Renee Fontenot Free announces for Secretary Of State

Renee Fontenot Free, a Lake Charles native, has announced she is a candidate for secretary of state in the Nov. 6 election.
Her announcement includes the following.
Free attended McNeese University and then moved to Baton Rouge to attend Southern Law School. Upon graduation, Fontenot worked for a judge and practiced law before working in the Civil Division of the Attorney General’s office from 1990 to 2004, serving as section chief beginning in 1995.
In 2004, Renee moved to the secretary of state’s office and played a key role in merging the office with the Department of Elections. In the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Renee was instrumental in rebuilding the election system.
Free spent the next several years as the first assistant secretary of state rebuilding the elections infrastructure. In 2008, she returned to the Attorney General’s office.
Fontenot has worked for five attorneys general, and three secretaries of state.