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Barbara Freiberg
2020 - Present
2028
5
Barbara Freiberg (Republican Party) is a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives, representing District 70. She assumed office on January 13, 2020. Her current term ends on January 10, 2028.
Freiberg (Republican Party) ran for re-election to the Louisiana House of Representatives to represent District 70. She won in the general election on November 18, 2023.
Freiberg is the former District 12 member on the Metro Council of Baton Rouge in Louisiana. She won the seat in the general election on December 10, 2016.
Freiberg was a Republican District 7 representative on the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board in Louisiana. She was first elected to the board in 2010. She was re-elected in the general election on November 4, 2014, and served until her election to the city council.
Biography
Freiberg earned her B.A. in English and art education from Louisiana Tech University. She later received her M.A. in English from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.[1] Freiberg is a teacher and education administrator. She is affiliated with the following organizations:
- Rotary Club of Baton Rouge
- Baton Rouge Press Club
- Capitol Region Planning Commission
- Team Baton Rouge Board
- Urban Congress Delegate
- Project Transformation Committee
- Mayor's Blight Committee
- Mayor's Education Committee, Co-chair
- EBR Council Blight Committee
- Body Camera Study Group
- Council Community Policing/Community Ambassador Program
- Smart Growth Committee
- Council Plan of Government Committee
- National League of Cities - Council on Youth, Education, and Families.[2]
In 2013, Freiberg received the volunteer activist award from Rouge Speech and Hearing.[2]
Committee assignments
Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at: editor@ballotpedia.org.
2023-2024
Freiberg was assigned to the following committees:
- House Education Committee
- Municipal, Parochial and Cultural Affairs Committee
- Transportation, Highways and Public Works Committee
2021-2022
Freiberg was assigned to the following committees:
- House Education Committee
- Municipal, Parochial and Cultural Affairs Committee
- Transportation, Highways and Public Works Committee
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2023
See also: Louisiana House of Representatives elections, 2023
Louisiana elections use the majority-vote system. All candidates compete in the same primary, and a candidate can win the election outright by receiving more than 50 percent of the vote. If no candidate does, the top two vote recipients from the primary advance to the general election, regardless of their partisan affiliation.
General election
General election for Louisiana House of Representatives District 70
Incumbent Barbara Freiberg defeated Steve Myers in the general election for Louisiana House of Representatives District 70 on November 18, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Barbara Freiberg (R) | 64.9 | 4,485 |
| Steve Myers (D) | 35.1 | 2,421 | ||
| Total votes: 6,906 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for Louisiana House of Representatives District 70
Incumbent Barbara Freiberg and Steve Myers defeated Jennie Seals and Brent Campanella in the primary for Louisiana House of Representatives District 70 on October 14, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Barbara Freiberg (R) | 38.9 | 3,971 |
| ✔ | Steve Myers (D) | 27.2 | 2,775 | |
| Jennie Seals (R) | 21.2 | 2,163 | ||
| Brent Campanella (R) | 12.8 | 1,307 | ||
| Total votes: 10,216 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Freiberg in this election.
2019
See also: Louisiana House of Representatives elections, 2019
Louisiana elections use the majority-vote system. All candidates compete in the same primary, and a candidate can win the election outright by receiving more than 50 percent of the vote. If no candidate does, the top two vote recipients from the primary advance to the general election, regardless of their partisan affiliation.
General election
General election for Louisiana House of Representatives District 70
Barbara Freiberg defeated Belinda Davis in the general election for Louisiana House of Representatives District 70 on November 16, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Barbara Freiberg (R) | 52.6 | 8,758 |
 | Belinda Davis (D) | 47.4 | 7,891 | |
| Total votes: 16,649 (100.00% precincts reporting) | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for Louisiana House of Representatives District 70
Belinda Davis and Barbara Freiberg defeated Michael DiResto, Ricky Sheldon, and Mallory Mayeux in the primary for Louisiana House of Representatives District 70 on October 12, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Belinda Davis (D) | 38.1 | 5,504 |
| ✔ | | Barbara Freiberg (R) | 28.7 | 4,151 |
| Michael DiResto (R) | 20.6 | 2,978 | ||
| Ricky Sheldon (R) | 9.3 | 1,347 | ||
 | Mallory Mayeux (L) | 3.3 | 478 | |
| Total votes: 14,458 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2016
The city of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, held elections for mayor and metropolitan council on December 10, 2016. A primary election took place on November 8, 2016. The filing deadline for candidates who wished to run in this election was July 22, 2016. All 12 metropolitan council seats were up for election.[3][4] Barbara Freiberg defeated Rose Williams Carey in the Baton Rouge Metro District 12 general election.
| Baton Rouge Metro Council District 12, General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Barbara Freiberg |
67.11% | 7,201 | |
| Democratic | Rose Williams Carey | 32.89% | 3,529 | |
| Total Votes | 10,730 | |||
| Source: Louisiana Secretary of State, "Official Results," accessed December 21, 2016 | ||||
| Baton Rouge Metro Council District 12, Primary Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Barbara Freiberg |
36.30% | 5,519 | |
| Democratic | Rose Williams Carey |
26.71% | 4,061 | |
| Republican | Salvadore Christina Jr. | 23.43% | 3,562 | |
| Republican | Corey Smith | 7.93% | 1,205 | |
| Independent | Scott Cornelius | 3.63% | 552 | |
| Independent | Shane Zanders | 1.99% | 303 | |
| Total Votes | 15,202 | |||
| Source: Louisiana Secretary of State, "Official Results," accessed November 8, 2016 | ||||
2014
Nine seats on the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board were up for election in 2014. Three of the seats advanced to a general election on December 6, 2014, as no candidate earned 50 percent plus one of the primary election votes in Districts 1, 5 and 8.
Prior to this election, the school board was comprised of 11 members. However, in July 2014, the board voted to accept a redistricting plan that reduced the number of board members to nine. The 2014 election was the first election for the new district boundaries. Due to the redrawing of district boundaries, some incumbents ran in new districts and against one another. District 1 incumbent David Tatman (R) was the only incumbent to have no challengers file against him, and he was automatically elected to the District 9 seat.[5]
Mary Lynch (I), incumbent for the former District 11, ran for re-election to the District 1 seat against newcomers Mark Bellue (R) and Jennifer Andrews (D). Andrews and Bellue advanced to a general election. District 5 incumbent Evelyn Ware-Jackson (D) faced District 9 incumbent Jerry Arbour (R), as well as Patty Merrick (D) and W.T. Winfield (D). Ware-Jackson and Arbour advanced to a general election.[6]
The remaining races did not include redistricted incumbents. District 2 incumbent Vereta Lee (D) ran to retain the same seat against challenger Daniel Banguel (D). Rachel Allmon (D) also filed to run in District 2, but later withdrew from the race. Tarvald Smith (D), the District 4 incumbent, sought re-election against Robert Maxie Sr. (D). Anthony Nelson (D) challenged District 7 incumbent Barbara Freiberg (R). District 8 incumbent Connie Bernard (R) faced multiple challengers as Christopher Bailey (R), Charles "Obie" O'Brien (R) and Joan Wallyn (R) all ran to unseat her. Bernard and Bailey advanced to a general election.[6]
Eugene Weatherspoon (D) withdrew from the race in District 3 against incumbent Kenyetta Nelson-Smith (D), allowing her to be automatically re-elected. Tiffany Perkins (R) and District 10 incumbent Jill Dyason (R) both filed to run for the District 6 seat. However, a court ruling found that Perkins did not legally reside within the boundaries of District 6 and could not run for the seat. This left Dyason unopposed and automatically elected to her new seat.[6][7]
Results
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Barbara Freiberg Incumbent |
76% | 6,895 | |
| Democratic | Anthony Nelson | 24% | 2,181 | |
| Total Votes | 9,076 | |||
| Source: Louisiana Secretary of State, "Official Results," accessed November 6, 2014 | ||||
2010
| East Baton Rouge Parish School System, District 7 Primary Election, 4-year term, 2010 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Barbara Freiberg |
74.5% | 3,932 | |
| Republican | Noel Hammatt Incumbent | 25.5% | 1,343 | |
| Total Votes | 5,275 | |||
| Source: Louisiana Secretary of State, "Official Election Results," accessed September 3, 2014 | ||||
Campaign themes
2023
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Barbara Freiberg did not complete Ballotpedia's 2023 Candidate Connection survey.
2019
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Barbara Freiberg completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2019. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Freiberg's responses.
What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?
Because I have spent my entire adult life fighting for educational opportunities for all children and youth, issues around education and workforce development are the areas of most concern to me.
What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?
Effective, skilled elected officials should have an ability to engage others, a strong work ethic, the ability to encourage and motivate others, an ability to communicate clearly and listen attentively, and a desire to help others through public administration/service. This person should be honest, flexible, trustworthy, resilient, and eager and willing to add to this/her knowledge base and skills.
What legacy would you like to leave?
I would like to be a person remembered for what she did fighting for improvements in our state that made a true diddderence in the lives of our citizens.
What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?
The first major "historical" event I remember has to be the assassination of President Kennedy; I was a junior in high school.
What was your very first job? How long did you have it?
My first job was as a high school teacher; I taught in public schools for over 27 years.
What is your favorite book? Why?
To Kill a Mockingbird is one of my favorite books because it addresses many issues we face each day. Dealing with issues of racial injustice, loss of innocence, poverty, courage, compassion, and gender roles, this movel reminds us that all of us are better when we work for and with our "neighbors."
Do you believe that it’s beneficial for state legislators to have previous experience in government or politics?
As long as a State Legislator has determination, persistence, and the ability to work in harmony with others on legislative matters, it should not matter what previous experience a person has in politics or government.
What do you perceive to be your state’s greatest challenges over the next decade?
Getting more fairness in the state's tax structure, doing more to get educational opportunities to those who need them the most, putting into effect some sort of expanded funding mechanism for roads and bridges; and maintaining the important criminal justice reforms that received bipartisan support in 2017 are some of the challenges that our state must address in the near future. Now is the time to seek and demand the change we deserve. We can no longer be satisfied being 48th or 49th in state rankings; we have too many assets to be near the bottom of so many lists on which we have the ability to be first.
If you are not a current legislator, are there certain committees that you would want to be a part of?
Education, Appropriations, Municipal, and Transportation are all committees on which I would like to serve.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
2016
Freiberg's campaign website listed the following themes for 2016:
| “ |
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT A VIBRANT, EXPANDING ECONOMY IS THE CRITICAL INGREDIENT IN AGGRESSIVELY TACKLING OUR PROBLEMS. Barbara knows East Baton Rouge’s ability to effectively solve its problems depends on economic prosperity and expansion. As President of the EBR School Board, Barbara worked tirelessly with others to help design and build a new Lee High School, to begin renovations to Istrouma High School, and to approve construction of a new career/tech school at Ardendale — a school with the mission of providing our students the opportunity to secure market-ready, market-sensitive skills. She was also instrumental in the creation of the Mayfair Elementary Lab School — an innovative concept for high performing public education modeled after the University Lab School. Barbara knows that economic development comes from educational investment. Visionary leadership! That’s what Barbara Freiberg will mean for our Metro Council. PUBLIC SAFETY INCREASE PUBLIC SAFETY WITH STRONGER COMMUNITY OUTREACH AND ENGAGEMENT, INCREASED POLICE TRAINING AND BETTER PAY FOR OUR FIRST RESPONDERS! Barbara recognizes community policing is an absolute necessity in District 12 and throughout our city. Police working with neighborhoods, neighbors, families, and citizens in a cooperative effort to protect lives and property and to maintain safety. For community policing to really work, Barbara also knows Baton Rouge will need more police officers in our neighborhoods — so no neighborhood is left behind. In addition, our police officers will need improved and enhanced training and, yes, better pay. Barbara Freiberg is ready to lead the effort to make this happen! TRAFFIC AND TRANSPORTATION THE BATON ROUGE REGION'S TRAFFIC CRISIS IS CRIPPLING OUR ECONOMY AND LIMITING OUR QUALITY OF LIFE. I SUPPORT A COMPREHENSIVE REGIONAL MOBILITY PLAN THAT OFFERS SERIOUS AND SPECIFIC FUNDING SOLUTIONS FOR IMPLEMENTATION. Work cooperatively toward the creation of a comprehensive regional mobility plan Support multimodal strategies that give citizens greater transportation options Push accelerated action to improve the “I-10 bottleneck” Deliver an additional major alternative route through the region Develop comprehensive, fiscally responsible funding strategy to implement the regional plan NEIGHBORHOOD PRESERVATION DISTRICT 12 IS A COMMUNITY OF NEIGHBORHOODS. Each neighborhood is distinctive, and our residents take great pride in this distinctiveness. Special interests will quickly discover that Barbara will fight to protect the unique character of our neighborhoods from undesirable construction and expansion. Like she always does, Barbara will listen to neighborhood associations and residents and fight to protect our neighborhoods. Barbara will regularly attend planning and zoning meetings so our residents are informed and heard. FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY A WATCHDOG OVER THE FINANCES OF OUR CITY-PARISH For Barbara, it’s simple: our tax dollars are too precious for politicians to turn their heads to inefficiencies, waste, and abuse. Barbara will stand for our taxpayers. She will fight to insure our citizens get a dollar’s worth of service for every tax dollar spent. [8] |
” |
| —Barbara Freiberg (2016), [9] | ||
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Endorsements
2016
Freiberg received the endorsement of the Baton Rouge Area Chamber (BRAC) in September 2016. BRAC endorsed candidates focused on improvements to transportation, crime reduction, workforce education, economic growth, government efficiency, and city beautification efforts.[10]
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Louisiana scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2024
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2024, click [show]. |
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In 2024, the Louisiana State Legislature was in session from March 11 to June 3. Special sessions were convened from January 15, 2024 to January 23, 2024; February 19, 2024 to February 29, 2024; and November 6, 2024 to November 25, 2024.
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2023
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show]. |
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In 2023, the Louisiana State Legislature was in session from April 10 to June 8.
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2022
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2022, click [show]. |
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In 2022, the Louisiana State Legislature was in session from March 14 to June 6.
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2021
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show]. |
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In 2021, the Louisiana State Legislature was in session from April 12 to June 10.
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2020
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show]. |
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In 2020, the Louisiana State Legislature was in session from March 9 to June 1. The session was suspended from March 31 through May 4. A special session convened from June 1 to June 30 and from September 28 to October 23.
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See also
2023 Elections
External links
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Candidate Louisiana House of Representatives District 70 |
Officeholder Louisiana House of Representatives District 70 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Barbara Reich Freiberg for Metro Council, "About Barbara," accessed September 6, 2016
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Information submitted on Ballotpedia’s biographical information submission form on October 2, 2019
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, "2016 Elections," accessed January 21, 2016
- ↑ The Advocate, "Baton Rouge faces political shake-up with all 12 seats on Metro Council up for grabs this fall," January 19, 2016
- ↑ The Advocate, "EBR School Board agrees to downsize to 9 members," July 25, 2014
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Louisiana Secretary of State, "Candidate Inquiry," accessed September 3, 2014
- ↑ The Advocate, "Judge rules School Board candidate not a resident of district," September 10, 2014
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Barbara Reich Freiberg for Metro Council, "The Issues," accessed September 6, 2016
- ↑ The Advocate, "Republican Delgado scores public safety union support in Baton Rouge mayor's race," September 30, 2016
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Franklin Foil (R) |
Louisiana House of Representatives District 70 2020-Present |
Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by - |
East Baton Rouge Metro Council District 12 2017-2020 |
Succeeded by Jennifer Racca (R) |
| Preceded by - |
East Baton Rouge Parish School System, District 7 2010-2016 |
Succeeded by - |
