CONGRESSMAN CLEO FIELDS RELEASES STATEMENT ON THE PASSING OF STATE SENATOR LARRY SELDERS:

BATON ROUGE, L.A. - Congressman Cleo Fields released the following statement mourning the passing of Louisiana State Senator Larry Selders, who passed away Tuesday evening. Senator Selders represented Louisiana's 14th Senate District and served in the Louisiana Legislature since 2021:

"Larry Selders was my friend, and Louisiana was better for every day he served it.

I knew Larry a long time. I watched him come up, and I watched him become one of the most genuine leaders our state has produced. He was a Southern University man, like me, and he carried everything that institution stands for into every room he walked into. He never forgot where he came from, and he never stopped working for the people who sent him to the Legislature.

When I was elected to Congress, I left behind the state Senate seat I had held for much of my career, a seat that means a great deal to me and to the people of Baton Rouge. There was never a question in my mind about who should carry it forward. I supported Larry because I knew his heart. He didn't see public office as a title; he saw it as a responsibility. And he proved me right every single day he held it.

Larry was a social worker at heart, in his profession and in his politics. He spent his life caring for people struggling with mental health and addiction, and then he went to the State Capitol and wrote that care into law. He expanded mental health services, protected survivors of domestic violence, fought for working families, and opened doors for young people all across our state. He never asked for credit, because credit was never the point, people were.

But if you asked Larry what he was proudest of, he wouldn't have said any of that. He would have told you about Kendra, LJ, and Luke. Anyone who knew him knew that his family came first, always.

Kendra, the boys, and everyone who loved Larry remain in my prayers. Baton Rouge lost a champion, and I lost a brother in service. Rest well, my friend."

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