Patrick Pat Lewis

Dear Residents of Louisiana House of Representatives - District 44,

 

I hope the new year and this announcement find you in good health and prosperity. This fall, I will humbly come to you to seek your support of my candidacy for the District 44 seat in the Louisiana House of Representatives, which is currently occupied by the Honorable Vincent J. Pierre. Since elected in 2011, Rep. Pierre has emerged as a leader among those legislators representing the City and Parish of Lafayette, the Acadiana Delegation, the Democratic Caucus, and the Louisiana Legislative Black Caucus and has placed House District 44 on a forward trajectory that will require one to hit the ground running for the continued strides toward the advancement of North Lafayette’s most critical priorities. Having served as a member of the Lafayette City-Parish Council and, currently, as a member of the Lafayette City Council with geographic representation that is synonymous with House District 44, I have kept abreast of the needs within our community, particularly those which local government are unable to meet and rely on state interventions; therefore, I hereby announce my candidacy as your next District 44 Representative in the Louisiana House of Representatives.

 

In 2015, many of you elected me to the Lafayette City-Parish Council to represent your legislative interests within Lafayette Consolidated Government (LCG) and its jurisdictions over the City of Lafayette and the Parish of Lafayette. Throughout those years, I worked together with my colleagues on the Council in a spirit of compromise, but always with the wishes and desires of my constituents at the forefront of my efforts. With a high level of engagement and the openness to input from all citizens, we were able to assess our areas for opportunity within the former City-Parish District 3, then develop strategies to sustain our existing strengths and cultivate relationships internal and external to LCG that would put us on a path toward infrastructure, public safety, economic, social, and quality of life betterments.

 

In 2019, several of you recognized my responsiveness to your needs and our legislative successes during my previous term on the former City-Parish Council and elected me to the newly-formed Lafayette City Council, which acts as the governing authority for the City of Lafayette within Lafayette Consolidated Government. During the inaugural year of the Lafayette City Council following the implementation of the 2018 Home Rule Charter Amendments, I served as Chairman of the Council and navigated the City Council through a very formative time in a relatively different form of government. During that year, we also faced the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, so my leadership capabilities and execution was of critical importance during such uncharted times. Nevertheless, in the midst of these challenges, along with those ordinarily inherent to public service, I pressed forward in service to you – and I would do so with the same vigor and fervor, if necessary. In fact, that is exactly what I am seeking now – the opportunity to serve you. More of you. At a greater level for you. To deliver more for you.

 

As with all elected offices, the District 44 seat in the Louisiana House of Representatives belongs to you – the constituents. This has been my outlook on public service since day one. I endeavor to take that mindset from Lafayette to Baton Rouge and extend it with statewide reach in order to use my leverage as your legislator for the advancement of North Lafayette and for the transformation of the State of Louisiana, in concert with my colleagues on either side of the aisle and within either chamber of the Louisiana Legislature. On Saturday, October 14th, I ask that you collectively pass the House District 44 baton to me so that I may work diligently toward completing the race to victory for Lafayette in the Louisiana State Capitol.

 

Sincerely,

 

Patrick “Pat” Lewis

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