Charles McDonald (Louisiana politician)
| Charles Richard McDonald | |
|---|---|
| Louisiana State Representative from District 14 (Morehouse and Ouachita parishes) | |
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In office 1991–2008 |
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| Preceded by | John C. Ensminger |
| Succeeded by | Sam Little |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1938 |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Patsy Ruth McDonald |
| Residence | Bastrop, Morehouse Parish, Louisiana, US |
| Occupation | Management consultant |
Charles Richard McDonald (born 1938) is a management consultant from Bastrop, Louisiana, who is a former member of the Louisiana House of Representatives. From 1999 to 2008, he represented District 14 in Morehouse and Ouachita parishes.
On April 20, 1991, McDonald won a special election to the state House, called when Republican John C. Ensminger was elected to the Louisiana State Senate. McDonald defeated another Republican, Sonny G. Panzico (born c. 1940) of West Monroe, 3,052 (56.2 percent) to 2,377 (43.8 percent).Later in the year, McDonald faced two Democratic opponents in the regular nonpartisan blanket primary but failed to gain a required majority. He therefore was placed in a general election, popularly called the runoff on November 16 with Democrat Jess Smith, whom he defeated, 9,997 (56.2 percent) to 7,799 (43.8 percent).Thereafter, McDonald was unopposed for reelection in 1995, 1999, and 2003.
In 1997, McDonald joined in a bipartisan fashion with Republican Governor Murphy J. Foster, Jr., to procure passage of Act 1375, a plan which opened the Taylor Opportunity Program for Students (TOPS) scholarship program to all with a 2.5 grade point average and at least a score of 19 on the ACT. Family income was removed as a consideration for eligibility. Those with higher grades received $400 to $800 in extra funding to help meet the costs of other college expenses. McDonald's legislation was approved unanimously in both the House and Senate.TOPS is named for the late oilman Patrick F. Taylor of New Orleans, who in 1988 conceived the program. TOPS has benefited more than 616,000 students since it was launched in 1999 at an accumulative cost of almost $1.8 billion, funds which have put the state budget in shortfall. TOPS is expected to cost more than $354 million in fiscal year 2018–2019 alone.
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