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Created page with "{{Infobox officeholder | name=Joseph Burgess Cornelius, Sr. | office= Interim Mayor of Minden, Louisiana | party=Democrat |..."
{{Infobox officeholder
| name=Joseph Burgess Cornelius, Sr.
| office= Interim [[Mayor]] of [[Minden, Louisiana|Minden]], [[Louisiana]]
| party=[[Democratic Party|Democrat]]
| term_start=June 27, 2013
| term_end=November 5, 2013
| preceded=[[Bill Robertson]]
| succeeded=[[Tommy Davis]]
| office2=Minden City Council (District A)
| term_start2=January 2011
| term_end2=July 11, 2013
| preceded2=
| succeeded2=Wayne Edwards
| office3=Minden City Council (District B)
| term_start3=1991
| term_end3=1994
| preceded3=
| succeeded3=Fayrine Antoinette Kennon-Gilbert
| birth_place=Minden, Louisiana
| birth_date=September 9, 1942
| death_date=
| death_cause=
| resting_place=
| death_place=
| occupation= [[Business]]man<br>
Funeral home technician<br>
[[Community organizer]]
| spouse=Jacquelyn Williams Cornelius
| children=Three, including<br>
Joe Cornelius, Jr.<br>
One deceased daughter
| religion=Christian Methodist Episcopal Church
| parents=
| alma_mater=Webster High School (Minden, Louisiana)
}}
'''Joseph Burgess Cornelius, Sr.''', known as '''Joe Cornelius, Sr.'', (born September 9, 1942), is an [[African-American]] [[business]]man and [[community organizer]] in [[Minden, Louisiana|Minden]], [[Louisiana]], who is a former interim [[mayor]] of his city, located in Webster Parish in the northwestern portion of the state. He is the second black person in nearly a quarter century to succeed directly from the Minden City Council to the mayor's position after an unexpected vacancy developed.
==Background==
A native of Minden, Cornelius is one of five children of the late Sidney and Lucille Cornelius.<ref>''Minden Press-Herald]', March 6, 1990, p. 3.</ref> He graduated from the former historically black Webster High School in Minden, since incorporated into the [[desegregated]] Minden High School. At one time, he resided in [[The Bronx]] [[borough]] of [[New York City]], where some of his children still live, and in [[Shreveport]], Louisiana,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.intelius.com/results.php?ReportType=1&qf=Joe&qmi=&qn=Cornelius&qcs=Minden%2C+LA&focusfirst=0|title=Joe Cornelius in Minden, LA|publisher=Intelius.com|accessdate=July 2, 2013}}</ref> where he was formerly employed as a technician by Benevolent Funeral Home. He owns Mr. Joe's Ice Cream truck delivery in Minden.<ref name=jcsr>{{cite web|url=http://www.zoominfo.com/p/Joe-Cornelius/49086080|title=Joe Cornelius Sr.|publisher=Zoominfo.com|accessdate=September 12, 2013}}</ref>
Cornelius has long been involved in such community affairs as the annual [[Christmas]] and [[Martin Luther King, Jr.]] parades, and Black History Month in February. He is a former president of the Minden High School Booster Club and chairman of the group Concerned Citizens of Minden, which raised funds to carry more than five hundred youth to area lakes for recreation. As a city council member, Cornelius worked for additional street lights, including the lighting of school zones; water and sewer projects, and local streets. He is a former deputy for the Webster Parish Sheriff's Office and a former member of the parish Office of Community Services. Cornelius is a past recipient of the Distinguished Service Award presented by the Minden branch of the [[National Association for the Advancement of Colored People]]. In 1998, he received a humanitarian award from the Association of Black Social Workers for the North Louisiana Region.<ref name=jcsr/>
Cornelius is a steward and choir member at Mt. Zion CME Temple, an historically black Christian Methodist Episcopal congregation at 414 East Union Street in Minden. He is also a member of the [[Masonic lodge]]. Cornelius is married to the former Jacquelyn Williams. He has three living children, including Joe Cornelius, Jr. A daughter died in 2013 during his mayoral campaign.<ref name=jcsr/>
==Political life==
A [[Democratic Party|Democrat]], Cornelius through his role as Mayor Pro Tem became mayor in June 2013, upon the death of long-term mayor [[Bill Robertson]]. After Robertson's death, the council voted three-to-two, along racial lines, to elevate Cornelius as the interim mayor.<ref name=keel>KEEL [[Radio]], [[Shreveport]], July 11, 2013.</ref>
Before his death, Robertson, also a Democrat, had recommended that the city council choose as the next mayor [[Tommy Davis|Marvin Thomas "Tommy" Davis]] (like Cornelius born in September 1942), a [[Republican Party|Republican]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.shreveporttimes.com/article/20130702/NEWS01/307020015/Minden-mayor-picks-successor-before-his-death|title=Minden mayor picks successor before his death: Bill Robertson wants Tommy Davis as interim|publisher=''The Shreveport Times''|date= July 1, 2013|accessdate=July 2, 2013}}</ref> First elected in 2006, Davis was the only Republican on the city council.The current council consissts of three black Democrats and two white Republicans.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://staticresults.sos.la.gov/09302006/09302006_60.html|title=Webster Parish primary election returns, September 30, 2006|publisher=staticresults.sos.la.gov|accessdate=July 2, 2013}}</ref> Davis, also a businessman, is a native of Stephens, [[Arkansas]].
In the special election held on October 19, 2013, to fill the remainder of Robertson's term, Davis unseated Cornelius, 2,254 (61 percent) to 821 (22 percent). A third candidate, Walter "Woo" Morgan Jr., an African-American barber and hair stylist who operates a shop at the intersection of East Street and Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive in Minden, polled the remaining 646 votes (17 percent).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://lasos.blob.core.windows.net/graphical-prod/rss/10192013_Parish.xml|title=Webster: Mayor City of Minden, October 19, 2013|publisher=lasos.blob.core.windows.net|accessdate=October 19, 2013}}</ref> Morgan had campaigned on a platform calling for the return of a movie theater to the city, the last of which closed during the 1970s, as sell as enhanced recreational opportunities though the city operates a recreational center off the [[Interstate 20]] service road.<ref name=ktbs/>
On July 15, 2013, the council named Wayne Edwards as the interim District A member to succeed Cornelius. An African American, Edwards had been the runner-up to Cornelius in the 2010 primary election for city council.<ref>"Edwards named to city council", ''Minden Press-Herald'', July 15, 2013, p. 1.</ref> Prior to Cornelius, the seat had been held by Rodney Dale Seamster, who died in office in April 2010.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://lmbca.org/news_articles/pdf/Salute_Ms_Ruby_Bridges.pdf|title=Salute to Ms. Ruby Bridges - Civil Rights Littlest Heroine|publisher=lmbca.org|accessdate=September 12, 2013}}</ref> Edwards then won the council seat in the special election over the African-American Republican candidate, Darrell Morris, 86 to 14 percent.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://lasos.blob.core.windows.net/graphical-prod/rss/10192013_Parish.xml|title=Webster: Councilman, District A, City of Minden|publisher=lasos.blob.core.windows.net|accessdate=October 19, 2013}}</ref>
Earlier from 1991 to 1995, Cornelius represented District B on the Minden City Council. He was initially elected, 59-41, percent in a [[runoff election]] held on November 6, 1990, over fellow Democrat Grace Kirk Richardson, who had held the seat on an interim basis after the death of her father, Joe Willie Kirk, the first African-American to have served on the city council.<ref>Marilyn Miller, "Brown takes mayoral oath", ''Minden Press-Herald'', December 5, 1989, p. 1.</ref><ref>''Minden Press-Herald'', November 7, 1990, p. 1.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= http://staticresults.sos.la.gov/11061990/11061990_60.html|title=Louisiana election returns, November 6, 1990|publisher=staticresults.sos.la.gov|accessdate=September 12, 2013}}</ref>
In 1992, Cornelius claimed that the city had long neglected District B in regard to drainage, street lights and repairs, police patrols, and the large number of dilapidated houses. In calling for mass repairs to houses in the district, Cornelius clashed with both Mayor Robertson and District E council member Tyrus Lamar "Ty" Pendergrass (born 1955), a Republican and later [[Independent voter|Independent]]. Robertson accused Cornelius of "playing politics" on the housing issue.<ref>"Session heats up", ''Minden Press-Herald'', April 7, 1992, p. 1.</ref> In 1994, Cornelius led the move on the city council to rename Maiden Lane as Martin Luther King, Jr., Drive in honor of the [[civil rights]] figure.<ref>Pat Culverhouse, "Councilman responds to complaints", ''Minden Press-Herald'', January 13, 1994, p. 1.</ref>
Cornelius was unseated in his District C council position after a single term in 1995 by another African American, Fayrine Antoinette Kennon, now Fayrine Kennon-Gilbert (born c. 1967), widow of Verdis Gilbert (died 2013) and proprietor of her family's Kennon and Son Mortuary in Minden.<ref name=jcsr/> Cornelius drew 195 votes; Kennon, 210.<ref>"Two city councilmen fall to challenger: Kennon edges Cornelius, Quarles unseats Wilson, Webb wins second term", ''Minden Press-Herald'', April 3, 1995, p. 1.</ref> In 1998, Cornelius lost, 70 to 30 percent, in a bid to unseat councilwoman Kennon-Gilbert in District B.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://staticresults.sos.la.gov/10031998/10031998_60.html|title=Louisiana primary election returns, October 3, 1998|publisher=staticresults.sos.la.gov|accessdate=September 12, 2013}}</ref>
In 2004, using the ballot nickname "Mister Joe", Cornelius failed again, 74 to 26 percent in yet another bid to unseat Kennon-Gilbert.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://staticresults.sos.la.gov/04052003/04052003_60.html|title=Louisiana election returns, April 5, 2003|publisher=staticresults.sos.la.gov|accessdate=September 12, 2013}}</ref> In 2013, still a member of the council—there are no term limits for Minden city offices—Kennon-Gilbert joined with her former election rival Cornelius and a third black council member, Magaline Murray Quarles (born 1937), to make Cornelius the interim mayor.<ref name=keel/> Quarles was defeated for reelection to the council in 2014.
In 2012, Cornelius was charged with driving while intoxicated, aggravated assault, and simple battery. When he pleaded guilty to DWI, the other charges were dropped. Cornelius, as the interim mayor, said that he is looking to "the future of Minden. My doors are open to everyone. I hope to [make] some changes in Minden."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ksla.com/story/22829819/mindens-new-interim-mayor-speaks-out-about-his-troubled-past|title=Clay Ostarly, Minden's new interim mayor speaks out about his troubled past, July 26, 2013|publisher=KSLA-TV (CBS in Shreveport)|accessdate=September 12, 2013}}</ref> Cornelius was also charged in 2007 with DWI but considers those problems "in the past. ... Let's move this city ahead. I'm capable. I have a good staff here."<ref name=ktbs>{{cite web|url=http://www.ktbs.com/story/23664301/2013/10/11/minden-la-will-elect-first-mayor-in-20-years|title=Minden, La. will elect first new mayor in 20 years, October 10, 2013|publisher=KTBS-TV (ABC in Shreveport)
|accessdate=October 15, 2013}}</ref>
The last interim mayor, [[Robert T. Tobin]], a former educator, succeeded to the post in 1989 upon the recall of the Democratic Mayor [[Noel Byars]]. Tobin was then defeated in a special election later in the year by the Republican [[Paul A. Brown]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://staticresults.sos.la.gov/11181989/11181989_60.html|title=Louisiana election returns, November 18, 1989|publisher=staticresults.sos.la.gov|accessdate=September 12, 2013}}</ref>
Cornelius ran unsuccessfully for mayor again in the primary election held on November 4, 2014. He polled 1,089 votes (23.7 percent). His two opponents, incumbent Republican Tommy Davis and Charles Deck "Chad" Odom (born February 1975), a No-Party candidate, competed for a full four-year term as mayor in a runoff election held on December 6.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/news/local/2014/08/20/desoto-da-minden-mayor-candidates-qualify/14331543/|title=Qualifying light Thursday in DeSoto, Webster|author=Vickie Welborn|date=August 21, 2014|publisher=''The Shreveport Times''|accessdate=August 22, 2014}}</ref> Davis won a narrow victory over Odom.
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAUTSORT:Cornelius, Sr., Joe}}
[[Category:Louisana People]]
[[Category:Politicians]]
[[Category:Mayors]]
[[Category:Democrats]]
[[Category:Business People]]
[[Category:New York City]]
[[Category:Methodists]]
| name=Joseph Burgess Cornelius, Sr.
| office= Interim [[Mayor]] of [[Minden, Louisiana|Minden]], [[Louisiana]]
| party=[[Democratic Party|Democrat]]
| term_start=June 27, 2013
| term_end=November 5, 2013
| preceded=[[Bill Robertson]]
| succeeded=[[Tommy Davis]]
| office2=Minden City Council (District A)
| term_start2=January 2011
| term_end2=July 11, 2013
| preceded2=
| succeeded2=Wayne Edwards
| office3=Minden City Council (District B)
| term_start3=1991
| term_end3=1994
| preceded3=
| succeeded3=Fayrine Antoinette Kennon-Gilbert
| birth_place=Minden, Louisiana
| birth_date=September 9, 1942
| death_date=
| death_cause=
| resting_place=
| death_place=
| occupation= [[Business]]man<br>
Funeral home technician<br>
[[Community organizer]]
| spouse=Jacquelyn Williams Cornelius
| children=Three, including<br>
Joe Cornelius, Jr.<br>
One deceased daughter
| religion=Christian Methodist Episcopal Church
| parents=
| alma_mater=Webster High School (Minden, Louisiana)
}}
'''Joseph Burgess Cornelius, Sr.''', known as '''Joe Cornelius, Sr.'', (born September 9, 1942), is an [[African-American]] [[business]]man and [[community organizer]] in [[Minden, Louisiana|Minden]], [[Louisiana]], who is a former interim [[mayor]] of his city, located in Webster Parish in the northwestern portion of the state. He is the second black person in nearly a quarter century to succeed directly from the Minden City Council to the mayor's position after an unexpected vacancy developed.
==Background==
A native of Minden, Cornelius is one of five children of the late Sidney and Lucille Cornelius.<ref>''Minden Press-Herald]', March 6, 1990, p. 3.</ref> He graduated from the former historically black Webster High School in Minden, since incorporated into the [[desegregated]] Minden High School. At one time, he resided in [[The Bronx]] [[borough]] of [[New York City]], where some of his children still live, and in [[Shreveport]], Louisiana,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.intelius.com/results.php?ReportType=1&qf=Joe&qmi=&qn=Cornelius&qcs=Minden%2C+LA&focusfirst=0|title=Joe Cornelius in Minden, LA|publisher=Intelius.com|accessdate=July 2, 2013}}</ref> where he was formerly employed as a technician by Benevolent Funeral Home. He owns Mr. Joe's Ice Cream truck delivery in Minden.<ref name=jcsr>{{cite web|url=http://www.zoominfo.com/p/Joe-Cornelius/49086080|title=Joe Cornelius Sr.|publisher=Zoominfo.com|accessdate=September 12, 2013}}</ref>
Cornelius has long been involved in such community affairs as the annual [[Christmas]] and [[Martin Luther King, Jr.]] parades, and Black History Month in February. He is a former president of the Minden High School Booster Club and chairman of the group Concerned Citizens of Minden, which raised funds to carry more than five hundred youth to area lakes for recreation. As a city council member, Cornelius worked for additional street lights, including the lighting of school zones; water and sewer projects, and local streets. He is a former deputy for the Webster Parish Sheriff's Office and a former member of the parish Office of Community Services. Cornelius is a past recipient of the Distinguished Service Award presented by the Minden branch of the [[National Association for the Advancement of Colored People]]. In 1998, he received a humanitarian award from the Association of Black Social Workers for the North Louisiana Region.<ref name=jcsr/>
Cornelius is a steward and choir member at Mt. Zion CME Temple, an historically black Christian Methodist Episcopal congregation at 414 East Union Street in Minden. He is also a member of the [[Masonic lodge]]. Cornelius is married to the former Jacquelyn Williams. He has three living children, including Joe Cornelius, Jr. A daughter died in 2013 during his mayoral campaign.<ref name=jcsr/>
==Political life==
A [[Democratic Party|Democrat]], Cornelius through his role as Mayor Pro Tem became mayor in June 2013, upon the death of long-term mayor [[Bill Robertson]]. After Robertson's death, the council voted three-to-two, along racial lines, to elevate Cornelius as the interim mayor.<ref name=keel>KEEL [[Radio]], [[Shreveport]], July 11, 2013.</ref>
Before his death, Robertson, also a Democrat, had recommended that the city council choose as the next mayor [[Tommy Davis|Marvin Thomas "Tommy" Davis]] (like Cornelius born in September 1942), a [[Republican Party|Republican]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.shreveporttimes.com/article/20130702/NEWS01/307020015/Minden-mayor-picks-successor-before-his-death|title=Minden mayor picks successor before his death: Bill Robertson wants Tommy Davis as interim|publisher=''The Shreveport Times''|date= July 1, 2013|accessdate=July 2, 2013}}</ref> First elected in 2006, Davis was the only Republican on the city council.The current council consissts of three black Democrats and two white Republicans.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://staticresults.sos.la.gov/09302006/09302006_60.html|title=Webster Parish primary election returns, September 30, 2006|publisher=staticresults.sos.la.gov|accessdate=July 2, 2013}}</ref> Davis, also a businessman, is a native of Stephens, [[Arkansas]].
In the special election held on October 19, 2013, to fill the remainder of Robertson's term, Davis unseated Cornelius, 2,254 (61 percent) to 821 (22 percent). A third candidate, Walter "Woo" Morgan Jr., an African-American barber and hair stylist who operates a shop at the intersection of East Street and Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive in Minden, polled the remaining 646 votes (17 percent).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://lasos.blob.core.windows.net/graphical-prod/rss/10192013_Parish.xml|title=Webster: Mayor City of Minden, October 19, 2013|publisher=lasos.blob.core.windows.net|accessdate=October 19, 2013}}</ref> Morgan had campaigned on a platform calling for the return of a movie theater to the city, the last of which closed during the 1970s, as sell as enhanced recreational opportunities though the city operates a recreational center off the [[Interstate 20]] service road.<ref name=ktbs/>
On July 15, 2013, the council named Wayne Edwards as the interim District A member to succeed Cornelius. An African American, Edwards had been the runner-up to Cornelius in the 2010 primary election for city council.<ref>"Edwards named to city council", ''Minden Press-Herald'', July 15, 2013, p. 1.</ref> Prior to Cornelius, the seat had been held by Rodney Dale Seamster, who died in office in April 2010.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://lmbca.org/news_articles/pdf/Salute_Ms_Ruby_Bridges.pdf|title=Salute to Ms. Ruby Bridges - Civil Rights Littlest Heroine|publisher=lmbca.org|accessdate=September 12, 2013}}</ref> Edwards then won the council seat in the special election over the African-American Republican candidate, Darrell Morris, 86 to 14 percent.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://lasos.blob.core.windows.net/graphical-prod/rss/10192013_Parish.xml|title=Webster: Councilman, District A, City of Minden|publisher=lasos.blob.core.windows.net|accessdate=October 19, 2013}}</ref>
Earlier from 1991 to 1995, Cornelius represented District B on the Minden City Council. He was initially elected, 59-41, percent in a [[runoff election]] held on November 6, 1990, over fellow Democrat Grace Kirk Richardson, who had held the seat on an interim basis after the death of her father, Joe Willie Kirk, the first African-American to have served on the city council.<ref>Marilyn Miller, "Brown takes mayoral oath", ''Minden Press-Herald'', December 5, 1989, p. 1.</ref><ref>''Minden Press-Herald'', November 7, 1990, p. 1.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= http://staticresults.sos.la.gov/11061990/11061990_60.html|title=Louisiana election returns, November 6, 1990|publisher=staticresults.sos.la.gov|accessdate=September 12, 2013}}</ref>
In 1992, Cornelius claimed that the city had long neglected District B in regard to drainage, street lights and repairs, police patrols, and the large number of dilapidated houses. In calling for mass repairs to houses in the district, Cornelius clashed with both Mayor Robertson and District E council member Tyrus Lamar "Ty" Pendergrass (born 1955), a Republican and later [[Independent voter|Independent]]. Robertson accused Cornelius of "playing politics" on the housing issue.<ref>"Session heats up", ''Minden Press-Herald'', April 7, 1992, p. 1.</ref> In 1994, Cornelius led the move on the city council to rename Maiden Lane as Martin Luther King, Jr., Drive in honor of the [[civil rights]] figure.<ref>Pat Culverhouse, "Councilman responds to complaints", ''Minden Press-Herald'', January 13, 1994, p. 1.</ref>
Cornelius was unseated in his District C council position after a single term in 1995 by another African American, Fayrine Antoinette Kennon, now Fayrine Kennon-Gilbert (born c. 1967), widow of Verdis Gilbert (died 2013) and proprietor of her family's Kennon and Son Mortuary in Minden.<ref name=jcsr/> Cornelius drew 195 votes; Kennon, 210.<ref>"Two city councilmen fall to challenger: Kennon edges Cornelius, Quarles unseats Wilson, Webb wins second term", ''Minden Press-Herald'', April 3, 1995, p. 1.</ref> In 1998, Cornelius lost, 70 to 30 percent, in a bid to unseat councilwoman Kennon-Gilbert in District B.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://staticresults.sos.la.gov/10031998/10031998_60.html|title=Louisiana primary election returns, October 3, 1998|publisher=staticresults.sos.la.gov|accessdate=September 12, 2013}}</ref>
In 2004, using the ballot nickname "Mister Joe", Cornelius failed again, 74 to 26 percent in yet another bid to unseat Kennon-Gilbert.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://staticresults.sos.la.gov/04052003/04052003_60.html|title=Louisiana election returns, April 5, 2003|publisher=staticresults.sos.la.gov|accessdate=September 12, 2013}}</ref> In 2013, still a member of the council—there are no term limits for Minden city offices—Kennon-Gilbert joined with her former election rival Cornelius and a third black council member, Magaline Murray Quarles (born 1937), to make Cornelius the interim mayor.<ref name=keel/> Quarles was defeated for reelection to the council in 2014.
In 2012, Cornelius was charged with driving while intoxicated, aggravated assault, and simple battery. When he pleaded guilty to DWI, the other charges were dropped. Cornelius, as the interim mayor, said that he is looking to "the future of Minden. My doors are open to everyone. I hope to [make] some changes in Minden."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ksla.com/story/22829819/mindens-new-interim-mayor-speaks-out-about-his-troubled-past|title=Clay Ostarly, Minden's new interim mayor speaks out about his troubled past, July 26, 2013|publisher=KSLA-TV (CBS in Shreveport)|accessdate=September 12, 2013}}</ref> Cornelius was also charged in 2007 with DWI but considers those problems "in the past. ... Let's move this city ahead. I'm capable. I have a good staff here."<ref name=ktbs>{{cite web|url=http://www.ktbs.com/story/23664301/2013/10/11/minden-la-will-elect-first-mayor-in-20-years|title=Minden, La. will elect first new mayor in 20 years, October 10, 2013|publisher=KTBS-TV (ABC in Shreveport)
|accessdate=October 15, 2013}}</ref>
The last interim mayor, [[Robert T. Tobin]], a former educator, succeeded to the post in 1989 upon the recall of the Democratic Mayor [[Noel Byars]]. Tobin was then defeated in a special election later in the year by the Republican [[Paul A. Brown]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://staticresults.sos.la.gov/11181989/11181989_60.html|title=Louisiana election returns, November 18, 1989|publisher=staticresults.sos.la.gov|accessdate=September 12, 2013}}</ref>
Cornelius ran unsuccessfully for mayor again in the primary election held on November 4, 2014. He polled 1,089 votes (23.7 percent). His two opponents, incumbent Republican Tommy Davis and Charles Deck "Chad" Odom (born February 1975), a No-Party candidate, competed for a full four-year term as mayor in a runoff election held on December 6.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/news/local/2014/08/20/desoto-da-minden-mayor-candidates-qualify/14331543/|title=Qualifying light Thursday in DeSoto, Webster|author=Vickie Welborn|date=August 21, 2014|publisher=''The Shreveport Times''|accessdate=August 22, 2014}}</ref> Davis won a narrow victory over Odom.
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAUTSORT:Cornelius, Sr., Joe}}
[[Category:Louisana People]]
[[Category:Politicians]]
[[Category:Mayors]]
[[Category:Democrats]]
[[Category:Business People]]
[[Category:New York City]]
[[Category:Methodists]]