Tom Capella

Thomas John "Tom" Capella
Louisiana State Representative for
District 98 (Jefferson Parish)
In office
November 2001  January 2004
Preceded by Jim Donelon
Succeeded by Cheryl Gray
Member of the Jefferson Parish Council
In office
2004  April 2011
Preceded by Edmond Joseph "Ed" Muniz
Succeeded by

Mike Thomas (interim)

Elton M. Lagasse (elected without opposition)
Jefferson Parish Assessor
Assumed office
April 2011
Preceded by Lawrence E. Chehardy
Personal details
Born April 1965
New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
Political party Republican
Spouse(s) Stephanie Carroll Capella
Children Sophie and Eliza Jane Capella
Parents Bernard Joseph, Jr., and Lillian McCormack Capella
Residence Metairie, Jefferson Parish
Alma mater

Jesuit High School
Tulane University

Tulane University Law School
Occupation Lawyer

Thomas John Capella, known as Tom Capella (born April 1965),[1] is a lawyer in his native New Orleans, Louisiana,[2] who has been since 2011 the tax assessor of suburban Jefferson Parish. From 2001 to 2004, he was a Republican member of the Louisiana House of Representatives for District 98 in Jefferson Parish.[3]

Background

Capella is the youngest of ten children of Bernard Joseph Capella, Jr., and the former Lillian McCormack, both deceased. His sister, Mary Jane Capella Silva, an educator and the second oldest of the children, died at the age of sixty on September 2, 2012.[4] He graduated in 1983 from the Roman Catholic Jesuit High School in New Orleans. He earned a Bachelor of Science in management in 1987 from Tulane University and a law degree in 1993 from the Tulane University Law School, also in New Orleans, where he maintains his legal practice. He resides in Metairie in Jefferson Parish[5] with his wife, the former Stephanie Carroll, a former parochial school teacher, and their two daughters, Sophie and Eliza Jane Capella.[2]

Capella has been active in the Catholic Youth Organization and is a member of the finance committee of St. Michael's Special School for disabled children in New Orleans. He is a class captain of the Jesuit High School Alumni Association. He is affiliated with the Pontchartrain Shores Civic Association and the Jefferson Chamber of Commerce.[2]

Capella formerly resided in Baton Rouge and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, dates unavailable.[6]

Political life

On November 24, 2001, Capella narrowly won a low-turnout special election to succeed Republican Representative Jim Donelon, who resigned effective June 30 to become the assistant state insurance commissioner under J. Robert Wooley, a Democrat. When Wooley later resigned as commissioner, Donelon moved up to the top spot on an interim basis and was elected in 2006 to the position, which he still holds. Capella polled 1,861 votes (50.6 percent) to runner-up fellow Republican Dianna Dyer's 1,489 (40.5 percent). Two other candidates held the remaining 9 percent of the ballots cast.[7]

Capella's abbreviated term in the House corresponded with the second administration of Republican Governor Murphy J. Foster, Jr., who credited Capella with saving the Taylor Opportunity Program for Students, or TOPS scholarships, adopted in 1998 and named for its key proponent, New Orleans businessman Patrick F. Taylor. The program particularly benefits the middle class. Capella was a member of the House Insurance and Judiciary committees. He co-authored the Louisiana Anti-Terrorism Act and worked for the rights of military service personnel. He sponsored the creation of the Governor's Advisory Commission on Coastal Restoration and Conservation. He worked to obtain economic development projects for municipalities.[2]

A victim of redistricting adverse to his political interest, Capella did not seek reelection to the House to a full term and was succeeded by a Democrat, Cheryl Gray. Instead he was narrowly elected in 2003 to an at-large position on the Jefferson Parish Council. He unseated the veteran Division B member, Edmond Joseph "Ed" Muniz, by 973 votes: 65,721 (50.4 percent) to 64,748 (49.6 percent).[8]

In 2007, Capella won a second term on the council by a wide margin, 78,531 votes (79.9 percent) to 19,714 (20.1 percent) for the Democrat Fred "Ed" Mathew.[9] Capella left the council in 2011 upon his victory in a special election for Jefferson Parish assessor to succeed Lawrence E. Chehardy, a Republican who retired after thirty-four years in the position in order to return to his law practice. Capella won the post with 32,857 votes (74.3 percent) over two other Republicans and an Independent.[10] Like his predecessor, Chehardy, Capella is a staunch advocate of the $75,000 homestead exemption in Louisiana. In 2013, Capella sent a letter to constituents arguing for the exemption and reminding voters that the renewal of property taxes on their ballots the following month would mean an increase in their 2013 tax bills.[11] Voters then rejected the tax renewals except for fire protection.[12]

Capella won his second full term as assessor without opposition in the primary election held on October 24, 2015.

References

  1. "Thomas Capella, April 1965". Louisiana Secretary of State. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Guest Speaker: Councilman Tom Capella". Bent Tree Estates Civic Association. March 19, 2009. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
  3. "Membership in the Louisiana House of Representatives, 1812-2016" (PDF). house.louisiana.gov. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
  4. "Mary Jane Capella Silva". tributes.com. September 4, 2012. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
  5. "Thomas J. Capella". roedelparsons.com. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
  6. "Thomas John Capella". intelius.com. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
  7. "Election Results". Louisiana Secretary of State. November 24, 2001. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
  8. "Election Results". Louisiana Secretary of State. November 15, 2003. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
  9. "Election Results". Louisiana Secretary of State. October 20, 2007. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
  10. "Election Results". Louisiana Secretary of State. April 2, 2011. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
  11. Manuel Torres (April 30, 2013). "Jefferson Parish Assessor Tom Capella says tax renewals on May 4 ballot would raise 2013 bills". The New Orleans Times-Picayune. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
  12. "Election Results". Louisiana Secretary of State. May 4, 2013. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
Louisiana House of Representatives
Preceded by
Jim Donelon
Louisiana State Representative for District 98 (Jefferson Parish)

Thomas John "Tom" Capella
20012004

Succeeded by
Cheryl Gray
Preceded by
Edmond J. "Ed" Muniz
Division B at-large member of the Jefferson Parish Council

Thomas John "Tom" Capella
20042011

Succeeded by
Mike Thomas (interim)

Elton M. Lagasse (elected without opposition to full term in 2011)

Preceded by
Lawrence E. Chehardy
Jefferson Parish Assessor

Thomas John "Tom" Capella
2011

Succeeded by
Incumbent
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