Wayne Waddell

Leo Wayne Waddell

* * *

Louisiana State Representative
for District 5 (Caddo Parish)

In office
1997 - August 1, 2010
Preceded by  |  Roy Louis Brun
Succeeded by  |  Alan Seabaugh

* * *

Director of the
Louisiana State Exhibit Museum
in Shreveport

In office
August 2010 - 1996
Preceded by  |  Forrest Dunn
Succeeded by  |  Thomas Gahagan Carmody, Jr.

* * *

Caddo Parish Commissioner

* * *

Born  |  October 14, 1948
Shreveport, Caddo Parish, Louisiana
Political party  |  Republican
Spouse(s)  |  Susan Marie Simpson Waddell
Children  |  Gregory Leo "Greg" Waddell

Riley Waddell

Alma mater |  Clifton Ellis Byrd High School

University of Louisiana at Monroe

Occupation  |  Businessman

Leo Wayne Waddell , known as Wayne Waddell (born October 14, 1948) is a Shreveport businessman and a Republican former state representative for District 5 in Caddo Parish, Louisiana. He ran unopposed in the 2007 nonpartisan blanket primary but resigned before he completed his third term in the body to become the director of the Louisiana State Exhibit Museum.

## Background[edit]

Waddell graduated from Clifton Ellis Byrd High School in Shreveport and received his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Louisiana at Monroe, then known as Northeast Louisiana University. He has been the president of Louisiana Moulding & Supply, Inc. since 1980, the owner of KD Plastics since 1995, and Waddell's Gallery of Distinction since 1970. Waddell is a member of Shreveport Rotary International and the Shreveport Symphony. Married to the former Susan Marie Simpson (born January 31, 1948), he has two sons, Gregory Leo "Greg" Waddell and Riley Waddell.

## Political life[edit]

Mrs. Waddell, also a Republican, is a Caddo Parish Justice of the Peace whose current term expires on December 31, 2026.[1][2] Wayne Waddell was also a JP for nearly two years prior to his legislative service. He is also a former member of the elected Caddo Parish Commission, formerly known as the police jury, on which he served for the term from 1992 to 1996.

Waddell first won his position as a state representative in a special election runoff held on December 13, 1997, to replace Shreveport representative-turned-Judge Roy Brun. He defeated fellow Republican and former Caddo Parish School Board member, the conservative Judy Boykin, supported by the Christian Coalition. Waddell polled 2,710 votes (54 percent) to Boykin's, 2,278 (46 percent). In the legislature, he served on the Health and Welfare committee, House Legislative Services Council, Joint Legislative Committee on Capital Outlay, House Special Committee on Disaster Planning, and the Middle and North Louisiana Subcommittee. He has been vice chair of the Louisiana Rural Caucus. Waddell brought early voting to Louisiana, empowering parish clerks of court to permit voting in shopping centers and public buildings where voters congregate. Previously, Louisiana had more restrictive absentee voting, which required an excuse to cast a ballot prior to the election. Waddell supported a plan to exempt Louisiana residents from owing state income taxes on retirement payments.

On August 1, 2010, Waddell resigned from the legislature to assume the position of director of the state Exhibit Museum in Shreveport.[3] The museum directorship was vacated by Forrest Dunn, himself a former member of the Louisiana House. Waddell was succeeded in his former office by Republican attorney Alan Seabaugh.[4]

In addition to the Shreveport museum, Waddell was the regional state administrator under former Louisiana Secretary of State Tom Schedler, in which capacity he oversaw six other state museums. From 2010 through 2015, he secured $8 million from the Louisiana capital outlay budget for three construction projects, one of which is the covering for the museum courtyard. Waddell has also stressed fundraising and interactive and educational experiences for museum visitors and visitors. State Senator Greg Tarver, a Democrat, said that Waddell "knows how to go out and beg for money, and you literally have to beg ... It is not an easy task. And, he gives you information you need to know so (you) can make an intelligent decision about money.”[5]

Early in 2020, Waddell was removed from the museum position by Kyle Ardoin, Schedler's successor as secretary of state. No reason was cited for his removal. He was succeeded by another former state representative, and fellow Republican, Thomas Gaughan Carmody, Jr. (born 1961).

The author is unable to determine if Waddell is related to former 1st Judicial District Court Judge and former District 4 state representative Robert Waddell of Shreveport, a Democrat-turned-Republican. The two are the same age.

## References[edit]

1. ↑ Elected Officials (la.gov), Caddo Parish officials, accessed April 29, 2021.
2. ↑ Waddell, Susan, Justice of the Peace. merchantcircle.com. Retrieved on April 29, 2021.
3. ↑ Staff at the Louisiana Exhibit Museum. friendsoflsem.org. Retrieved on July 11, 2011.
4. ↑ "Seabaugh wins LA House seat from Shreveport area," =WXVT, accessed October 2, 2010; no longer accessible on-line.
5. ↑ Maggie Martin (February 9, 2016). Wayne Waddell legacy list: $8 million for three construction projects for Louisiana State Exhibit Museum. The Shreveport Times. Retrieved on April 29, 2021.