John Clyde Morris III (born May 24, 1958) is a businessman and attorney from Monroe, Louisiana. A

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

, Morris has been a member of the Louisiana State Senate for the 35th district in

North Louisiana North Louisiana (french: Louisiane du Nord), also known locally as Sportsman's Paradise, (a name sometimes attributed to the state as a whole) is a region in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The region has two metropolitan areas: Shreveport-Bossier Ci ...

since 2020. From 2012 until 2020, Morris was a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from District 14, which encompasses Ouachita and Morehouse parishes in the northeastern portion of his state.

Background

Morris formerly worked on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., for former

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

J. Bennett Johnston, Jr., a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

. He was also a staff member at one time for the Louisiana Municipal Association. He is a partner of the law firm, Dean Morris, LLP. Prior to residing in Monroe, Morris lived in

St. Joseph Joseph (; el, Ἰωσήφ, translit=Ioséph) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who, according to the canonical Gospels, was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. The Gospels also name some brothers ...

Tensas Parish Tensas Parish (french: Paroisse des Tensas) is a parish located in the northeastern section of the State of Louisiana; its eastern border is the Mississippi River. As of the 2010 census, the population was 5,252. It is the least populated paris ...

, Rayville in

Richland Parish Richland Parish is a parish located in the North Louisiana Delta Country in the U.S. state of Louisiana, known for its fertile, flat farmland, cane brakes, and open spaces. The name Richland was chosen due to the rich production from farming. Th ...

, and

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

Unseating Sam Little

Morris won the state representative position in the general election held on November 19, 2011, when he unseated fellow Republican Sam Little, a retired farmer, originally from Bastrop in Morehouse Parish. Morris polled 5,005 votes (59.1 percent) to Little's 3,463 ballots (40.9 percent). In the campaign for the heavily

redistricted Redistricting in the United States is the process of drawing electoral district boundaries. For the United States House of Representatives, and state legislatures, redistricting occurs after each decennial census. The U.S. Constitution in Ar ...

seat, Little and Morris accused each other of engaging in negative campaigning. Morris is a graduate of

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...

and the

Louisiana State University Law Center The Paul M. Hebert Law Center, often styled "LSU Law", is a public law school in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It is part of the Louisiana State University System and located on the main campus of Louisiana State University. Because Louisiana is a c ...

, both in Baton Rouge. Morris led the three-candidate field in the primary held on October 22, with 5,078 votes (42.6 percent). Little trailed with 4,384 ballots (36.7 percent). A third Republican, Michael Echols, held the remaining but critical 2,471 votes (20.7 percent). Echols ran without opposition in the 2019 primary to choose Morris' House successor. From 1991 to 2008, the District 14 seat was held by the Democrat Charles R. McDonald of Bastrop in Morehouse Parish.

Legislative ratings, record and issues

In May 2017, Morris opposed in the House Ways and Means Committee a plan by his Republican colleague,

Rob Shadoin Rob or ROB may refer to: Places * Rob, Velike Lašče, a settlement in Slovenia * Roberts International Airport (IATA code ROB), in Monrovia, Liberia People * Rob (given name), a given name or nickname, e.g., for Robert(o), Robin/Robyn * Rob (s ...

of Ruston which collectively would have raised taxes on businesses and lowered them for what Shadoin said would constitute 90 percent of individual taxpayers. When his measure was killed in committee, Shadoin said, "You can kiss tax reform goodbye." Four individual bills were combined into one on the advice of Shadoin's Democratic ally,

Major Thibaut Major Thibaut, Jr. (born January 3, 1977), is an American politician who served as a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives for the 18th district from 2008 to 2020. The district encompasses Iberville, West Baton Rouge, West Felician ...

New Roads New Roads (historically french: Poste-de-Pointe-Coupée) is a city in and the parish seat of Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana, United States. The center of population of Louisiana was located in New Roads in 2000. The population was 4,831 at the ...

. Morris said that the opponents of Shadoin's bill managed to stop the legislation on the premise that the measure "would not help the state's fiscal situation and would in fact make it worse. At the same time it would have made the tax code much more progressive (making higher income earners pay more) and would have eliminated the deduction for federal income. The committee didn't see the benefit from a set of bills that made the state fiscal situation worse in the name of purported tax reform."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Jay 1958 births Living people Republican Party members of the Louisiana House of Representatives Republican Party Louisiana state senators Businesspeople from Louisiana Louisiana lawyers Politicians from Monroe, Louisiana People from St. Joseph, Louisiana People from Rayville, Louisiana Louisiana State University alumni Louisiana State University Law Center alumni 21st-century American politicians