29, 2021.
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, November 16, 1991.
- ↑ "Mansfield Female College: Gala draws 128 to college museum fund drive". The Winn Parish Enterprise through google.com (December 8, 2005). Retrieved on June 22, 2020.
- ↑ Paul Kenneth Waddell. Findagrave.com. Retrieved on April 29, 2021.
- ↑ People Search & Background Check.