A [[Democratic Party|Democrat]], Kees was elected mayor at the age of twenty-nine. That same year a flood of the Red River spilled over into Pineville because of levee height and strength. However, the taller and stronger levee held in the sister city of [[Alexandria, Louisiana|Alexandria]]. Mayor Kees set forth to bring the levee on the eastern side of the river on par with that in Alexandria.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-QGyaGsLxLYC&pg=PA226&lpg=PA226&dq=Willie+E.+Kees,+Jr.+of+Pineville&source=bl&ots=elegIHGf9X&sig=Men7nxEUB6L4Z5wlQaebU-o-JL0&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CEIQ6AEwBmoVChMI0rCm3_XyxgIVRo4NCh1L4Q7y#v=onepage&q=Willie%20E.%20Kees%2C%20Jr.%20of%20Pineville&f=false|title=Talk of the Town: The Rise of Alexandria, Louisiana, and the Daily Town | A [[Democratic Party|Democrat]], Kees was elected mayor at the age of twenty-nine. That same year a flood of the Red River spilled over into Pineville because of levee height and strength. However, the taller and stronger levee held in the sister city of [[Alexandria, Louisiana|Alexandria]]. Mayor Kees set forth to bring the levee on the eastern side of the river on par with that in Alexandria.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-QGyaGsLxLYC&pg=PA226&lpg=PA226&dq=Willie+E.+Kees,+Jr.+of+Pineville&source=bl&ots=elegIHGf9X&sig=Men7nxEUB6L4Z5wlQaebU-o-JL0&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CEIQ6AEwBmoVChMI0rCm3_XyxgIVRo4NCh1L4Q7y#v=onepage&q=Willie%20E.%20Kees%2C%20Jr.%20of%20Pineville&f=false|title=Talk of the Town: The Rise of Alexandria, Louisiana, and the Daily Town |