Chuck Kleckley

Charles Edward Kleckley, known as Chuck Kleckey (born 1960), is a businessman in Lake Charles, Louisiana, who is a Republican member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from District 36 in southwestern Calcasieu Parish.

On October 25, 2011, Governor Bobby Jindal endorsed Kleckley as his choice to succeed the term-limited Jim Tucker as the Speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives.^[1] Others who had announced for the position are Republican Representatives Joel Robideaux of Lafayette and Erich Ponti and Hunter Greene, both of Baton Rouge, as well as the Democrat Jeff Arnold of New Orleans.^[2]The House of Representatives usually handily confirms the governor's choice as the Speaker, and Robideaux soon left the competition.

Kleckley received a Bachelor of Science degree in finance from McNeese State University in Lake Charles. District 36 practically surrounds McNeese, which attracts students regionally and provides local jobs. The district contains bedroom communities, where reside managerial and professional workers as well as higher-paid blue-collar personnel.^[3]

Kleckley previously served on the Calcasieu Parish Police Jury, the parish governing body. He was unopposed in a special election in 2005 to succeed Republican Dan Flavin, a real estate agency owner who resigned early in his fifth term. Kleckley was also reelected without opposition in 2007 and 2011 to his first and second full terms.^[3]

In 2008, Kleckley voted against a controversial legislative pay raise ultimately vetoed by Governor Jindal.^[4] In 2007, Kleckley received a 94 percent rating from the business interest group, the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry.^[3]

Kleckley has shown an interest in coastal issues ranging from natural resources to conservation, having monitored the formerly troubled board that manages the Port of Lake Charles. He also procured the passage of legislation which expanded the functions of the Lake Charles Harbor and Terminal District.^[3]

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