Cameron Henry

John Cameron Henry, Jr. (born November 1974) is a business analyst from Metairie, Louisiana, who has been a Republican member of his state's House of Representatives from District 82 (Jefferson and Orleans parishes) since January 2008.^[1] Henry is a former member of the Jefferson Parish School Board and was an aide to Steve Scalise, his predecessor in District 82, who is now a U.S. representative.^[2]

A graduate of the Roman Catholic Jesuit High School in New Orleans, Henry holds a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Louisiana State University at Baton Rouge and a Master of Business Administration from Tulane University in New Orleans. He is affiliated with BearingPoint, Inc., a management and technology consulting firm in New Orleans. Henry is a former adjunct professor in the Delgado Community College business and technology division in New Orleans. He and his wife, Jamie, reside in Metairie with their three children.^[3]

Henry won the District 87 seat over his fellow Republican Christopher Tidmore in the nonpartisan blanket primary held on October 20, 2007, 5,878 votes (57 percent) to 4,517 (43 percent).^[4] Henry serves on three House committees: House and Governmental Affairs, Labor and Industrial Relations, and Ways and Means. He is also a member of the Joint Legislative Committee on Capital Outlay.^[2]

In 2010, Henry introduced legislation to abolish the office of lieutenant governor or to strip it of many of its existing duties.^[5] Now held by former Louisiana Secretary of State Jay Dardenne of Baton Rouge, the lieutenant governor's office primarily handles tourism matters. State Treasurer John N. Kennedy, who lost the U.S. Senate race in 2008 to Mary Landrieu, Mitch Landrieu's sister, had been mentioned as a possible candidate for lieutenant governor but did not file. Governor Bobby Jindal earlier supported Henry's efforts to abolish the office. A House committee, however, voted 9–8 to kill Henry's bill that would have stripped the office of most of its functions. He then withdrew a second bill that would have abolished the office outright.^[6]

In April 2010, Henry voted with a large majority in the Louisiana House to forbid insurance companies operating in the state from offering coverage of elective abortions. The only procedures permitted under the legislation entail miscarriages or abortions to save the mother's life. The legislation was introduced by Republican Representative Frank Hoffmann of West Monroe. All of the opponents came from the Black Caucus.^[7]

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