Stanton Hardee announces candidacy for Kaplan City Judge

KAPLAN - Stanton Hardee of Kaplan is announcing his candidacy for the office of City Judge of Kaplan and the Ninth Ward. Hardee’s local roots run deep. He is a fourth generation Kaplan native who is the great grandson of C.J. Montgomery, Sr., early settler and fourth Mayor of Kaplan and the grandson of Grace Montgomery Hardee. He is the son of Stan and Linda Hardee, first female Mayor of Kaplan.
Hardee states, “Who better to fairly enforce the law as City Judge than a Kaplan native. I grew up in a safe town and promise to keep it safe. Having a record of fighting drugs and crime, I have been and will always be available to law enforcement 24/7. I promise to conduct court with respect for victims and be available to our citizens’ needs.”
He attended Maltrait Memorial School and Kaplan public schools. During his early high school years, he became an Eagle Scout in Kaplan Boy Scout Troop 81. Following his graduation from Kaplan High School where he was the Salutatorian of his senior class, he attended the U.S. Military Academy at West Point where he graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in French and was commissioned as a U.S. Army Infantry Officer. Hardee is one of the only two Vermilion Parish residents to graduate from West Point. He taught French at Vermilion Catholic and then decided to go to law school at Southern University where he graduated with a Juris Doctorate degree.
Following his graduation from law school, he worked as an Assistant Attorney General at the Louisiana Department of Justice in Baton Rouge and has served as an Assistant District Attorney for Caddo, St. Mary, St.Martin and Vermilion Parishes. In 2013 he opened a private practice at Hardee Law Firm and Mediation Center in Kaplan. During his employment as Assistant District Attorney in Vermilion Parish, Hardee was selected as the 2013 State Drug Prosecutor of the Year by the Louisiana Narcotics Officers Association.
He is actively involved in both city and parish organizations. In Kaplan he is a member of the Chamber of Commerce, Rotary Club, Baptist Church, Post 271 of the American Legion and a patron of the Kaplan Museum. At the parish level, he is a member of the Vermilion Chamber of Commerce, Abbeville Kiwanis Club, Leadership Vermilion- Class of 2014 and F.U.E.L. Vermilion.
“I humbly ask for your vote and support on November 4, 2014. Merci Beaucoup!”