Steve Pylant


Steven Everett Pylant Sr. is a former sheriff of Franklin Parish, Louisiana, who is a former Republican member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from District 20, which includes all or portions of Franklin, Caldwell, Catahoula, La Salle, and Tensas parishes in the northeastern section of his state.

Background

A native of Franklin Parish, Pylant graduated from Winnsboro High School in the parish seat of Winnsboro and attended the University of Louisiana at Monroe. Pylant and his wife, Rhonda, reside in Franklin Parish near Delhi, a town in Richland Parish, and have a Delhi mailing address. Their sons are Steven Pylant Jr., and Jason Pylant. They have two granddaughters.

Political career

With a dozen years of law-enforcement experience, Pylant was elected as Franklin Parish sheriff in the nonpartisan blanket primary held in 1995 to succeed the Democrat Eugene Parker. Pylant polled 5,784 votes to defeat three opponents, including the perennial candidate, L. D. "None of the Above" Knox of Winnsboro. When Pylant became sheriff, Franklin Parish still owed $8 million for its detention center, which had been completed in 1992. When Pylant vacated the sheriff's office, the department expected to have $7 million in assets. In his announcement statement for state representative, Pylant said:

We were able to give $1.5 million back to the taxpayers in the form of a half-cent sales tax and a 9.4 mil property tax. We expanded the jail at no cost to the taxpayer and brought fiscal stability to the sheriff’s department to secure its future in Franklin Parish.