| John Neely Kennedy | |
|---|---|
| Louisiana State Treasurer | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 2000 |
|
| Preceded by | Kenneth Duncan |
| Personal details | |
| Born | November 21, 1951 Centreville, Mississippi, USA |
| Nationality | American |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Rebecca Stulb Kennedy |
| Children | Preston Kennedy |
| Residence | Madisonville St. Tammany Parish Louisiana |
| Alma mater | Vanderbilt University |
| Religion | United Methodist |
John Neely Kennedy (born November 21, 1951) is the Republican state treasurer of Louisiana. He was re-elected without opposition to his fourth term as State Treasurer on September 8, 2011.
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Kennedy was born in Centreville near McComb in southwestern Mississippi. He was reared in Zachary in East Baton Rouge Parish. In the summer of 1969, Kennedy represented Louisiana at Boys Nation in Washington, D.C.
He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1973, a Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia School of Law at Charlottesville, Virginia in 1977, and an advanced law degree (B.C.L.) in 1979 from the University of Oxford in England. While a student at Vanderbilt, he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and senior class president. Prior to entering state politics, he was a partner in the law firm of Chaffe, McCall, Phillips, Toler, and Sarpy, working in the Baton Rouge and New Orleans offices of the firm.
In 1988, Kennedy became special counsel to Governor Charles E. "Buddy" Roemer, III. Two years later, he was appointed cabinet secretary and served in that post until 1992. In 1991, he was an unsuccessful Democratic candidate for state attorney general. The winner of the race was Democrat Richard Ieyoub of Lake Charles. Following his first stint in state government, Kennedy returned to the private practice of law until 1996. That same year, he was appointed Secretary of the state Department of Revenue in the cabinet of Republican Governor Murphy J. "Mike" Foster, Jr.[1]
Kennedy left the Foster administration when he was elected State Treasurer in 1999, having unseated the incumbent Democrat Kenneth "Ken" Duncan, 621,796 (55.6 percent) to 497,319 (44.4 percent).[2] Kennedy was reelected without opposition in 2003.
In 2004, he was an unsuccessful Democratic candidate for the United States Senate. He ran a distant third in Louisiana's unique nonpartisan blanket primary, losing to the outright winner, Republican U.S. Representative David Vitter who polled more votes than Kennedy (15 percent), State Senator Arthur Morrell (3 percent), and Democratic Congressman Christopher John (29 percent) combined to win in the primary for the seat without a formal general election, popularly called the runoff in Louisiana.
After being courted by the Republican party for months, Kennedy announced in a letter to his constituents that he was leaving the Democratic Party and joining the Republicans as of August 27, 2007. In his letter, he announced that he would run again for state Treasurer.
During the term to which he was elected in 2007, Kennedy devised 24 points by which the State of Louisiana could save money.[3]
In addition to his duties as state treasurer, Kennedy is an adjunct law professor at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge and a volunteer substitute teacher in the East Baton Rouge Parish public schools. He is married to the former Rebecca Ann Stulb, an attorney who also worked in the Chaffe McCall law firm. The couple lives with their son, Preston Kennedy, in Madisonville, a town in St. Tammany Parish.
He is Methodist. He is unrelated to the Kennedy family of Massachusetts.
Considered an expert on state finance, Kennedy often appears on media programs to discuss public issues, including The Moon Griffon Show, a radio talk show based from Monroe.
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Suzanne Haik Terrell |
Republican nominee for United States Senator from Louisiana (Class 2) John Neely Kennedy |
Succeeded by Most recent nominee |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Kenneth Duncan |
Louisiana State treasurer
John Neely Kennedy |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
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