Changes

|term_start3= January 1992

|term_start3= January 1992

|term_end3=January 1996

|term_end3=January 1996

|preceded3=Jimmy Dimos

|preceded3=[[Jimmy Dimos]]

|succeeded3=Huntington Blair "Hunt" Downer

|succeeded3=Huntington Blair "Hunt" Downer

|term_start4=January 1984

|term_start4=January 1984

He was selected by [[Governor]] [[Edwin Edwards]] as House Speaker twice, from 1984 to 1988 and from 1992 to 1996.<ref name=votesmart /> As the House Speaker, Alario was described by a colleague, [[Ron Gomez]] of [[Lafayette]], as "a master of adding just the right degree of levity to defuse almost any potentially explosive situation."<ref>[[Ron Gomez]], ''My Name Is Ron And I'm a Recovering Legislator: Memoirs of a Louisiana State Representative'', [[Lafayette]], [[Louisiana]]: Zemog Publishing, 2000, ISBN 0-9700156-0-7, pp. 59-70.</ref> In 1986, Alario removed Representative Kevin P. Reilly, Sr., of [[Baton Rouge]] from the chairmanship of the House Appropriations Committee after thirteen years of service when Reilly, an unsuccessful candidate for state treasurer the following year, criticized Governor Edwards.<ref>Gomez, p. 162.</ref>​

He was selected by [[Governor]] [[Edwin Edwards]] as House Speaker twice, from 1984 to 1988 and from 1992 to 1996.<ref name=votesmart /> As the House Speaker, Alario was described by a colleague, [[Ron Gomez]] of [[Lafayette]], as "a master of adding just the right degree of levity to defuse almost any potentially explosive situation."<ref>[[Ron Gomez]], ''My Name Is Ron And I'm a Recovering Legislator: Memoirs of a Louisiana State Representative'', [[Lafayette]], [[Louisiana]]: Zemog Publishing, 2000, ISBN 0-9700156-0-7, pp. 59-70.</ref> In 1986, Alario removed Representative Kevin P. Reilly, Sr., of [[Baton Rouge]] from the chairmanship of the House Appropriations Committee after thirteen years of service when Reilly, an unsuccessful candidate for state treasurer the following year, criticized Governor Edwards.<ref>Gomez, p. 162.</ref>​

With the election of [[Buddy Roemer]] as governor, Alario was replaced as Speaker by Jimmy N. Dimos of [[Monroe, Louisiana|Monroe]]. Ron Gomez explained that Alario and Senate President Sammy Nunez of Chalmette in St. Bernard Parish nevertheless attempted to maintain their leadership posts. He explained: "Alario immediately had the backing of [[organized labor]], the black caucus, many member from the New Orleans and Jefferson Parish delegations and a healthy number of other House members whom he had helped and to whom he had ingratiated himself over the years."<ref>Ron Gomez, p. 188.</ref>​

With the election of [[Buddy Roemer]] as governor, Alario was replaced as Speaker by [[Jimmy Dimos]] of [[Monroe, Louisiana|Monroe]]. Ron Gomez explained that Alario and Senate President Sammy Nunez of Chalmette in St. Bernard Parish nevertheless attempted to maintain their leadership posts. He explained: "Alario immediately had the backing of [[organized labor]], the black caucus, many member from the New Orleans and Jefferson Parish delegations and a healthy number of other House members whom he had helped and to whom he had ingratiated himself over the years."<ref>Ron Gomez, p. 188.</ref>​

Overall, Alario served nine terms in the House of Representatives before being term limited from the body in the 2007 elections.<ref name=votesmart/>​

Overall, Alario served nine terms in the House of Representatives before being term limited from the body in the 2007 elections.<ref name=votesmart/>​