Walker Hines

State Representative Walker Hines (R-New Orleans) today announced that he will not be seeking any public office this Fall. Hines had previously announced his candidacy for Secretary of State. After four years serving in the Louisiana House of Representatives and after much reflection, discussion, and prayer, I have decided that I will not be seekin... g any public office this year. During my tenure in the State Legislature, I championed good government, pro-business initiatives, and criminal justice reform. I stand behind my voting record because I did my absolute best to serve my constituents and the State of Louisiana, never allowing one particular interest or person to sway my vote. As the youngest member of the State Legislature, I have many things that I wish to accomplish in my own life-including starting my own business venture in the private sector and improving my health. I am committed to following through with these critical goals. At some point in the future, I plan on returning to public service to offer myself to Louisiana voters as a major office candidate. Serving the public provided me with the best opportunity to improve the quality of life for my constituents. I will continue to devote much of my free time towards helping my community and staying civically active. As I temporarily leave public service at 27 years old, I reflect on some of my greatest and most challenging moments serving in the Legislature. Throughout my four years, but in particular in my first and last years, I earned a reputation for authoring numerous bills to curtail the influence of special interest lobbyists over elected officials. To this day, I believe all bodies of government must pass a complete ban on the ability of lobbyists to wine, dine, and entertain elected officials in order to build a personal relationship intended to engender favors in return. Moreover, campaign finance reform needs to go further and greatly increase transparency with respect to contributions to elected officials by registered lobbyists (and ...Read More