{{short description|American politician}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Julie Stokes | state_house = Louisiana | district = 79th | term_start = March 2013 | term_end = January 13, 2020 | predecessor = [[Tony Ligi]] | successor = [[Debbie Villio]] | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1970|1|23}} | birth_place = | death_date = | death_place = | party = [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] | spouse = Larry Stokes | children = 2 | education = [[University of New Orleans]] ([[Bachelor of Science|BS]]) }}
{{like resume|date=January 2019}} '''Julie Skinner Stokes''' (born January 23, 1970) is an American politician and [[Certified Public Accountant]] who served as a member of the [[Louisiana State Legislature|Louisiana House of Representatives]] for the 79th district from 2013 to 2020.
==Early life and education==
Stokes is the only child of Doris Guerin Skinner, a [[Metairie, Louisiana|Metairie]] native, and the late Edward Thomas Skinner.<ref name=rehgobit>{{cite web|url=http://obits.dignitymemorial.com/dignity-memorial/obituary.aspx?n=Ruth-Guerin&lc=7863&pid=155649286&mid=4972726&Affiliate=nola&PersonID=155650324&FHID=11014|title=Obituary of Ruth Elizabeth Hauck Guerin (c. 1922-2012), the maternal grandmother of Julie Stokes|publisher=obits.dignitymemorial.com|accessdate=August 26, 2013}}</ref> In 1992, Stokes received her [[Bachelor of Science]] in accounting from the [[University of New Orleans]]. She attended Jefferson Parish Public Schools and the University of New Orleans. After four years on full academic scholarship at UNO, she received her Bachelor of Science in accounting. She started working at a [[Big Four accounting firms|Big Four accounting firm]] and passed the CPA exam on her first effort.
== Career == From 2000 to 2010, Stokes operated Julie S. Stokes, CPA, but thereafter became the [[chief financial officer]] of Stokes & Associates. She is also a tax preparer.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stokes-associates.com/staff.html|title=Stokes & Associates, Inc.|publisher=stokes-associates.com|accessdate=August 26, 2013}}</ref>
On March 2, 2013, Stokes won a special election to the Louisiana House to succeed fellow Republican [[Tony Ligi]], who resigned from office to become director of the Jefferson Business Council.<ref>On the same day that Stokes was elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives, another Republican, [[Barry Ivey]] of [[East Baton Rouge Parish]], won a special election in District 65 to choose a successor to the ailing Republican [[Clif Richardson]].</ref> By defeating three fellow Republicans, Stokes received 55 percent of the vote to fill the nearly three years remaining in Li's term. Businessman Jack Rizzuto, a candidate defeated by Ligi in 2007, finished second in the 2013 contest with 31 percent of the ballots cast. Allison Bent Bowler, the chief financial officer at [[Benjamin Franklin High School (New Orleans)|Benjamin Franklin High School]] in [[New Orleans, Louisiana|New Orleans]] received nine percent of the vote.<ref>{{cite news|title=Lauren McGaughy, Baton Rouge businessman Barry Ivey wins special House election, March 2, 2013|newspaper=[[New Orleans Times-Picayune]]|url=http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/03/baton_rouge_businessman_barry.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130306003731/http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/03/baton_rouge_businessman_barry.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 6, 2013|accessdate=August 26, 2013}}</ref> No [[Democrat (United States)|Democrat]] ran for the position.<ref>{{cite web|title=Louisiana election results, March 2, 2013|url=http://staticresults.sos.la.gov/03022013/03022013_Legislative.html|publisher=staticresults.sos.la.gov|accessdate=March 2, 2013}}</ref>
In her freshman legislative year in 2013, Stokes was rated at 71 percent by the [[Louisiana Association of Business and Industry]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://labi.org/legislature-info/legislator-detail/stokes-julie|title=Representative Julie Stokes|publisher=labi.org|accessdate=August 26, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141017082739/http://labi.org/legislature-info/legislator-detail/stokes-julie|archive-date=October 17, 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> Stokes servesdon the Health & Welfare, Labor & Industrial Relations, and Ways & Means committees.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.parlouisiana.com/explore.cfm/guideupdate2011/|title=2013 Updates|publisher=Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana|accessdate=August 26, 2013|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://archive.today/20130826195742/http://www.parlouisiana.com/explore.cfm/guideupdate2011/|archivedate=August 26, 2013}}</ref>
On November 6, 2018, Stokes finished in fifth place with 163,769 votes (11 percent) in the [[special election]] to fill the position of secretary of state, vacated by Republican [[Tom Schedler]]. The two top vote-getters, Republican interim secretary [[Kyle Ardoin]] and Democrat [[Gwen Collins-Greenup]], met in a December 8 runoff contest.<ref>{{cite web|date=November 6, 2018|title=Election Returns|url=https://voterportal.sos.la.gov/Graphical|publisher=Louisiana Secretary of State|accessdate=November 7, 2018}}</ref>
== Personal life == Stokes resides in Kenner with her husband Larry and their two children, Brandon and Taylor.<ref name="rehgobit" /> Until her diagnosis of [[breast cancer]] in 2017, Stokes was a candidate<ref name="breastcancer">{{cite news|date=July 6, 2017|title=Julie Stokes quits Louisiana treasurer race after breast cancer diagnosis|newspaper=[[New Orleans Times-Picayune]]|url=http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2017/07/julie_stokes_treasurer_not_run.html|accessdate=July 8, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171111072515/http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2017/07/julie_stokes_treasurer_not_run.html|archive-date=2017-11-11 |url-status=dead}}</ref> for Louisiana [[state treasurer]] in the [[2017 Louisiana State Treasurer special election|special election]] scheduled for October 14, 2017 to choose a successor to [[John Neely Kennedy]], who was elected in 2016 to the [[United States Senate]]. Stokes underwent five months of [[chemotherapy]]<ref name="breastcancer" /> and has been declared cancer-free.<ref>{{cite web|date=August 15, 2018|title=After fighting breast cancer, La. lawmaker takes cancer fight to state capitol|url=http://www.wafb.com/story/37833169/after-fighting-breast-cancer-la-lawmaker-takes-cancer-fight-to-state-capitol/|publisher=WAFB-TV|accessdate=December 15, 2018}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
{{Portal bar|United States|Business and Economics|Politics}}
{{s-start}} {{s-par|us-la-hs}} {{s-bef|before=[[Tony Ligi]]}} {{s-ttl|title=Member of the [[Louisiana House of Representatives]]<br />for the 79th district ([[Jefferson Parish, Louisiana|Jefferson Parish]])|years=2013–present}} {{s-inc}} {{s-end}}
{{Louisiana Center for Women in Government and Business Hall of Fame}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stokes, Julie}} [[Category:1970 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:American accountants]] [[Category:American women accountants]] [[Category:Businesspeople from Louisiana]] [[Category:Republican Party members of the Louisiana House of Representatives]] [[Category:People from Kenner, Louisiana]] [[Category:University of New Orleans alumni]] [[Category:21st-century members of the Louisiana State Legislature]] [[Category:21st-century American women politicians]]