City of Baker // Leadership // Mayor

Mayor Harold M. Rideau

Having lived for more than three decades in Baker, Louisiana, Harold M. Rideau has a strong sense of community and of commitment to this small city in the northern part of East Baton Rouge Parish. He holds an undergraduate degree from Southern University and A&M College in Business Administration, and a Master’s Degree, also from Southern University, in Secondary Education.

Upon completion of the College Army ROTC program in August of 1968, he continued his military career, serving as a Platoon Leader and Field Wire Officer in the Republic of Vietnam. During this service in the Louisiana Army National Guard, he achieved the rank of Platoon Leader, Company Commander and Engineer Equipment Maintenance Officer for the 769th Engineering Battalion. He currently holds the rank of Captain in the inactive Louisiana Army National Guard, but is not required to participate on active duty.

Mayor Rideau has been an Assistant Professor at Southern University College of Engineering since 1989, teaching students the fundamental principles of setting up a predictive maintenance program and techniques for correcting vibration problems encountered in industrial environments.

An employee of Exxon Chemical since 1968, Harold Rideau moved through many positions and tasks, closing out his career as a Vibration, Acoustic and Stress Analysis Senior Specialist. He retired July 1, 2004, after more than 36 years of service with the company.

During his career with Exxon Chemical and Exxon Mobil, Mayor Rideau received the 1993 Polymers President’s Award for Community Service, the 1991 Performance Products President’s Award for Community Service as a member of the Exxon Employee Science Education Team, and the Baranco Clark Branch of the YMCA Black Achiever Award for 1997.

Mayor Harold Rideau has held membership in, and in many cases is still currently a member of, the following organizations:

Baton Rouge Chapter of Vibration Institute, Cub Scouts of America, Boy Scouts of America, Exxon Science Education Committee, Exxon Plant Tour Group, American Society for Engineering Education, Southern University Engineering Department, Safety Awareness Team, Gulf South Compression Conference, Exxon Rotating Equipment Monitoring Network, the Parkwood Terrace Homeowners Association, and the Baker Fire and Police Civil Service Board.

He was elected to the position of Mayor of the City of Baker, in the primary election by a wide majority, and took office on July 1, 2004.

He is married to Juanita Richard Rideau, and they have four children.