Conrad Appel

Conrad Henry Appel, III
Louisiana State Senate District 9 (Jefferson Parish)
Incumbent
Assumed office November 20, 2008
Preceded by	Steve Scalise
Personal details
Born	1951 New Orleans Louisiana, USA
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Carol Ann Appel
Children	Conrad (Connor) Appel, IV Whitney Caroline Appel
Alma mater	Isidore Newman School Louisiana State University
Occupation	Businessman

Conrad Henry Appel, III (born 1951), is a Metairie, Louisiana, businessman who since 2008 has been a Republican member of the Louisiana State Senate from District 9 in suburban Jefferson Parish. Appel won a special election to succeed short-term Senator Steve Scalise, after Scalise was instead elected to the United States House of Representatives following the accession of U.S. Representative Bobby Jindal to the Louisiana governorship.

A New Orleans native, Appel graduated in 1969 from the college preparatory Isidore Newman School. In 1973, he received a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. Appel is the president of ConstructionSouth, Inc., of Metairie, which specializes in industrial and commercial general construction. He is also a licensed real estate broker and president of the firm Trinity Company.^[1]

As a first-time candidate Appel defeated fellow Republican Polly Thomas, a professor at the University of New Orleans, in a special election held at the time of the November 4, 2008, national general election. Thomas' defeat for the Senate seat was her fourth election loss since 1999. Appel said that he was pleased to have Thomas as his opponent: "Polly and I have been friends for a long time, and this has been a hard race for me. I'm really proud of Polly."^[2] Thomas had also run against Scalise in 2007 and polled only 29 percent of the vote in the regular legislative election.^[3] Appel received 21,853 votes (52.1 percent) to Thomas's 20,065 votes (47.9 percent).^[4]

Appel vowed to emphasize economic development in post-Hurricane Katrina period. He has been affiliated with the Jefferson Business Council and the New Orleans Dock Board. Upon his election, Appel said that he will not seek any other office than the Senate position.^[2] Appel serves on these committees: (1) Commerce, Consumer Protection, and International Affairs, (2) Education, (3) Judiciary C as vice chairman, (4) Retirement.^[5]

In 2010, Appel supported the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry 100 percent of the time. He backed the Louisiana Family Forum 90 percent of the time. In 2009, he was rated 100 percent by the Louisiana Right to Life Federation. In 2011, Appel voted to make the state tobacco tax permanent, but the measure was vetoed by Governor Jindal. He also voted against an amendment to the Smoke-free Air Act that would have forbidden smoking in bars and restaurants.^[6]

In 2011, Appel filed a bill, with Jindal's support, to merge the University of New Orleans with the historically black Southern University at New Orleans.^[6] Touted as a way to save funds earmarked for higher education, the measure nevertheless failed because of a lack of support in both houses of the legislature. Appel obtained passage of a bill to place the Schepis Museum in New Orleans into the state system. He also urged support for a state constitutional amendment to limit how public colleges can increase or implement student fees.^[7]

Appel and his wife, Carol Ann, have two children, Conrad Appel, IV, also known as Connor Appel, a student at St. Martin's Episcopal School, and Whitney Caroline Appel.^[1]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Senator Conrad Appel - District 9". senat.legis.state.la.us. http://senate.legis.state.la.us/appel/biography.asp. Retrieved August 31, 2011. 
2. ^ ^{a b} "Richard Rainey, "Conrad Appel bests Polly Thomas for state Senate seat," November 4, 2008". nola.com. http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2008/11/appel_bests_thomas_for_state_s.html. Retrieved August 31, 2011. 
3. ^ "Louisiana primary election returns, October 20, 2007". staticresults.sos.la.gov. http://staticresults.sos.la.gov/10202007/10202007_Legislative.html. Retrieved August 31, 2011. 
4. ^ "Louisiana general election returns, November 4, 2008". staticresults.sos.la.gov. http://staticresults.sos.la.gov/11042008/11042008_Legislative.html. Retrieved August 31, 2011. 
5. ^ "Senator Conrad Appel - District 9". senate.legis.state.la.us. http://senate.legis.state.la.us/appel/assignments.asp. Retrieved August 31, 2011. 
6. ^ ^{a b} "Senator Conrad Appel". votesmart.org. http://www.votesmart.org/summary.php?can_id=110948. Retrieved August 31, 2011. 
7. ^ "Senator Conrad Appel". louisianagovernmentalstudies.com. http://www.louisianagovernmentalstudies.com/mymob/ConradAppel.html. Retrieved August 31, 2011. 

Louisiana Senate
Preceded by Steve Scalise	Louisiana State Senator from District 9 (Jefferson Parish) Conrad Henry Appel, III 2008–	Succeeded by Incumbent

Persondata
Name	Appel, Conrad Henry, III
Alternative names
Short description	Louisiana state senator
Date of birth	1951
Place of birth	New Orleans, Louisiana
Date of death
Place of death