INDReporter

Swift enters District 45 House race

The attorney and executive director of the Upper Lafayette Economic Development Foundation joins a field of three vying to replace term-limited Rep. Joel Robideaux.

Jan Swift announces her campaign for House seat 45 at LaFonda Wednesday evening.

Jan Swift, a Lafayette attorney and executive director of the Upper Lafayette Economic Development Foundation, made it official Wednesday evening and announced her candidacy for the District 45 seat in the Louisiana House of Representatives.

“I am excited to have this opportunity to serve the families of District 45 and our whole community at the State Capitol,” Swift tells The Independent. “Combining my experience with my passion to improve the way services are delivered by government is what led me to run for state representative.”

A married mother of two daughters, Swift has extensive experience in legal and governmental circles locally and statewide. She has previously served as assistant legal counsel to Lafayette Consolidated Government, was a deputy secretary of state, helping implement the Uniform Commercial Code filing system, and worked with Louisiana’s 64 clerks of court in developing the statewide voter system network. Swift also cites extensive experience providing governmental relations for the financial, health care and business sectors.

Swift is a member of the Lafayette Parish Republican Executive Committee, the I-49 South Task Force, the Paul & Lulu Hilliard University Art Museum and the board of trustees for Academy of the Sacred Heart, among her many professional and civic affiliations.

She joins insurance executive André Comeaux and attorney Jean-Paul Coussan, who previously announced their candidacies to replace term-limited state Rep. Joel Robideaux. The latter is running for City-Parish President Joey Durel’s term-limited seat in October.

“I am in the race because I know our state is better than what we have experienced,” Swift adds. “We have to be wiser, more prudent and put aside politics and focus on the real purposes and responsibilities of state government and the future of Louisiana.”