John Schroder

John Michael Schroder, Sr. (born February 23, 1961), is a businessman from Covington, Louisiana, who is a Republican member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from District 77 in St. Tammany Parish in suburban New Orleans. Schroder was first elected to the House in 2007 by a conservative constituency in both St. Tammany and Tangipahoa parishes, but after redistricting in 2011, District 77 is now based solely in St. Tammany Parish.

A graduate of East Jefferson High School in Metairie in Jefferson Parish, Schroder thereafter received a Bachelor of Science degree in criminal justice from Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond.^[1] He served as a special agent in the United States Army. Schroder is a real estate agent, homebuilder, and developer. He and his wife, the former Ellie Marie Daigle, have two children, Brittany Leigh Schroder and John M. Schroder, Jr. The Schroders are Roman Catholic.^[2]

In the 2007 nonpartisan blanket primary to replace the term-limited Republican Diane Winston, Schroder led a three-candidate field with 8,534 votes (46.5 percent). He was thrust into a general election on November 17 with fellow Republican Colleen Hawley, also of Covington, who finished with 6,567 votes (41.2 percent). The remaining 2,272 votes (12.4 percent) votes went to Democrat Angelique LaCour.^[3] In the general election, with a much lower turnout than in the primary because of the lack of gubernatorial competition, Schroder defeated Hawley, 4,821 (51.2 percent) to 4,602 (48.8 percent).^[4]

Schroder is a member of the House committees on (1) Civil Law and Procedure, (2) Homeland Security, (3) Education, (4) Military and Veterans Affairs, and (5) Joint Budget.^[1] Originally, Schroder was named to the Appropriations Committee, but he was removed from the panel in the spring of 2010 in a dispute with the outgoing Speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives Jim Tucker of Algiers. Tucker claimed that Schroder broke his word regarding a commitment to support the Independent, subsequently Republican, Representative Joel Robideaux of Lafayette for the vacant position of Speaker pro tem. Instead, Schroder voted for the Democrat, later Republican, Noble Ellington of Winnsboro for the post, which still narrowly went to Robideaux. Schroder said that he had never agreed to support Robideaux for the position and that Tucker must have had other motivations for removing him from the Appropriations Committee, particularly since Schroder is opposed to annual automatic pay increases provided for nearly all state employees.^[5]

Involved also in child protection issues, Schroder chairs the task force on Legal Representation of Children.^[2] He offered the motion in 2011 in the House Civil Law and Procedure Committee to defer a proposal by Democratic Representative Helena Moreno of New Orleans to permit adoptions by homosexual couples.^[6]

Schroder has a 100 percent voting score by Louisiana Right to Life. In 2010, he received a 90 percent score from the Louisiana Family Forum and 81 percent from the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry. In 2009, he was ranked 75 percent by the Louisiana National Federation of Independent Business.^[7]

Though a Republican, Schroder announced his support of the Democrat Walt Leger, III, of New Orleans as the Speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives, the choice of incoming Governor John Bel Edwards. In return for his support for Leger, who is opposed by the Republican Cameron Henry, Schroder was to have been named chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.^[8] However, lawmakers rebuked Edwards' choice and chose another Republican Speaker, Taylor Barras of New Iberia.^[9]

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