Louisiana Political
Hall of Fame

Inductees

2017 Inductee

Maurice L. "Bud" Mapes

Mr. Mapes was a native of Ozark, Mo., and a longtime resident of Baton Rouge. Bud practiced as a lobbyist with the Louisiana Legislature for 50 years. The son of Reginald Maurice Mapes and Mabel Helen Woody Mapes, he was born in Ozark on July 8, 1930. After attending public schools in Ozark, he attended Drury College and Southwest Missouri State College in Springfield, Mo., University of Missouri in Columbia, Mo., and Michigan State University in East Lansing, Mich. He was a member of Sigma Nu fraternity. During the Korean War, he volunteered for and served in the U.S. Air Force from January 1951 until March 1955. He moved to Baton Rouge in 1960 after traveling to Louisiana from Kansas City for five years. During his years as a lobbyist, he worked with eight Louisiana governors beginning with Earl Long and ending with Kathleen Babineaux Blanco. He never retired. His motto always was, “What is the right thing to do?” which he applied to tireless and effective service to dozens of clients and tens of thousands of Louisiana citizens. Some of his clients included Louisiana Farm Bureau, Southwestern Lumberman’s Association, Louisiana Finance Association, 3M Company, Entergy, Cole-National Corp., Louisiana Retailers Association, Louisiana Automobile Dealers Association and Louisiana Building Material Dealers Association.