Jody Amedee

Who is Jody Amedee?

Lee Joseph Amedee III, known as Jody Amedee, is an attorney from Gonzales, Louisiana, who is a Republican member of the Louisiana State Senate from District 18, which encompasses portions of Ascension, Livingston, St. James, and St. John the Baptist parishes.

Amedee graduated from Nicholls State University in Thibodaux and the historically black Southern University Law Center in Baton Rouge. Early in his career he was a law clerk in the Louisiana Senate. He is a former assistant district attorney for the 23rd Judicial District and the attorney for the Ascension Parish Tourist Commission. Amedee has been active in various sports organizations, including time as a coach of basketball and soccer. He is a member of the National Rifle Association, the National Wildlife Turkey Federation, the East Ascension Sportsman League, and Ducks Unlimited. He is Roman Catholic.

Amedee was elected to the first of his senatorial terms in 2003 as a Democrat. He led the six-candidate field with 12,413 votes. The runner up was fellow Democrat Jeff Diez, who received 11,323 votes. Two Republicans, Mark Stermer and Warren Harang, III, shared 30 percent of the vote. Two other Democrats held a combined 18 percent of the ballots. In the second balloting on November 15, Amedee defeated Diez, 24,190 to 22,668. Amedee was unopposed for his second term in the nonpartisan blanket primary held on October 20, 2007.