Kay Katz

Kay Kellogg Katz​
Louisiana State Representative for District 16 (Ouachita Parish; in 2012 Ouachita and Morehouse parishes)​
In office 2000 ​ – 2012​
Preceded by	Jimmy Dimos​
Succeeded by	Katrina Jackson​
Born	September 24, 1938​ Place of birth missing​ Long-term resident of Monroe, Louisianar
Political party	Republican​
Spouse(s)	Ben Sanders Katz (died 2010)​
Children	Dr. Robert Britton "Brit" Katz​ Kelley K. Vance ​ Kris K. Coons​
Alma mater	Neville High School​ Mississippi State University​
Occupation	Former educator Former Monroe City Council member​
Religion	Presbyterian​

​ Kay Kellogg Katz (born September 24, 1938) is a Republican former state representative for District 16, a post which she held from 2000 to 2012.​^[1] ​ Effective in 2012, the revised district encompasses fifteen precincts in Ouachita Parish and thirty precincts in neighboring Morehouse Parish. Katz was succeeded in the House by the Democrat Katrina Jackson, who received 51 percent of the vote over three opponents in the primary election held on October 22, 2011.^[2]

Background[edit]

A resident of Monroe, Katz is a former member of the Monroe City Council, on which she was a member of the Street Improvement Committee.​

A former educator, Katz graduated from Neville High School in Monroe and procured a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Mississippi State University at Starkville, Mississippi.

Katz has served on the boards of both the Northeast Louisiana Arts Council and the Louisiana State Arts Council. In 2000, the Louisiana Museum Association selected her as "Legislator of the Year" during her first year in office.​

Katz is also a former Louisiana Republican national committeewoman, a position which automatically made her a member of the 168-member Republican National Committee. Like the then state Republican National Committeeman Ross Little, Jr., of Lafayette, Katz endorsed U.S. Senator John McCain of Arizona for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination. Katz was succeeded as national committeewoman by Ruth L. Ulrich formerly the producer and announcer of The Moon Griffon Show radio talk program based first in Monroe and thereafter in Lafayette.​

In 2008, Katz was elected treasurer of the Louisiana Legislative Women's Caucus for a term which ended on June 30, 2009.^[3]

Legislative matters[edit]

​ On October 20, 2007, Katz defeated fellow Republican Ben Marshall, a former Ouachita Parish police juror [equivalent of county commissioner in mostother states), in her bid for a third term in House District 16 in the primary. Katz received 8,617 votes (64 percent) to Marshall's 4,116 (31 percent); a No-Party candidate, Benjamin P. Arnold, received 749 votes (6 percent).​^[4]

In her initial election to succeed Democrat Jimmy Dimos, a former House Speaker who was elected to a state court judgeship, Katz led the October 1999 primary with 6,039 votes (49 percent). Fellow Republican Tony Cain finished second with 3,010 votes (24 percent) and decided not to pursue a general election campaign against Katz. She was hence automatically elected based on her primary showing. A Democrat, Dan Street, finished third with 2,944 votes (also 24 percent), and a "No Party" candidate, Chuck James, polled 403 votes (3 percent).^[5] Katz was unopposed for her second House term in the 2003 primary.

In the Louisiana House, she served on three committees: Health and Welfare, Transportation, Highways and Public Works, and Municipal, Parochial and Cultural Affairs. In the legislature, Katz was considered one of the more consistent conservative members in a Republican Party increasingly led by a coalition of Democrats and Moderate Republicans known as the Fraud Squad. After 2004, Katz was rated 100 percent by the Louisiana Family Forum. She was also highly ranked by the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry.

​After she left the House, Republican Governor Bobby Jindal in 2012 ppointed Katz to a $56,000 position as a member of the Louisiana Tax Commission, which regulates ad valorem issues.^[6]

Personal life[edit]

Katz was married to Ben Sanders Katz, Jr. (March 3, 1938 – January 13, 2010), until his death at the age of seventy-one from complications of pneumonia. Ben Katz, a native of Starkville, Mississippi, was the son of Ben Katz, Sr., and the former Mildred Stanley. He graduated from Starkville High School and Mississippi State University. He was a senior vice president of Amax Coal Company and president of Deposit Trust Bank. Ben Katz served on the boards of the Council on Aging, the Food Bank of Northeast Louisiana, Monroe Rotary Club, and the Council of Retired Executives.^[7]​

By her late husband Kay Katz has three children, Dr. Robert Britton "Brit" Katz (born 1957), Kelley Katz Vance (born 1958), and Kris Katz Coons. The Katzes are Presbyterian. At the time of his death, Ben Katz was the only Republican member of the Monroe City Council. In his third term from Council District 2, he had succeeded his wife on the council after victory in a special election called in 2000 after Kay Katz entered the legislature.^[8]​

References[edit]

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