INDReporter

Ortego seeking House 39

by Walter Pierce

The seat is being vacated by Rep. Bobby Badon, who announced Tuesday he will not seek re-election.

Home builder/designer Stephen Ortego announced Wednesday he'll seek the District 39 state House seat in the Oct. 22 election. The seat is being vacated by Rep. Bobby Badon, who announced Tuesday he will not seek re-election. Ortego, a Carencro High and Tulane alumnus, narrowly missed a runoff for the seat in the 2007 primary election.

The bilingual Ortego, who made his announcement in both English and French at Prejean's Restaurant in Carencro, is running on a "Louisiana First, Louisiana Forever" platform that stresses support for French Immersion programming in public schools and, more broadly, the preservation of Louisiana's Francophone culture and job creation emphasizing the state's cultural economy.

District 39 comprises Carencro, Ossun and Scott in north Lafayette Parish as well as parts of south St. Landry Parish.

Read more about Ortego in The Ind's November 2009 cover story, "Arrested Development."