Tony Ligi

Anthony V. Ligi, Jr., known as Tony Ligi (born August 7, 1955), is an attorney and real estate title insurance agent from Metairie in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, who is a Republican former member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from District 79, located on the populous south shore of Lake Pontchartrain. He resigned his seat, effective January 1, 2013, to become director of the Jefferson Business Council.

Websites do not indicate Ligi's exact date or place of birth. He holds the Bachelor of Arts in political science from Mansfield University of Pennsylvania in Mansfield, Pennsylvania. He is a Juris Doctor graduate of the Roman Catholic-affiliated Loyola University School of Law in New Orleans.

In 2007, Ligi was elected to the state House in 2007 to succeed the term-limited Republican Danny Martiny, who in turn was elected to the Louisiana State Senate on the retirement of Republican Art Lentini. Ligi led four other Republicans in the nonpartisan blanket primary with 5,474 votes (42 percent). He was to have been placed in a runoff contest with George L. Branigan, who trailed in the primary with 2,946 (22.6 percent). In third place was Jack Rizzuto, with 2,708 votes (20.8 percent). Two other candidates shared the remaining 15 percent of the vote. However, a week after the primary, Branigan withdrew from a second contest, and Ligi won the post without opposition. Ligi carried the support of Republican U.S. Senator David Vitter and the business interest group, the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry. The New Orleans Times-Picayune supported Ligi on grounds of his active political and civic leadership. He is a former chairman of the Jefferson Parish Republican Party and a co-founder of the Pelican State Pachyderm Club. Before running in the heavily Republican District 79, Ligi was also active in the Elmwood Park Civic Association.

Ligi served on these House committees: (1) Appropriations, (2) Budget, (3) House and Governmental Affairs, (4) Municipal, Parochial, and Cultural Affairs, and (5) Subcommittee on General Government. In addition to Metairie, District 79 includes the city of Kenner.

Ligi was reelected to a second term in the Louisiana House in the primary held on October 22, 2011. Ligi announced he would resign in 2012, so that he could become director of the Jefferson Business Council.

Ligi served as the chairman of the Republican Legislative Delegation from 2011 until 2012, making him the majority leader of the Louisiana House of Representatives since Republicans held a majority in the body at that time. He was succeeded as majority leader by Republican Representative Lance Harris from Alexandria

Ligi's House successor is fellow Republican Julie Stokes, an accountant from Kenner, who received 55 percent of the vote in the special nonpartisan blanket primary held on March 2, 2013, for the nearly three years remaining in Ligi's term. Stokes defeated three other Republicans for the seat. Jack Rizzuto, a candidate defeated by Ligi in 2007, finished second in the 2013 contest with 33 percent of the ballots cast. No Democrat contested the position.