V.J. Bella

Vincent Joseph Bella, known as V. J. Bella (born July 29, 1927), is a former member of the Louisiana House of Representatives for District 50 in Iberia and St. Mary parishes, whose service extended from 1972 to 1990. Thereafter, Bella served in Baton Rouge as the appointed state fire marshal from 1990 to 1992 and again from 1996 to 2004. As a representative, Bella was a pioneer in fire sprinkler legislation.

Legislator

In 1942, Bella as a teenager joined the fire department in Berwick in St. Mary Parish. Soon called into World War II, Bella served in the United States Marine Corps from 1945 to 1946. Thereafter, he was long-term member of the American Legion. Bella returned in 1947 to the Berwick Fire Department, at which he was elevated in 1951 to the position of chief. He also served as an alderman in Berwick and attended barber college though it is unclear if he ever worked as a barber.

In 1972, he was elected as a Democrat to the Louisiana House. A dozen years later, he switched to Republican designation. In 1987, Bella only narrowly won his final term in House District 50 as the GOP candidate because his district was still heavily and traditionally Democrat. Bella defeated Jack D. Smith, 7,348 votes (51 percent) to 7,053 (49 percent).

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