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Created page with "{{Infobox officeholder |name=Bryant O'Dare Hammett, Jr. |office=Louisiana State Representative foe<br>District 21 (Concordia, East Carroll, Madison, and Tensas parishes..."
{{Infobox officeholder
|name=Bryant O'Dare Hammett, Jr.
|office=[[Louisiana]] State Representative foe<br>District 21 (Concordia, East Carroll, Madison, and Tensas parishes)
|term_start=1992
|term_end=2006
|preceded=[[Al Ater]]
|succeeded=John A. "Andy" Anders
|office2=Secretary of Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries
|term_start2=2006
|term_end2=January 14, 2008
|preceded2=
|succeeded2=Robert J. Barham
|birth_date=September 30, 1956
|birth_place=
|residence=Ferriday, Louisiana, Concordia Parish, Louisiana, [[United States|USA]]
|spouse=Susan Cotton Hammett
|children=Virginia H. Martinez
Dorothy Elizabeth Hammett<br>
Laura Danielle Hammett
|party= [[Democratic Party|Democrat]]
|religion=[[Presbyterian]]
|occupation=[[Engineer]]; Land surveyor
|alma_mater=Huntington High School
[[Louisiana Tech University]]
}}
'''Bryant O'Dare Hammett, Jr.''' (born September 30, 1956), is a [[civil engineer]] and land surveyor from Ferriday in Concordia Parish in eastern [[Louisiana]], who served as a [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] state representative from 1992 to 2006.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://house.louisiana.gov/H_PDFdocs/HouseMembership_History_CURRENT.pdf|title=Membership in the Louisiana House of Representatives, 1812-2020|date=May 21, 2019|publisher=Louisiana House of Representatives|accessdate=September 27, 2019}}</ref>
==Background==
Hammett graduated in 1974 from the private Huntington High School in Ferriday. He subsequently earned a Bachelor of Science degree from [[Louisiana Tech University]] in [[Ruston, Louisiana|Ruston]]. He is a member of the National Society of Professional Engineers, the American Society of Civil Engineers,<ref name=enlou>House District 21, Enlou.com, no longer on-line.</ref> and the American Council of Engineering Companies. He is a former member of the Ferriday Planning and Zoning Committee and served too as the Ferriday city engineer.<ref name=enlou/> Hammett is affiliated with Ducks Unlimited and the [[National Rifle Association]].<ref name=hammett>{{cite web|url=http://www.zoominfo.com/people/PersonDetailLimited.aspx?PersonID=5638324&lastName=Hammett&firstName=Bryant&id=5638324&searchSource=page&page=2|title=Bryant O. Hammett, Jr.|publisher=zoominfo.com|accessdate=November 24, 2009; no longer on-line}}</ref>
Hammett and his wife, the former Susan Cotton (also born 1956), originally from Jonesville in Catahoula Parish, are elders at the First [[Presbyterian]] Church of Ferriday.<ref name=enlou/> The couple has three daughters, Virginia L. "Ginny" Hammett Martinez (born 1981), Dorothy Elizabeth Hammett (born 1983), and Laura Danielle Hammett (born 1986).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.natchezdemocrat.com/couples/2006/dec/10/|title=Wedding: Martinez and Hammett|publisher=''Natchez Democrat''|accessdate=November 24, 2009; no longer on-line}}</ref>
==Political career==
At thirty-five, Hammett was elected in 1991 to House District 21 (Concordia, East Carroll, Madison Parish, and Tensas parishes). The seat became vacant when the Democrat [[Al Ater]], a Ferriday [[farmer]], declined to seek a third term. Ater was later the first assistant Louisiana secretary of state who then became the acting secretary of state from 2005 to 2006, upon the death of Walter Fox McKeithen. In the nonpartisan blanket primary held on October 19, 1991, Hammett led the [[African American]] Democrat, Moses Junior Williams (born 1952) of Tallulah in Madison Parish, 7,464 (49.8 percent) to 4,746 (31.7 percent). A third candidate, Samuel Thomas, trailed with 2,774 votes (18.5 percent).<ref>Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, October 19, 1991.</ref> In the second round, Hammett topped Williams, 9,381 votes (52.6) to 8,451 (47.4 percent). His margin came primarily from his own Concordia Parish.<ref>Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, November 16, 1991.</ref>
In 1995, Hammett nearly won outright in the primary, having polled 6,464 votes (47.5 percent) to 5,215 (38.3 percent) for the Democrat Sammy Davis, Jr., an African American town council member in Ferriday,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.natchezdemocrat.com/news/1999/oct/24/hammett-reelected-to-louisiana-house/|title=Hammett reelected to Louisiana House|date=October 24, 1999|publisher=''Natchez Democrat''|accessdate=September 27, 2019}}</ref> and 1,941 (14.3 percent) for the [[Republican|Republican]] candidate, Steve Alan Fleming (born 1949) of Vidalia in Concordia Parish.<ref>Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, October 21, 1995.</ref> Hammett then defeated Davis, 8,153 (56.7 percent) to 6,231 (43.3 percent).<ref>Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, November 18, 1995.</ref> In a rematch in 1999, Hammett prevailed once more over Davis, 9,315 (68.6 percent) to 4,269 (31.4 percent).<ref>Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, October 23, 1999.</ref>
During the administrations of [[Governor]]s [[Mike Foster|Murphy J."Mike" Foster, Jr.]] and [[Kathleen Blanco]], Hammett was chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. In 2001, he introduced legislation to add the Delta Music Museum in downtown Ferriday to jurisdiction of the Louisiana secretary of state. Under this arrangement, the city of Ferriday owns the building and contributes to the budget, but the state funds, operate, and staffs the museum.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.americantowns.com/la/ferriday/organization/delta_music_museum|title=Delta Music Museum|publisher=americantowns.com|accessdate=November 23, 2009}}</ref>
Hammett ran unopposed in 2003 but resigned his seat in 2006 to accept a position in the State Office of Community Development. His successor, Democrat Andy Anders of Clayton and Ferriday, held the seat until 2020, but term limits kept him from running again in 2019. Hammett headed a team overseeing disaster recovery for state and government infrastructure affected by [[Hurricane Katrina|Hurricanes Katrina]] and Rita. He was one of four managers who supervised the recovery.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.natchezdemocrat.com/news/2006/jun/16/bryant-hammett-resigns/|title=Bryant Hammett resigns|date=June 16, 2006|publisher=''Natchez Democrat''|accessdate=September 27, 2019}}</ref>
Several months later, Hammett left the hurricane recovery position to accept appointment from Governor Blanco as the secretary of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.<ref name=hammett/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.seagrantfish.lsu.edu/news/2007/tilefishes.htm|title=Louisiana Fisheries: Commercial Fishing for Tilefishes in Louisaina Waters to Close until January 1, 2008|publisher=seagrantfish.lsu.edu|date=April 8, 2007|accessdate=September 27, 2019}}</ref> Hammett was succeeded at Wildlife and Fisheries by former state Senator Robert J. Barham of Morehouse Parish, the appointee of Republican Governor [[Bobby Jindal]].
In 2007, as the Blanco administration neared its end, Hammett ran unsuccessfully for the District 32 seat in the state Senate, which embraces all or parts of ten parishes. He lost the race to the Republican Neil Riser of Columbia in Caldwell Parish. Riser, a funeral home operator and the first Republican ever to hold this Senate seat, polled 15,622 votes (54.9 percent) to Hammett’s 12,817 (45.1 percent). Hammett ran best in Concordia and neighboring Catahoula parishes.
<ref>Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, November 17, 2007.</ref>
Louisiana [[radio]] talk show host [[Moon Griffon]] predicted on his program on August 8, 2013, that Hammett would again run for the state Senate if Neil Riser, who defeated him for that position in 2007, had won the October 19 [[special election]] for Louisiana's 5th congressional district seat. A vacancy in the state Senate requires a special election to fill that position.<ref>''[[Moon Griffon|The Moon Griffon Show]],'' August 8, 2013.</ref>
Hammett has performed engineering work on water systems in Ferriday and St. Joseph in Tensas Parish, where the entire system was replaced in 2017.<ref>[[Greg Hilburn]], "Governor to St. Joe residents: 'We're in this with you,'" ''The Monroe News-Star,'' December 19, 2016.</ref>
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hammett, Bryant}}
[[Category:Louisiana People]]
[[Category:Business People]]
[[Category:Engineers]]
[[Category:Politicians]]
[[Category:Democrats]]
[[Category:Presbyterians]]
|name=Bryant O'Dare Hammett, Jr.
|office=[[Louisiana]] State Representative foe<br>District 21 (Concordia, East Carroll, Madison, and Tensas parishes)
|term_start=1992
|term_end=2006
|preceded=[[Al Ater]]
|succeeded=John A. "Andy" Anders
|office2=Secretary of Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries
|term_start2=2006
|term_end2=January 14, 2008
|preceded2=
|succeeded2=Robert J. Barham
|birth_date=September 30, 1956
|birth_place=
|residence=Ferriday, Louisiana, Concordia Parish, Louisiana, [[United States|USA]]
|spouse=Susan Cotton Hammett
|children=Virginia H. Martinez
Dorothy Elizabeth Hammett<br>
Laura Danielle Hammett
|party= [[Democratic Party|Democrat]]
|religion=[[Presbyterian]]
|occupation=[[Engineer]]; Land surveyor
|alma_mater=Huntington High School
[[Louisiana Tech University]]
}}
'''Bryant O'Dare Hammett, Jr.''' (born September 30, 1956), is a [[civil engineer]] and land surveyor from Ferriday in Concordia Parish in eastern [[Louisiana]], who served as a [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] state representative from 1992 to 2006.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://house.louisiana.gov/H_PDFdocs/HouseMembership_History_CURRENT.pdf|title=Membership in the Louisiana House of Representatives, 1812-2020|date=May 21, 2019|publisher=Louisiana House of Representatives|accessdate=September 27, 2019}}</ref>
==Background==
Hammett graduated in 1974 from the private Huntington High School in Ferriday. He subsequently earned a Bachelor of Science degree from [[Louisiana Tech University]] in [[Ruston, Louisiana|Ruston]]. He is a member of the National Society of Professional Engineers, the American Society of Civil Engineers,<ref name=enlou>House District 21, Enlou.com, no longer on-line.</ref> and the American Council of Engineering Companies. He is a former member of the Ferriday Planning and Zoning Committee and served too as the Ferriday city engineer.<ref name=enlou/> Hammett is affiliated with Ducks Unlimited and the [[National Rifle Association]].<ref name=hammett>{{cite web|url=http://www.zoominfo.com/people/PersonDetailLimited.aspx?PersonID=5638324&lastName=Hammett&firstName=Bryant&id=5638324&searchSource=page&page=2|title=Bryant O. Hammett, Jr.|publisher=zoominfo.com|accessdate=November 24, 2009; no longer on-line}}</ref>
Hammett and his wife, the former Susan Cotton (also born 1956), originally from Jonesville in Catahoula Parish, are elders at the First [[Presbyterian]] Church of Ferriday.<ref name=enlou/> The couple has three daughters, Virginia L. "Ginny" Hammett Martinez (born 1981), Dorothy Elizabeth Hammett (born 1983), and Laura Danielle Hammett (born 1986).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.natchezdemocrat.com/couples/2006/dec/10/|title=Wedding: Martinez and Hammett|publisher=''Natchez Democrat''|accessdate=November 24, 2009; no longer on-line}}</ref>
==Political career==
At thirty-five, Hammett was elected in 1991 to House District 21 (Concordia, East Carroll, Madison Parish, and Tensas parishes). The seat became vacant when the Democrat [[Al Ater]], a Ferriday [[farmer]], declined to seek a third term. Ater was later the first assistant Louisiana secretary of state who then became the acting secretary of state from 2005 to 2006, upon the death of Walter Fox McKeithen. In the nonpartisan blanket primary held on October 19, 1991, Hammett led the [[African American]] Democrat, Moses Junior Williams (born 1952) of Tallulah in Madison Parish, 7,464 (49.8 percent) to 4,746 (31.7 percent). A third candidate, Samuel Thomas, trailed with 2,774 votes (18.5 percent).<ref>Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, October 19, 1991.</ref> In the second round, Hammett topped Williams, 9,381 votes (52.6) to 8,451 (47.4 percent). His margin came primarily from his own Concordia Parish.<ref>Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, November 16, 1991.</ref>
In 1995, Hammett nearly won outright in the primary, having polled 6,464 votes (47.5 percent) to 5,215 (38.3 percent) for the Democrat Sammy Davis, Jr., an African American town council member in Ferriday,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.natchezdemocrat.com/news/1999/oct/24/hammett-reelected-to-louisiana-house/|title=Hammett reelected to Louisiana House|date=October 24, 1999|publisher=''Natchez Democrat''|accessdate=September 27, 2019}}</ref> and 1,941 (14.3 percent) for the [[Republican|Republican]] candidate, Steve Alan Fleming (born 1949) of Vidalia in Concordia Parish.<ref>Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, October 21, 1995.</ref> Hammett then defeated Davis, 8,153 (56.7 percent) to 6,231 (43.3 percent).<ref>Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, November 18, 1995.</ref> In a rematch in 1999, Hammett prevailed once more over Davis, 9,315 (68.6 percent) to 4,269 (31.4 percent).<ref>Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, October 23, 1999.</ref>
During the administrations of [[Governor]]s [[Mike Foster|Murphy J."Mike" Foster, Jr.]] and [[Kathleen Blanco]], Hammett was chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. In 2001, he introduced legislation to add the Delta Music Museum in downtown Ferriday to jurisdiction of the Louisiana secretary of state. Under this arrangement, the city of Ferriday owns the building and contributes to the budget, but the state funds, operate, and staffs the museum.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.americantowns.com/la/ferriday/organization/delta_music_museum|title=Delta Music Museum|publisher=americantowns.com|accessdate=November 23, 2009}}</ref>
Hammett ran unopposed in 2003 but resigned his seat in 2006 to accept a position in the State Office of Community Development. His successor, Democrat Andy Anders of Clayton and Ferriday, held the seat until 2020, but term limits kept him from running again in 2019. Hammett headed a team overseeing disaster recovery for state and government infrastructure affected by [[Hurricane Katrina|Hurricanes Katrina]] and Rita. He was one of four managers who supervised the recovery.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.natchezdemocrat.com/news/2006/jun/16/bryant-hammett-resigns/|title=Bryant Hammett resigns|date=June 16, 2006|publisher=''Natchez Democrat''|accessdate=September 27, 2019}}</ref>
Several months later, Hammett left the hurricane recovery position to accept appointment from Governor Blanco as the secretary of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.<ref name=hammett/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.seagrantfish.lsu.edu/news/2007/tilefishes.htm|title=Louisiana Fisheries: Commercial Fishing for Tilefishes in Louisaina Waters to Close until January 1, 2008|publisher=seagrantfish.lsu.edu|date=April 8, 2007|accessdate=September 27, 2019}}</ref> Hammett was succeeded at Wildlife and Fisheries by former state Senator Robert J. Barham of Morehouse Parish, the appointee of Republican Governor [[Bobby Jindal]].
In 2007, as the Blanco administration neared its end, Hammett ran unsuccessfully for the District 32 seat in the state Senate, which embraces all or parts of ten parishes. He lost the race to the Republican Neil Riser of Columbia in Caldwell Parish. Riser, a funeral home operator and the first Republican ever to hold this Senate seat, polled 15,622 votes (54.9 percent) to Hammett’s 12,817 (45.1 percent). Hammett ran best in Concordia and neighboring Catahoula parishes.
<ref>Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, November 17, 2007.</ref>
Louisiana [[radio]] talk show host [[Moon Griffon]] predicted on his program on August 8, 2013, that Hammett would again run for the state Senate if Neil Riser, who defeated him for that position in 2007, had won the October 19 [[special election]] for Louisiana's 5th congressional district seat. A vacancy in the state Senate requires a special election to fill that position.<ref>''[[Moon Griffon|The Moon Griffon Show]],'' August 8, 2013.</ref>
Hammett has performed engineering work on water systems in Ferriday and St. Joseph in Tensas Parish, where the entire system was replaced in 2017.<ref>[[Greg Hilburn]], "Governor to St. Joe residents: 'We're in this with you,'" ''The Monroe News-Star,'' December 19, 2016.</ref>
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hammett, Bryant}}
[[Category:Louisiana People]]
[[Category:Business People]]
[[Category:Engineers]]
[[Category:Politicians]]
[[Category:Democrats]]
[[Category:Presbyterians]]