Ronnie Johns

Ronald Steven "Ronnie" Johns​
Louisiana State Senator for District 27​
In office January 9, 2021​ – July 23, 2021
Preceded by	Mrs. Willie Landry Mount​
Succeeded by	Pending special election
Louisiana State Representative for District 33 (Calcasieu Parish)​
In office 1996​ – 2008​
Preceded by	Tim Stine​
Succeeded by	Mike Danahay​
Born	July 14, 1949 Place of birth missing
Political party	Democrat-turned-Republican​
Spouse(s)	Michelle Ann Servat Johns​
Children	Claire J. Broussard​
Residence	Sulphur, Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana​
Alma mater	Bunkie High School​ University of Louisiana at Monroe​
Occupation	Insurance agency owner​ Former practicing pharmacist​
Religion	Roman Catholic​

​ Ronald Steven Johns, known as Ronnie Johns (born July 14, 1949), is a State Farm Insurance agency owner in Sulphur, west of the larger city of Lake Charles, Louisiana, who is a Republican former state senator for District 27 in Calcasieu Parish.

Johns resigned from the state Senate in the second year of his third term to become chairman of the Louisiana Gaming Control Board. He serves under the appointment of his Democratic ally, Governor John Bel Edwards.

Johns ran without opposition in the nonpartisan blanket primary held on October 22, 2011, to choose a successor to the term-limited Democratic Senator Willie Landry Mount. A former mayor of Lake Charles and an unsuccessful candidate in 2004 for the United States House of Representatives, Mount failed in her 2011 bid to be elected as the Calcasieu Parish property tax assessor.​ ​

Background

Johns was reared in Bunkie in Avoyelles Parish, south of Alexandria. His father, Johnny Johns​ (1910-1999) was the Bunkie fire chief; his mother, Anna D. Johns (1921-1997), was a secretary. In 1967, Johns graduated from Bunkie High School, at which he credits his principal for having inspired hard work in the students and teaching the elements of later success in life. Johns then procured his Bachelor of Science degree in pharmacy from the University of Louisiana at Monroe, then known as Northeast Louisiana University.

After college, he practiced pharmacy until the early 1980s, when he observed that numerous local drug stores were closing down or being purchased by chain stores. He hence opened his own insurance agency in Sulphur in 1982.

Johns is a former member of the Sulphur City Council and, prior to his legislative years, had worked in numerous political campaigns for others. He is a lector and eucharistic minister at Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church in Sulphur. He is a member of the board of Christus St. Patrick's Hospital. Johns is a supporter of the Calcasieu Community Clinic, which provides free health care for those who unable to afford health insurance. He is active in the Salvation Army of Lake Charles and numerous organizations that serve senior citizens.​

Mrs. Johns, the former Michelle Ann Servat (born October 1952), is a retired teacher. Their daughter, Claire J. Broussard, was in 2011 a nursing student at McNeese State University in Lake Charles. Claire and her husband, Alex Broussard, had a son in 2011, the Johnses' only grandchild.​

Legislative service

​ From 1996 to 2008, Johns was a Democratic member of the Louisiana House of Representatives for District 33, also in Calcasieu Parish. In the 1995 primary for his first term in the legislature, Johns defeated a fellow Democrat, Terry Taylor, 7,870 votes (62.3 percent) to 4,765 (37.7 percent). The outgoing representative, Democrat Tim Stine, did not seek reelection in 1995.​

In the House, the former pharmacist authored legislation to establish a statewide prescription monitoring program to prevent "illegal doctor- and pharmacy-shopping." After the first year of the program, the number of deaths from such prescription drug abuse had been reduced by 50 percent. Representative Johns also wrote laws to establish more secure adoptions and enforcement of court-mandated child-support payments. Because of these efforts, Johns received the "Russell B. Long Service Award," named for the former U.S. Senator from Louisiana, Russell Long, a son of Huey Pierce Long, Jr., who served from 1948 to 1987.

In 1999, Johns was named "Legislator of the Year" by the interest group, Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse. He was similarly honored in 2004 and 2007 by the Louisiana Automobile and Louisiana Orthopedic Associations. Term-limited in the 2007 primary, he was succeeded in the House by DemocratMike Danahay, later the mayor of Sulphur.​

Johns said that his Senate service will focus on state budgetary woes: "Our government must live within its means and it should do so, like any family would, by tightening its belt and downsizing." Johns said that he will seek more efficient health care, improved public schools, reducing government waste, and demanding a greater of government service.​ Johns and two other Republicans -- Page Cortez, the current Senate President, who sought the Senate District 23 seat in Lafayette Parish, and Stuart James Bishop, also of Lafayette, running in House District 43, were the only unopposed candidates in 2011 for open legislative seats. All three took office on January 9, 2012.

Johns was reelected to the state Senate in the primary election held on October 24, 2015. He defeated the Democrat Ginger Vidrine, 14,648 votes (65 percent) to 7,901 (35 percent). In 2020, Johns sought the position of Senate President but was defeated by Page Cortez, another Moderate Republican.

In July 2021, Johns underwent knee-replacement surgery shortly before he was tapped as gaming commission chairman. Because of the surgery, he did not appear on July 20 in the special veto override session, which focused on the bill to prohibit transgender men from engaging in women's sports. He supported the legislation in regular session, but he did not appear in the special session, and his vote did not determine the outcome. The House fell short by two votes to override the veto. Edwards hence prevailed in all of the override attempts. Conservative radio commentator Moon Griffon, based in Lafayette, coined the term Judas Johns because the Republican was unwilling to come to the special session even after several people offered at their own expense to transport him safely to Baton Rouge. Griffon has also lambasted Johns for his support of tax increases. ​

References

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