Larry Foy

Larry Foy earned a bachelor's degree from North Central College in 1983 and a graduate degree from the Northern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1987. His career experience includes working as an activist.[1]

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Larry "Lawrence" W. Foy, Sr. is a Baptist clergyman, theologian, social ethicist, and social justice advocate. Larry was born in Monroe, Louisiana, but raised in Winnsboro, Louisiana, where he received his public education, graduating from Franklin Parish High School. He left Louisiana shortly after graduating from high school in search of gainful employment. Foy subsequently spent most of his adult life in two of the nation's largest cities, Chicago, Illinois, and Los Angeles, California. His professional life and public service are expansive, including pastoral ministry, homeless shelter director, college and seminary instructor, tertiary youth counselor, community and faith-based organizer, and civil rights and public policy advocate.

Foy pursued a PhD in Ethics and Public Policy Formation at the University of Southern California (USC) and earned a B.A. in Religion/Philosophy from North Central College and an M.A in Theology & Ethics from Northern Baptist Theological Seminary. He also attained doctoral candidacy (Doctor of Ministry Executive Leadership) at the University of Redlands/San Francisco Theological Seminary.

​Larry Foy lives in Winnsboro, Louisiana, with his wife, Sharon. They are parents to three grown children and seven grandchildren. Larry currently serves as a public theologian, offering commentary on political and social issues through a Christian moral, theological, and ethical lens.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

As a person of faith, I believe that every person should be treated with human dignity. This means that every person should have access to and the opportunity to secure their most basic needs for health and well-being. This is not the case for nearly 1 million Louisianans. Poverty is rampant throughout the state, especially in the rural parishes of Northeast Louisiana, where poverty rates are as high as 36 % in Madison, 35% East Caroll, and 35% in the city of Monroe, located in Ouachita Parish. When elected as the representative of Louisiana's 5th congressional district, I will declare 'war on poverty' and call for:

1. Increase the Federal minimum to $15hr

2. Foster new jobs with living wages

3. Close corporate tax loopholesI care about the overall welfare of people, especially the health and well-being of the elderly, children, the poor, and people with disabilities. I believe that everyone should have access to affordable and/or free health and medical care. To this end, I will advocate for health and medical care coverage for all. On day one, I will review the Federal Mandatory and Discretionary spending budget allocations and advocate for the restoration of any funding cuts to Medicaid and health programs. And I will work tirelessly and relentlessly to make sure that Medicare and Social Security are shielded from political oligarchs and billionaires who have no interest in supporting the well-being of people who depend on these safety-net programs.I care about the planet we share. The earth and environment are sacred gifts from our creator to enjoy and to orchestrate our lives together. Hence, we have a sacred duty and obligation to care for the planet and our environment. This means imposing limits of restraint whereby we only extract from nature what is sufficient to meet our needs and refrain from overuse and the reckless abuse of our environment. Hence, I will call for the restoration of Trump's rollbacks to the Clean Air Act. This means supporting and creating renewable energy, green jobs, carbon monoxide-free automobiles, and preventing corporate toxic waste from being dumped into our urban centers and rural communities. Let's save Louisiana's waterways and airways.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I am passionate about protecting and ensuring that citizens have the right to vote and to fully participate in democracy. To this end, I support reintroducing the John R Lewis Voting Advancement Act, which, if passed, will nullify voter suppression. There is no greater power in a participatory democracy than the power of the vote. Voting matters!

I am committed to ending the death penalty, both through execution and life imprisonment without parole. Execution by lethal injection, firing squad, hanging, or any other method is cruel and inhumane. Likewise, life imprisonment equates to denying one's humanity and potential for transformation.