Rick Ward

Rick Ward was the youngest serving member of the Louisiana State Senate prior to leaving in 2022. Rick was elected to serve Senate District 17 in 2011 at the young age of 29. Senate District 17 comprises much of St. Helena, East and West Feliciana, Pointe Coupee, West Baton Rouge, Iberville, Assumption, and portions of St. Martin and East Baton Rouge. It is a large geographic district that required the energy and passion that Rick brought to his position. Legislative Achievements Although he was the youngest serving member of the Louisiana Senate, Rick was one of its most productive and effective members. He was known for pursuing his legislative agenda in a quiet but determined manner. Among his most important achievements, Rick was the father of the comprehensive effort to ensure transparency in state spending, Louisiana Checkbook, a real-time accounting of state expenditures the public can access. Rick has also authored important legislation to ensure free speech rights on college campuses. In 2018, Rick took on the most intractable faced by the Capital Region of our state: traffic. Anyone traveling on Interstate 10 or 12 through Baton Rouge knows the issue all too well. Rick successfully authored legislation to provide a workable solution to building a new bridge over the Mississippi River, including a southern bypass around Baton Rouge, solving this traffic problem for decades. Rick served as Chairman of the Senate Judiciary A Committee, the committee responsible for major aspects of Louisianas Civil Code. He was also a member of the Insurance and Natural Resource committees. Education Rick is a graduate of Bethany Christian School, LSU, and Southern University Law Center. He is married to Dawn Ward and they have three children: Reese, Hayes, and Hudson. When not practicing law, Rick spends his time with his children enjoying the outdoors of Louisiana. He is an avid hunter and fisherman.