Rick Nowlin

Rickey L. "Rick" Nowlin (born July 30, 1948) is a Natchitoches engineer, businessman, and politician who is the first ever president of the reorganized Natchitoches Parish government. A Republican, Nowlin defeated the Democrat Gerald "Jerry" Longlois in the nonpartisan blanket primary held for the new position on November 6, 2012. The election was held in conjunction with the U.S. presidential and congressional contests. Nowlin received 9,283 votes (59.2 percent) to Longlois' 6,393 (40.8 percent).From 2008 to 2012, Nowlin was a one-term member of the Louisiana House of Representatives for District 23 (Natchitoches, DeSoto, and Red River parishes). Nowlin and the still-serving State Senator Gerald I. Long are the first Republicans since Reconstruction to represent Natchitoches Parish in the Louisiana legislature. The two took their oaths of office on January 14, 2008, the same day that Republican Governor Bobby Jindal was inaugurated.