Walter John Leger III, known as Walt Leger (born June 22, 1978; surname pronounced leh-ZHAY), was Speaker pro tempore of the Louisiana House of Representatives and the representative for District 91, which includes Central City, Uptown, the Lower Garden District, the Irish Channel, parts of Broadmoor, Gert Town, and Hollygrove in New Orleans, Louisiana.
In 2018, Leger was recognized as the Young Alumnus of the Year by his alma mater, Louisiana State University and inducted into the Hall of Distinction.
Beginning his career as an Assistant District Attorney in New Orleans, Walt Leger tried countless jury and judge trials.
As Speaker, Walt Leger moderates debate, makes rulings on procedure, announces the results of votes, etc.
For nearly a decade, Leger has worked to reform the State's criminal justice system, to ensure that every public safety tax dollar is spent efficiently and productively.
In 2015, he created the Criminals justice Reinvestment Taskforce that in partnership with Pew Center for States has created a 2017 legislative package that is projected to save the state over $300 million in the next decade, reducing the prison population, reinvesting more than half of those savings in anti-recidivism programming, and driving the crime rate down.
As proven in Southern states over he past decade, these types of reforms are fiscally sound and actually make communities safer.
Leger's goal was to guarantee a more reliable revenue stream for the institutions, whose state share of funding has been declining in recent years.