Triche’s 20 comes to an end

Rep. Warren J. Triche Jr., D-Thibodaux became the Tri-parish area’s first casualty of term limits in the state legislature. The associate professor at Nicholls State University served for 20 years in the Louisiana House of Representatives.

When asked what his life would be like when the 2007 Regular Session, Triche’s last legislative session, ended, the lawmaker wasn’t sure.

“I have no idea. I just started today for the first day,” he said.

Triche still has six months of duty left with the legislature in the form of sitting on the appropriations committee and meeting in Baton Rouge one Friday a month when the joint budget committee meets.

Triche wasn’t ready to talk specifics about his political future. He said he needs to have some meetings first. He said he thinks he’ll be around Nicholls as a professor for a while longer.

“If I run again, it will certainly be for a higher position since I can’t run for my House seat. If I don’t run again, then I’ll look toward working with the administration that comes in, in January,” he said.

Triche has hinted in the past about running for a Senate seat, while vowing revenge against lobbyists for the death of his pet food fee bill.

But one thing is certain. Triche isn’t finished with politics.

“I voted for term limits. And term limits can be good, and term limits can be bad. We can see what term limits provide for people. If they can provide a person better than me, that’ll answer more phone calls, that’ll put themselves in the position I always put myself, in the shoes of the person who was calling me,” he said.

“When the phone rang the last 28,000 times I was there to answer it, unlike a lot of politicians that shy away from returning phone calls, because they know each phone call is a want, a need, a problem, something they’re going to have to handle. I look upon it as, hey, you elected me to do this and its part of the job,” he added.

Triche said he could give the newcomers to the House a lot of good advice, but he’d rather keep it to himself for in case he decides to run for his seat again in four years. There’s no sense in making them harder to beat in an election, he theorized.

Triche characterizes his 20 years serving in the House as being honest, frugal and dependable.

Triche said he tries to make himself as reachable as possible. He carries two cell phones and a beeper. He has two offices, one in Raceland and one in Thibodaux. And he has a toll-free number.

“When you needed Warren Triche, he was there for you or he tried to be or he put someone else in his place to be there for you,” he said.