ABOUT BELINDA
With lifelong roots in the community of Baton Rouge and an unwavering commitment to public education and making government more accountable to taxpayers, Belinda Davis believes in a better future for District 68 - and Louisiana.
Governor John Bel Edwards appointed Belinda Davis to the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education in 2019. As a member of BESE, she has been a staunch advocate for investing in our state’s children - from early childhood all the way through higher education. Belinda’s work in education has been a lifelong commitment.
Born and raised in Baton Rouge, Belinda graduated from Baton Rouge Magnet High. She furthered her education by earning her B.A. in Political Science from the University of Mississippi and her M.S. and Ph.D. from Florida State University.
After graduating, Belinda committed herself to studying public policy by evaluating policy effectiveness and efficiency for organizations such as the Rockefeller Institute of Government and the states of Louisiana and Florida, including reports on whether or not tax dollars being spent were producing the results taxpayers were paying for. Since 2005, Belinda has taught political science at Louisiana State University–where she’s served as an Associate Professor as well as the former Deputy Director of the Public Policy Research Lab.
Belinda is married to local attorney Daniel Davis. Together, they have three boys. All attend or have graduated from schools in the East Baton Rouge Parish School System—the same school system Belinda graduated from. Her two oldest children are students at LSU.
For over a decade, Belinda has tirelessly advocated for nonpartisan, common-sense policies to give the children of Louisiana an opportunity to succeed. Unfortunately, career politicians have prioritized political gamesmanship over the future of Louisiana—that’s why Belinda is running for State Representative.
“As a Mom, I spent a decade fighting for your kids and mine at the State Capitol. As a Professor at LSU, I’ve dedicated my career to getting the best return on investment for your tax dollars and teaching college students how to become civic minded members of our state’s communities. As your BESE member, I’ve worked to secure more funding for our state’s schools because I know investing in our kids is the only way to produce a better Louisiana for all of us.”
Our District
Stretching from the edges of LSU’s historic campus to south Baton Rouge, House District 68 is home to a population of 45,310. Our working families deserve better infrastructure, investments in our children’s future, and a commitment to revitalizing institutions across the district that serve the people of Louisiana every single day.
Belinda on the Issues
Belinda knows Louisiana is better than its bottom of the barrel rankings on national quality-of-life lists. But Louisiana is never going to move forward by continuing to elect people who have spent a career working in the same politics that have held back Louisiana, stifling our potential to thrive. Belinda believes in giving the future of Louisiana back to the working people who call it home, not the special interests and career politicians. As State Representative, Belinda is ready to make government work for District 68 by addressing critical priorities that have been pushed aside for too long.
EDUCATION
Belinda has dedicated her career to making government and public education more accountable to taxpayers. As a BESE member, Belinda used proven, research-based strategies to produce better outcomes for our kids and teachers. She fought for and got the largest investment in our school children’s behavioral and mental health in the state’s history. Belinda prioritized spending COVID relief dollars in a manner that would continue to produce results long after the initial funding was gone. She is committed to fighting for investments in our children's' future.
INFRASTRUCTURE & TRAFFIC
Anyone who has driven in Baton Rouge at 5 o’clock on a weekday knows as well as Belinda does: our infrastructure challenges are holding our city back, hurting businesses, and endangering our families. A recent report found that more than 120 Baton Rouge area bridges were structurally deficient. Belinda won’t be influenced by special interests who oppose critical policy changes needed to keep us safe on the roads, she’ll be fighting for our families instead.
INVESTING IN OUR FUTURE
Year after year, Louisiana is ranked as one of the worst states to live with a dismal quality-of-life ranking. Belinda knows it’s time to put the gamesmanship of career politicians behind and put the future of Louisiana first. By investing in education, supporting key industries driving our local and state economy, and holding our government accountable for every single tax-dollar spent to ensure taxpayers are getting a return for their investment, Louisiana can build a better future.
MAKING OUR COMMUNITIES SAFER
Prioritizing our public safety workers is personal for Belinda. Her husband Dan worked as a police officer in Tallahassee, Florida while Belinda attended graduate school. Despite working 40 hours a week on the night shift, he worked off-duty jobs to supplement his pay and support their family. Better training and higher pay for our public safety workers is good for them and means we are safer as a community. As a BESE member, Belinda worked hard to secure the largest investment in our students’ behavioral and mental health in the state’s history because she knows what the research says- addressing mental health and behavior problems when children are young decreases the chances they end up in our juvenile justice system or incarcerated as adults.