Louisiana House Speaker Pro-tem Tanner MaGee Announces He's Out

Tanner Magee is done with Louisiana politics it would seem and is more or less slamming the door on his way out. The second-ranked member of the House and a powerful Republican, Magee announced (after being preemtped by LAPoliticsNow) that he is not seeking re-election. In a series of tweets explaining his decision to step aside he pointed to “factionalism” and the “toxic stew” at the Capitol and a need to let “someone else gets a crack at improving our state.”

In a tweet yesterday evening he said,

“It was not my intention to announce this yesterday. I told a few key supporters but didn’t have the chance to tell my staff. Word travels fast and @LaPoliticsNow sniffed it out quick.”

“There several factors that weighed into my decision, but the biggest is my family. My kids are at an age that I want to be there and I don’t want to miss stuff. Or be present but distracted by politics.”

In a series of follow-up tweets Magee explained his decision, “There several factors that weighed into my decision, but the biggest is my family. My kids are at an age that I want to be there and I don’t want to miss stuff. Or be present but distracted by politics.”

·He saved the most controversial piece for last,

“The final factor is the toxic stew we created at the Capitol. I love the people and I love most of my colleagues. 90% are trying their absolute best to make LA a better place to live. But it’s undeniable that the factionalism and outside interest groups have reshaped BR.”

Just a month ago, Magee took his fellow legislators to task in an interview with 710 KEEL during the debacle of funding in the Shreveport Bossier area. He told KEEL "the speaker is going to put the people he trusts on that panel and that typically comes from 2nd and 3rd term lawmakers. And I'm going to be totally honest with you, I'm not sure there's anybody from northwest Louisiana, besides Thomas Pressly that the speaker trusts to put on that committee."

"You have a group of lawmakers who are more interested in making headlines about obstructing government than they are about doing the people's work." He did single out Pressly, Barrow Peacock and Greg Tarver as exceptions to this statement.

While the ultimate causes behind Magee’s departure are anybody’s guess the leadership shakeup will doubtlessly reverberate through the next legislative session, and Shreveport Bossier will likely suffer from a lack of representation at the top of House leadership.

LocalMatthew HollowayLouisiana, Legislature