Taylor Announces Bid for Livingston Parish Assessor
"Citizen of the Year" Nominee
Pledges Responsible Leadership

DENHAM SPRINGS -- Local businessman Jeff Taylor pledges to bring responsible, conservative leadership to the Livingston Parish Assessor's office. Taylor, a 34-year-old Livingston Parish native, announces he will run for the post in the October 23 election.

"As your assessor, I will always make myself available to you, and my actions answerable to you. I believe government officials are elected to protect our interests, not to ignore or abuse them," says Taylor. "I pledge to protect homestead exemption, guard our family interests against burdensome tax hikes, and make our public dollars work for our children and not special interests."

Taylor represents the property and casualty division of Hibernia Bank in Livingston, Ascension, and East Baton Rouge parishes. He is the Livingston Parish representative on the board of directors for Summit Hospital, and he serves on the boards of the Livingston Economic Development Council and Women's Hope Center, the parish's Christian-based pregnancy center for unwed mothers. Taylor also was appointed by Governor Mike Foster to the Amite River Basin Commission, where he served as president and led efforts to reduce flood water levels in Denham Springs, Port Vincent, French Settlement and Maurepas.

Twice nominated as Livingston Parish's "Citizen of the Year," Taylor serves the local community as a member of the Livingston Parish Chamber of Commerce and Rotary Club. He is a past president of his Kiwanis Club. He has been a volunteer Junior Achievement instructor in the local school system for the past four years, and he actively works with youth and the young adult Sunday School at First United Methodist Church in Denham Springs.

Taylor says he will install computer equipment and utilize an ownership map in the assessor's office, essential components of business that are missing from Livingston Parish but currently exist in other assessor offices in the state.

"Livingston Parish is growing. It is essential that we modernize to meet the demands of our residents and business owners," says Taylor. "I will make our assessor's office user-friendly. I will always conduct myself responsibly, and I will do the job right the first time."

For 13 years, Taylor has been married to his high school sweetheart, Delia Adams of Livingston. They have two children, Zachary, 4 years old, and Caroline, 6 months. He is the son of Rev. and Mrs. Delmas Taylor of Livingston. His grandparents are Wilma Glascock Grantham and the late Herman Grantham of Holden, and the late Shelby and Russia Wheat Taylor of Colyell.

He is a graduate of Doyle High School, and he received a bachelor's degree in marketing from the College of Business at Southeastern Louisiana University. Taylor has earned several professional awards, and he holds certification in numerous insurance and financial investment categories, including the distinguished title of Life Underwriter Training Council Fellow.

Taylor is posting information about his campaign on the Internet at his website http://talk.to/JeffTaylor.

Top

Taylor, Walker Named to Summit Hospital Board

BATON ROUGE -- Jeff Taylor and Dr. Durwin Walker, both of Livingston Parish, have been named to the Advisory Board of Trustees for Summit Hospital of Baton Rouge.

As annually appointed board members, they will be responsible for evaluating the hospital's performance improvement, risk management, quality of care, maintenance of credentials and other operational aspects. Summit Hospital is located at 17000 Medical Drive, off O'Neal Drive in Baton Rouge. The facility was formerly Columbia Medical Center.

"A major part of Summit Hospital's vision is to become a primary health care provider for Livingston Parish residents. An important step toward that goal is to incorporate respected professionals from Livingston Parish in the administrative process," says Dr. Walker, who serves as chief of staff for Summit Hospital. "I am honored to be a part of this facility and its vision to meet the needs of Livingston Parish residents."

Taylor says he too is honored to represent Livingston Parish on the hospital's board. "Our parish is growing, which means that our needs are multiplying. We need a medical facility that is positioned to meet our health care needs. Our intent is to ensure that every man, woman, boy or girl in Livingston Parish is presented with the very best hospital care in hopes that they will be able to lead healthy, productive lives," says Taylor.

Taylor represents the property and casualty division of Hibernia Bank in Livingston, East Baton Rouge and Ascension parishes. He is a board member for the Livingston Parish Economic Development Council and Women's Hope Center, Livingston Parish's Christian-based pregnancy center for unwed mothers. He is a member of the Livingston Parish Chamber of Commerce and Rotary Club, and past president of his Kiwanis Club. Taylor also was appointed by Gov. Mike Foster to serve on the Amite River Basin Commission, where he has worked to reduce flood damages in Denham Springs, Port Vincent, French Settlement and Maurepas.

Taylor recently announced he is a candidate for Livingston Parish Assessor in the October 23 election. He is a graduate of Doyle High School and Southeastern Louisiana University. He and his wife Delia have two children, Zachary and Caroline, and they are members of First United Methodist Church of Denham Springs.

Dr. Walker is board certified in family practice and geriatric medicine and has maintained a practice in the Denham Springs area since 1984. He recently began operating a new family practice facility on Highway 1019 in Watson. Dr. Walker is a clinical preceptor with the LSU School of Medicine and Tulane School of Medicine and a member of the American Medical Directors Association. In addition to his appointment with Summit Hospital, he is affiliated with Our Lady of the Lake Hospital, Baton Rouge General Medical Center and Dixon Medical Center.

He is a graduate of Denham Springs High School and the LSU Medical School in Shreveport. Dr. Walker is an active member of First United Methodist Church in Denham Springs, and he serves on the board for the Livingston Parish Children's Choirs. He and his wife Cynthia have four children, Patrick, Mathew, Kathryn and Douglas.

Other Summit Hospital board members include Randy Bluth of Hancock Investment Services, Inc., in Baton Rouge; Dr. Gary J. Brandt, medical director of emergency services at Summit Hospital; Lee Chastant, administrator of Stanocola Medical Clinic in Baton Rouge; Dr. John A. Dean, a plastic surgeon with Associates in Plastic Surgery in Baton Rouge; Dr. Charles S. Greeson, a radiologist with Diagnostic Radiology Consultants in Baton Rouge; Steve Grimm, CEO of Summit Hospital; Chuck Mock, owner of Louisiana Medical Claim Management Service in Baton Rouge; and Dr. Stanley Peters, an otolaryngologist with Hansbrough, Peters & Petit in Baton Rouge.

Top