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'''Billy James Guin, Sr.''' (born November 14, 1927),<ref name=vitalstats>{{cite web|url=http://files.usgwarchives.net/tx/elpaso/vitals/births/1927/elpdhb27.txt​

'''Billy James Guin, Sr.''' (born November 14, 1927),<ref name=vitalstats>{{cite web|url=http://files.usgwarchives.net/tx/elpaso/vitals/births/1927/elpdhb27.txt​

|title=Billy James Guin|publisher=files.usgwarchives.net|accessdate=July 24, 2014}}</ref> is a retired [[business]]man and [[engineer]] from [[Shreveport]], [[Louisiana]], who was from 1977 to 1978 his city's last public utilities commissioner under the former commission system of municipal government.<ref>In [[Shreveport]] and in other cities with the commission form of government, the commissioner exercises both legislative and executive duties, on the five-member city council itself and as a department head. This position should not be confused with a county commissioner, most of whom were and still are elected by single-member districts. County commissioners are the "legislators" of a county (called parish in Louisiana), with the county judge normally in the role of the "executive" head of the county. In Louisiana, the executive of the parish can be the police jury president, the president of the parish, or a parish "administrator", depending on the structure of the parish government. City commissioners could not be chosen on a district basis, as their administrative duties affected the entire city. [[African American]]s were not then elected to city government in most parts of the Southern United States. Soon an outcry in the [[civil rights]] movement raised legal challenges to the city commission governments, and many were struck down as unconstitutional, including the Shreveport commission in a 1978 court case.</ref> Since 1961, Guin has been involved in the development of the Louisiana [[Republican Party]] to majority status in his state. In 1964, he and two others became the first members of their party ever elected to the Caddo Parish School Board and served a single six-year term.<ref name=zoominfo/>​

|title=Billy James Guin|publisher=files.usgwarchives.net|accessdate=July 24, 2014}}</ref> is a retired [[business]]man and [[engineer]] from [[Shreveport]], [[Louisiana]], who was from 1977 to 1978 his city's last public utilities commissioner under the former commission system of municipal government.<ref>In [[Shreveport]] and in other cities with the commission form of government, the commissioner exercises both legislative and executive duties, on the five-member city council itself and as a department head. This position should not be confused with a county commissioner, most of whom were and still are elected by single-member districts. County commissioners are the "legislators" of a county (called parish in Louisiana), with the county judge normally in the role of the "executive" head of the county. In Louisiana, the executive of the parish can be the police jury president, the president of the parish, or a parish "administrator", depending on the structure of the parish government. City commissioners could not be chosen on a district basis, as their administrative duties affected the entire city. [[African American]]s were not then elected to city government in most parts of the Southern United States. Soon an outcry in the [[civil rights]] movement raised legal challenges to the city commission governments, and many were struck down as unconstitutional, including the Shreveport commission in a 1978 court case.</ref> Since 1961, Guin has been involved in the development of the Louisiana [[Republican Party]] to majority status in his state. In 1964, he and two others became the first members of their party ever elected to the Caddo Parish School Board and served a single six-year term.<ref name=zoominfo/>​

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==Background==​

==Background==​

In the [[general election]] held on November 3, 1964, Guin and two other Republicans running for the Caddo Parish School Board, the late Joel B. Brown and Edward Leo "Ed" McGuire, Jr. (1914-1983), were swept to victory on the coattails of the successful presidential nominee in Louisiana, [[U.S. Senator]] [[Barry Goldwater]] of [[Arizona]].<ref>''The Shreveport Times'', November 4, 1964, p. 1.</ref> McGuire was a native of Taunton, [[Massachusetts]], who  married the former Mary E. Bell (1916-2011), the daughter of Judge Thornton F. Bell of Shreveport, whom he had met while serving as a second lieutenant in the [[United States Army]] Air Corps during World War II.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/shreveporttimes/obituary.aspx?n=mary-e-mcguire&pid=147615740|title=Mary E. McGuire obituary|date=January 6, 2011|publisher=''The Shreveport Times''|accessdate=July 28, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=McGuire&GSfn=Edward&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSst=20&GScnty=1117&GScntry=4&GSob=n&GRid=129524082&df=all&|title=Edward Leo McGuire, Jr.|publisher=findagrave.com|author=Shawn Bohannon|date=May 9, 2014|accessdate=March 3, 2015}}</ref>​

In the [[general election]] held on November 3, 1964, Guin and two other Republicans running for the Caddo Parish School Board, the late Joel B. Brown and Edward Leo "Ed" McGuire, Jr. (1914-1983), were swept to victory on the coattails of the successful presidential nominee in Louisiana, [[U.S. Senator]] [[Barry Goldwater]] of [[Arizona]].<ref>''The Shreveport Times'', November 4, 1964, p. 1.</ref> McGuire was a native of Taunton, [[Massachusetts]], who  married the former Mary E. Bell (1916-2011), the daughter of Judge Thornton F. Bell of Shreveport, whom he had met while serving as a second lieutenant in the [[United States Army]] Air Corps during World War II.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/shreveporttimes/obituary.aspx?n=mary-e-mcguire&pid=147615740|title=Mary E. McGuire obituary|date=January 6, 2011|publisher=''The Shreveport Times''|accessdate=July 28, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=McGuire&GSfn=Edward&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSst=20&GScnty=1117&GScntry=4&GSob=n&GRid=129524082&df=all&|title=Edward Leo McGuire, Jr.|publisher=findagrave.com|author=Shawn Bohannon|date=May 9, 2014|accessdate=March 3, 2015}}</ref>​

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Once on the board, Guin argued against reducing the number of members, a position advocated by board president and later state legislator Don W. Williamson] Guin contended that smaller boards augment the power of [[interest group]]s. While the larger membership can be cumbersome and cause longer meetings, Guin said that more members insure that the overall well-being of the community is served, rather than organized vocal minorities.<ref>Billy Hathorn, "The Williamsons of Caddo Parish: A Political 'Mini-Dynasty;", ''[[North Louisiana History]]'', Winter 2008, p. 35.</ref>​

Once on the board, Guin argued against reducing the number of members, a position advocated by board president and later state legislator Don W. Williamson] Guin contended that smaller boards augment the power of [[interest group]]s. While the larger membership can be cumbersome and cause longer meetings, Guin said that more members insure that the overall well-being of the community is served, rather than organized vocal minorities.<ref>Billy Hathorn, "The Williamsons of Caddo Parish: A Political 'Mini-Dynasty", ''[[North Louisiana History]]'', Winter 2008, p. 35.</ref>​

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===Public utilities commissioner===​

===Public utilities commissioner===​

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In 1970, Guin and McGuire did not seek reelection to the school board but instead ran for the Shreveport city commission, Guin at public utilities and McGuire for [[mayor]], then the "commissioner of administration". Both lost to [[Democratic Party|Democrats]], Guin to William A. "Bill" Collins, a former public relations specialist, and McGuire to Littleberry Calhoun Allen, Jr., who vacated the position of utilities commissioner after eight years to run successfully for mayor. In 1974, Guin again challenged Collins for utilities commissioner and improved his showing from 1970 by some 7 percentage points but still lost 57-43 percent. When Collins vacated the post in 1977, Guin won a [[special election]] on June 18 with 51 percent of the vote to fill the remaining seventeen months in Collins's term.<ref>''Shreveport Journal'', June 20, 1977, p. 1.</ref>​

In 1970, Guin and McGuire did not seek reelection to the school board but instead ran for the Shreveport city commission, Guin at public utilities and McGuire for [[mayor]], then the "commissioner of administration". Both lost to [[Democratic Party|Democrats]], Guin to William A. "Bill" Collins, a former public relations specialist, and McGuire to Littleberry Calhoun Allen, Jr., who vacated the position of utilities commissioner after eight years to run successfully for mayor. In 1974, Guin again challenged Collins for utilities commissioner and improved his showing from 1970 by some 7 percentage points but still lost 57-43 percent. When Collins vacated the post in 1977, Guin won a [[special election]] on June 18 with 51 percent of the vote to fill the remaining seventeen months in Collins's term.<ref>''Shreveport Journal'', June 20, 1977, p. 1.</ref>​

Under Guin, Shreveport adopted [[fluoridation]] of the municipal water supply, an issue once controversial. The [[John Birch Society]] called it a "form of government mass medication of citizens in violation of their individual right to choose which medicines they ingest."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jbs.org/about-jbs/myths-vs-facts|title=Myth: The JBS considers public water fluoridation part of a Communist mind-control plot|publisher=jbs.org|accessdate=July 25, 2014}}</ref> Opponents claimed that fluoridation creates more long-term health risks than the immediate advantages gained from decreased tooth decay. Hence the issue had been bypassed for more than twenty years by Shreveport municipal officials though adopted in many other cities.  In 1977, however, the [[Chamber of Commerce]] and both daily newspapers, ''The Shreveport Times''  and the former ''[[Shreveport Journal]]'', last published by Charles T. Beaird, strongly endorsed fluoridation. Guin sought a $10,000 request from the city council for an engineering study to move toward fluoridation. When his colleagues balked, he pursued a  [[referendum]] on the issue. On November 22, 1977, with a 28.3 percent turnout, 12,037 voters (53.6 percent) opposed a ban on fluoridation of the drinking water. Another 10,413 (46.4 percent) favored a ban. Though fluoridation was approved in a back-handed method—one had to vote "No" to approve of fluoridation—the physical process of actually placing the chemicals in the water supply, was not completed until the middle 1980s, long after Guin's tenure as utilities commissioner had expired.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/pnp/habshaer/la/la0100/la0164/data/la0164data.pdf|title=The Fluoridation Controversy|last=|first=|date=|website=|publisher=lcweb2.loc.gov|pages=148–151|author=Terry S. Reynolds|accessdate=July 25, 2014|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808063923/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/pnp/habshaer/la/la0100/la0164/data/la0164data.pdf|archivedate=August 8, 2014|df=}}</ref>​

Under Guin, Shreveport adopted [[fluoridation]] of the municipal water supply, an issue once controversial. The [[John Birch Society]] called it a "form of government mass medication of citizens in violation of their individual right to choose which medicines they ingest."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jbs.org/about-jbs/myths-vs-facts|title=Myth: The JBS considers public water fluoridation part of a Communist mind-control plot|publisher=jbs.org|accessdate=July 25, 2014}}</ref> Opponents claimed that fluoridation creates more long-term health risks than the immediate advantages gained from decreased tooth decay. Hence the issue had been bypassed for more than twenty years by Shreveport municipal officials though adopted in many other cities.  In 1977, however, the [[Chamber of Commerce]] and both daily newspapers, ''The Shreveport Times''  and the former ''[[Shreveport Journal]]'', last published by Charles T. Beaird, strongly endorsed fluoridation. Guin sought a $10,000 request from the city council for an engineering study to move toward fluoridation. When his colleagues balked, he pursued a  [[referendum]] on the issue. On November 22, 1977, with a 28.3 percent turnout, 12,037 voters (53.6 percent) opposed a ban on fluoridation of the drinking water. Another 10,413 (46.4 percent) favored a ban. Though fluoridation was approved in a back-handed method—one had to vote "No" to approve of fluoridation—the physical process of actually placing the chemicals in the water supply, was not completed until the middle 1980s, long after Guin's tenure as utilities commissioner had expired.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/pnp/habshaer/la/la0100/la0164/data/la0164data.pdf|title=The Fluoridation Controversy|last=|first=|date=|website=|publisher=lcweb2.loc.gov|pages=148–151|author=Terry S. Reynolds|accessdate=July 25, 2014|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808063923/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/pnp/habshaer/la/la0100/la0164/data/la0164data.pdf|archivedate=August 8, 2014|df=}}</ref>​

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===Abolition of the commission government===​

===Abolition of the commission government===

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Guin served on the council with another Republican pioneer in Caddo Parish, George Aubrey Burton, Jr. (1926-2014), who from 1971 to 1978 was the last to hold the former position of municipal commissioner of finance.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/shreveporttimes/obituary.aspx?n=george-a-burton&pid=171346250|title=George A. Burton, Jr. obituary|publisher=''The Shreveport Times''|accessdate=June 15, 2014}}</ref>​

Guin served on the council with another Republican pioneer in Caddo Parish, George Aubrey Burton, Jr. (1926-2014), who from 1971 to 1978 was the last to hold the former position of municipal commissioner of finance.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/shreveporttimes/obituary.aspx?n=george-a-burton&pid=171346250|title=George A. Burton, Jr. obituary|publisher=''The Shreveport Times''|accessdate=June 15, 2014}}</ref>​