Bubba Chaney

{{short description|American politician (born 1946)}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Bubba Chaney | birth_name = Charles R. "Bubba" Chaney | image = | image_size = | office = Louisiana State Representative from District 19 (all or parts of East Carroll, Madison, Morehouse, Ouachita, Richland, and West Carroll parishes in northeastern Louisiana) | term_start = 2008 | term_end = 2020 | preceded = Francis C. Thompson | succeeded = Francis C. Thompson | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1946|9|23}} | birth_place = | spouse = Sharon Crawford Chaney | children = | party = Democratic (until 2011) <br/> Republican (2011-present) | occupation = Businessman | alma_mater = Louisiana State University | footnotes = }} '''Charles R. "Bubba" Chaney''' (born September 23, 1946), is a former member of the Louisiana House of Representatives for District 19, which includes his home city of Rayville in Richland Parish in northeastern Louisiana.<ref>[http://house.louisiana.gov/H_Reps/members.asp?ID=19 Chaney's bio on the Louisiana Legislature site] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110208192115/http://house.louisiana.gov/H_Reps/members.asp?ID=19 |date=February 8, 2011 }} (accessed 2011-02-13).</ref>

A graduate of Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Chaney is the owner and manager of Albert's Men's Wear in Rayville. He is married to the former Sharon Crawford.<ref name=pvs/>

On February 7, 2011, Chaney made headlines by vaulting from the Democrats to the Republicans. His switch was notable because it gave the GOP its first majority in the Louisiana House of Representatives since Reconstruction.<ref>{{cite news|url = http://www.thenewsstar.com/article/20110208/UPDATES01/110208006|title = Chaney switches to GOP|last = Hilburn|first = Greg|newspaper = The Monroe News-Star|place = Monroe, Louisiana|date = 2011-02-08 |accessdate = 2011-02-09}}{{dead link|date=August 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} See also {{cite news|url = http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2011/02/chaney_latest_to_switch_to_the.html|title = Chaney latest to switch to the GOP|page = A7|newspaper = New Orleans Times-Picayune|issue = Metro Edition|date = 2011-02-13|accessdate = 2011-12-13}} Prior to Chaney's switch the Republicans had a plurality but not a majority in Louisiana's 105-member House of Representatives.</ref> In the nonpartisan blanket primary held on October 22, 2011, Chaney was unopposed for his second term in the House.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://staticresults.sos.la.gov/10222011/10222011_Legislative.html|title=Louisiana primary election returns, October 22, 2011|publisher=staticresults.sos.la.gov|accessdate=October 22, 2011}}</ref>

==Legislative record==

Chaney is a former member of the Louisiana House Committee on Education. In 2010, he sponsored legislation to broaden the approval process for textbooks in public schools. This action brought him into opposition from the conservative Louisiana Family Forum, which Chaney said "absolutely ambushed" him.<ref>{{cite news|url = http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2010/04/louisiana_family_forum_forces.html |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100423154531/http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2010/04/louisiana_family_forum_forces.html |url-status = dead |archive-date = April 23, 2010 |first = Bill|last = Barrow|title = Louisiana Family Forum forces shelving of textbook selection bill|newspaper =The New Orleans Times-Picayune|date = 2010-04-22|accessdate = 2011-02-13}}</ref> Chaney's score from the Louisiana Family Forum was 56 percent in 2008 and 78 percent in 2009.<ref>[http://votesmart.org/issue_rating_category.php?can_id=93678&type=category&category=17 Chaney's rating on Project VoteSmart] (accessed 2011-02-13).</ref> As of 2015, he was a member of the House committees on (1) Agriculture, (2) Appropriations, (3) Budget, and (4) Natural Resources and Environment.<ref name=pvs>{{cite web|url=http://votesmart.org/candidate/biography/93678/bubba-chaney#|title=Bubba Chaney's Biography|publisher=Project Vote Smart|accessdate=May 19, 2015}}</ref>

Chaney ran unopposed in the October 24, 2015, primary election.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thenewsstar.com/story/news/local/2015/09/10/several-candidates-elected-unopposed/72032438/|title=See who has already won election|newspaper=The Monroe News-Star|date=September 11, 2015|accessdate=September 12, 2015}}</ref>

Due to term limits, Chaney was ineligible to run for re-election in the nonpartisan blanket primary held on October 12, 2019. Instead, his predecessor in the House, term-limited State Senator Francis C. Thompson, announced his candidacy to reclaim the seat. Thompson had previously served in the House from 1975 to 2008.<ref>Sam Hanna, Jr., "Who Wants to Serve?", ''The Colfax Chronicle'', January 31, 2019, p. 4.</ref>

==Notes== {{reflist}}

{{s-start}} {{s-par|us-la-hs}} {{Succession box |before=Francis C. Thompson |title= Louisiana State Representative from District 19<br/>Charles R. "Bubba" Chaney |years=2008–2020 |after=Francis C. Thompson}} {{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chaney, Bubba}} Category:1946 births Category:Living people Category:Businesspeople from Louisiana Category:Louisiana Democrats Category:Louisiana Republicans Category:Louisiana State University alumni Category:Members of the Louisiana House of Representatives Category:People from Rayville, Louisiana Category:21st-century members of the Louisiana State Legislature