Ken Duncan (Louisiana politician)
| Kenneth Addison "Ken" Duncan | |
Louisiana State Treasurer
| |
| In office January 8, 1996 – January 10, 2000 | |
| Governor | Murphy James "Mike" Foster, Jr. |
|---|---|
| Preceded by | Mary Landrieu |
| Succeeded by | John Neely Kennedy |
| Born | August 23, 1945 Place of birth missing |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Margie Dumestie Duncan (born 1956) |
| Children | Ashley A. Duncan Laura-Lucia Duncan |
| Residence | Baton Rouge, Louisiana |
| Alma mater | Neville High School (Monroe) Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University Law Center |
| Religion | Episcopalian |
Kenneth Addison Duncan, known as Ken Duncan (born August 23, 1945), is a Democratic attorney from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, who from 1996 to 2000 served a single term as the elected state treasurer. He was unseated in the 1999 primary by fellow Democrat, later Republican, John Neely Kennedy.
Biography
Duncan was reared and educated in the public schools of Bossier City but later moved to Monroe, where he graduated in 1963 from Neville High School.[1] Duncan received a Juris Doctorate from Louisiana State University Law Center in Baton Rouge and was admitted to the bar in 1971. He received a Master of Laws in taxation from Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C.[2] Since 1978, he has headed Duncan & Associates in Baton Rouge, a firm of law, business entrepreneurship, and public service.[3]
In his initial election as treasurer to succeed the Democrat Mary Landrieu, who ran unsuccessfully for governor in 1995 in a crowded field dominated by Republican Murphy James "Mike" Foster, Jr., and was later a three-term U.S. Senator, Duncan with 448,182 votes (34.9 percent) led a four candidate field of two Republicans, Mary Chehardy and Gayle Joseph, and his fellow Democrat Steve Theriot, who ran second with 372,500 votes (29 percent). Chehardy and Joseph finished with 335,463 (26.1 percent) and 128,272 (10 percent), respectively. [4] In the second balloting, called the general election in Louisiana though both candidates were Democrats, Duncan defeated Theriot, then a departing state representative from Jefferson Parish, 798,280 votes (56.7 percent) to 610,964 (43.4 percent).[5]
Duncan is a former chairman, general counsel, and executive director of the National Association of Democratic State Treasurers.[3] In 1999, Duncan announced the establishment of the Louisiana State Investment Task Force composed of officials from the four largest state pension funds, state employees, teachers, other school employees, and the Louisiana State Police, all based in Baton Rouge. The task force was charged with studying economically-targeted in-state investments.[6] As treasurer, Duncan was also the chairman of the Louisiana Bond Commission, which reviews and approves all state and local issuances of bonds. Early in his tenure as treasurer, Duncan sought the refunding of as much as $610 million of state general obligation bonds that was expected to save the state $30 million.[7]
In 1999, John Kennedy unseated Duncan, 621,796 votes (55.6 percent) to 497,319 (44.4 percent).[8] In 2016, Kennedy was elected as the state's junior U.S. Senator, and the treasurer's post is now filled by Republican John Schroder.
Duncan was a delegate to both the 1996 and the 2000 Democratic National Conventions, which confirmed the Clinton-Gore and Gore-Lieberman tickets.[9] He is a co-founder and member of the Louisiana Democratic Leadership Council.[2]
Duncan and his wife, the former Margie Dumestie, have three daughters, Ashley, Laura-Lucia, and Kristin. He is an Episcopalian.[2]
References
- ↑ Ken Duncan. classmates.com. Retrieved on July 5, 2015.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Louisiana: Duncan, Ken", Who's Who in American Politics, 2003-2004, 19th ed., Vol. 1 (Alabama-Montana) (Marquis Who's Who: New Providence, New Jersey, 2003), p. 777.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Ken Duncan. cubahoy.org. Retrieved on July 5, 2015.
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, October 21, 1995.
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, November 18, 1995.
- ↑ Louisiana Treasurer Ken Duncan will officially announce the formation. Pensions & Investments. Retrieved on July 5, 2015.
- ↑ Ken Duncan. engagingnews.us. Retrieved on July 5, 2015.
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, October 23, 1999.
- ↑ Ken Duncan. The Political Graveyard. Retrieved on July 5, 2015.
