Changes

| birth_date=November 14, 1927

| birth_date=November 14, 1927

| birth_place =[[El Paso]], [[Texas]], USA​

| birth_place =[[El Paso]], [[Texas]], USA​

| occupation=[[Engineer]]; [[business]]man<br>

| occupation=[[Engineer]]; [[business]]man<br>

[[United States Marine Corps]]<br>

[[United States Marine Corps]]<br>

Elizabeth Anne "Lisa" Leonard<br>

Elizabeth Anne "Lisa" Leonard<br>

Mary Virginia "Ginny" Reynolds

Mary Virginia "Ginny" Reynolds

| alma_mater=C. E. Byrd High School<br>

| alma_mater=C. E. Byrd High School (Shreveport)

[[Virginia Military Institute]]​

[[Virginia Military Institute]]​

| party=[[Democratic Party|Democrat]]-turned-[[Republican Party|Republican]] (1961)​

| party=[[Democratic Party|Democrat]]-turned-[[Republican Party|Republican]] (1961)​

| religion=[[Southern Baptist]]}}

| religion=[[Southern Baptist]]}}

'''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.''' (November 14, 1927 &ndash; January 28, 2020),<ref=obit>{{cite web|url=https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/shreveporttimes/obituary.aspx?n=billy-james-guin&pid=195312963|title=Billy James Guin, Sr. obituary|publisher=''The Shreveport Times''|accessdate=February 8, 2020}}</ref><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 from 1977 to 1978 was 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. 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> was a retired [[business]]man and [[engineer]] from [[Shreveport]], [[Louisiana]], who from 1977 to 1978 was 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. 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/>

==Background==

==Background==

Guin was born in [[El Paso]], [[Texas]], to James Frank Guin (1882-1930) and the former Bessie Aline Reeves (1898-1991),<ref name=vitalstats/> both originally from Bienville Parish in northwestern Louisiana. The Guins had moved to El Paso in the hope that the dry climate would alleviate the impact of the [[tuberculosis]] which James Guin had contracted during [[World War I]] while serving in the [[United States Army]]. After his father's death, Mrs. Guin relocated with their three-year-old son to [[Ruston, Louisiana|Ruston]], Louisiana, where they lived with her mother.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ovguide.com/billy-j-guin-9202a8c04000641f800000000472d84f#|title=Billy James Guin: Videos and Interviews|publisher=ovguide.com|accessdate=July 24, 2014}}</ref> Bessie Guin subsequently married James E. Fitch, Sr., an [[Ohio]] native, and the couple resided in Shreveport. In addition to Billy, there was a second son, James Fitch, Jr. (born c. 1937).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.archives.com/1940-census/billy-guin-la-14073283|title=Billy James Guin in the 1940 Census|publisher=archives.com|accessdate=July 24, 2014}}</ref>​

Guin was born in [[El Paso]], [[Texas]], to James Frank Guin (1882-1930) and the former Bessie Aline Reeves (1898-1991),<ref name=vitalstats/> both originally from Bienville Parish in northwestern Louisiana. The Guins had moved to El Paso in the hope that the dry climate would alleviate the impact of the [[tuberculosis]] which James Guin had contracted during [[World War I]] while serving in the [[United States Army]]. After his father's death, Mrs. Guin relocated with their three-year-old son to [[Ruston, Louisiana|Ruston]], Louisiana, where they lived with her mother.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ovguide.com/billy-j-guin-9202a8c04000641f800000000472d84f#|title=Billy James Guin: Videos and Interviews|publisher=ovguide.com|accessdate=July 24, 2014}}</ref> Bessie Guin subsequently married James E. Fitch, Sr., an [[Ohio]] native, and the couple resided in Shreveport. In addition to Billy, there was a second son, James Fitch, Jr. (born c. 1937).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.archives.com/1940-census/billy-guin-la-14073283|title=Billy James Guin in the 1940 Census|publisher=archives.com|accessdate=July 24, 2014}}</ref>​

Guin graduated in 1944 from Clifton Ellis Byrd High School in Shreveport<ref>{{cite web|url=http://openbuildings.com/buildings/c-e-byrd-high-school-profile-22393?_show_description=1|title=C. E. Byrd High School|publisher=openbuildings.com|accessdate=July 24, 2014}}</ref> and then entered [[Virginia Military Institute]] in Lexington, [[Virginia]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.e-yearbook.com/yearbooks/Virginia_Military_Institute_Bomb_Yearbook/1949/Page_128.html|title=Billy Guin, Class of 1949|publisher=e-yearbook.comlaccessdate=July 25, 2014}}</ref>  Guin left VMI for duty in the [[United States Marine Corps]] in extended [[World War II]] service. He then returned to VMI, from which he received a bachelor's degree in civil engineering. There he met his wife, the former Nancy Jane Beale (March 31, 1927 &ndash; January 19, 2018), a native of Franklin near [[Norfolk]], Virginia.<ref>{{cite web|url= ​

Guin graduated in 1944 from Clifton Ellis Byrd High School in Shreveport<ref>{{cite web|url=http://openbuildings.com/buildings/c-e-byrd-high-school-profile-22393?_show_description=1|title=C. E. Byrd High School|publisher=openbuildings.com|accessdate=July 24, 2014}}</ref> and then entered [[Virginia Military Institute]] in Lexington, [[Virginia]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.e-yearbook.com/yearbooks/Virginia_Military_Institute_Bomb_Yearbook/1949/Page_128.html|title=Billy Guin, Class of 1949|publisher=e-yearbook.comlaccessdate=July 25, 2014}}</ref>  Guin left VMI for duty in the [[United States Marine Corps]] in extended [[World War II]] service. He then returned to VMI, from which he received a bachelor's degree in civil engineering. There he met his wife, the former Nancy Jane Beale (1927-2018), a native of Franklin near [[Norfolk]], Virginia.<ref>{{cite web|url= ​

https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/shreveporttimes/obituary.aspx?pid=187986102|title=Nancy Jane Beale Guin|publisher=''The Shreveport Times''|date=January 28, 2018}}</ref>​

https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/shreveporttimes/obituary.aspx?pid=187986102|title=Nancy Jane Beale Guin|publisher=''The Shreveport Times''|date=January 28, 2018}}</ref>​

===School board===

===School board===

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 1st Judicial District Court 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=https://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, when [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] crushed [[Barry Goldwater]], uGuin 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 1st Judicial District Court 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=https://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>​

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>

Commissioner Guin became involved in another legal dispute when R. W. Calhoun, the superintendent of the Cross Lake Patrol, which fell within the jurisdiction of the utilities department, testified that he had issued about fifty permits for construction of piers and boathouses extending into the lake. Calhoun said that he attempted to "accommodate everybody on the lake - depending upon the shape of his lot." Because numerous lake lots had had curved boundaries, Calhoun said that the city was compelled to guarantee equal access from all lots regardless of shape. Guin stood with Calhoun: "The criteria that I used, and the concept of this design, was to try to create equity [among] the owners of the adjacent lots around that cove. Each one should have access to the water, whereby he could build a pier." When a lot owner sued to block a neighbor from constructing a pier and boathouse, the court two years after Guin had left office stood with the city's method of issuing the permits.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.leagle.com/decision/19801224388So2d836_11074.xml/LIEBER%20v.%20RUST|title=''Lieber v. Rust''|date=1980|publisher=leagle.com|accessdate=July 25, 2014}}</ref>​

Commissioner Guin became involved in another legal dispute when R. W. Calhoun, the superintendent of the Cross Lake Patrol, which fell within the jurisdiction of the utilities department, testified that he had issued about fifty permits for construction of piers and boathouses extending into the lake. Calhoun said that he attempted to "accommodate everybody on the lake - depending upon the shape of his lot." Because numerous lake lots had had curved boundaries, Calhoun said that the city was compelled to guarantee equal access from all lots regardless of shape. Guin stood with Calhoun: "The criteria that I used, and the concept of this design, was to try to create equity [among] the owners of the adjacent lots around that cove. Each one should have access to the water, whereby he could build a pier." When a lot owner sued to block a neighbor from constructing a pier and boathouse, the court two years after Guin had left office stood with the city's method of issuing the permits.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.leagle.com/decision/19801224388So2d836_11074.xml/LIEBER%20v.%20RUST|title=''Lieber v. Rust''|date=1980|publisher=leagle.com|accessdate=July 25, 2014}}</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=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808063923/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/pnp/habshaer/la/la0100/la0164/data/la0164data.pdf||title=The Fluoridation Controversy||publisher=lcweb2.loc.gov|pages=148–151|author=Terry S. Reynolds|accessdate=August 8, 2014}}</ref>​

Under Guin, Shreveport adopted [[fluoridation]] of the municipal water supply, an issue once controversial.<ref name=obit/> 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=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808063923/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/pnp/habshaer/la/la0100/la0164/data/la0164data.pdf||title=The Fluoridation Controversy||publisher=lcweb2.loc.gov|pages=148–151|author=Terry S. Reynolds|accessdate=August 8, 2014}}</ref>​

===Abolition of the commission government===

===Abolition of the commission government===

==Personal life==

==Personal life==

Guin is a [[deacon]], choir member, and [[clarinet]] player at the First [[Southern Baptist|Baptist]] Church of Shreveport.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fbcshreveport.org/uploads/september-18-25.pdf|title=Active Deacons for 2014 and 2015|publisher=fbcshreveport.org|accessdate=July 25, 2014}}</ref> He is also a member of Rotary International.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rotary6190.org/view/97|title=District Installation Banquet (2007-2008)|publisher=rotary6190.org|accessdate=July 25, 2014}}</ref>​

Guin is a [[deacon]], choir member, and [[clarinet]] player at the First [[Southern Baptist|Baptist]] Church of Shreveport.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fbcshreveport.org/uploads/september-18-25.pdf|title=Active Deacons for 2014 and 2015|publisher=fbcshreveport.org|accessdate=July 25, 2014}}</ref><ref name=obit/> He is also a member of Rotary International.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rotary6190.org/view/97|title=District Installation Banquet (2007-2008)|publisher=rotary6190.org|accessdate=July 25, 2014}}</ref>​

Billy and Nancy Guin have a son, Billy Guin, Jr. (born 1951), a [[lawyer]] since 1978. With the Shreveport firm of Rountree and Guin, his specialities are civil practice, mediation, criminal defense, and insurance defense litigation. They also have four daughters: Nancy Guin Austin (born 1952) of [[Baton Rouge]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.intelius.com/results.php?ReportType=1&formname=name&qf=Nancy&qmi=G&qn=Austin&qcs=Baton+Rouge%2C+LA&focusfirst=1|title=Nancy G. Austin|publisher=intelius.com|accessdate=July 25, 2014}}</ref> Alice Reeves Guin Lind (born 1955) of [[Alexandria, Louisiana|Alexandria]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.intelius.com/results.php?ReportType=1&formname=name&qf=Alice&qmi=G&qn=Lind&qcs=Alexandria%2C+LA&focusfirst=1|title=Alice G. Lind|publisher=intelius.com|accessdate=July 25, 2014}}</ref> Elizabeth Anne "Lisa" Leonard (born 1957) of Metairie in Jefferson Parish,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.intelius.com/results.php?ReportType=1&formname=name&qf=Elizabeth&qmi=G&qn=Leonard&qcs=Metairie&focusfirst=1|title=Elizabeth Guin Leonard|publisher=intelius.com|accessdate=July 25, 2014}}</ref> and Mary Virginia "Ginny" Reynolds (born 1962) of Shreveport.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.intelius.com/results.php?ReportType=1&formname=name&qf=Mary&qmi=G&qn=Reynolds&qcs=Shreveport%2C+LA&focusfirst=1|title=Mary V. Guin Reynolds|publisher=intelius.com|accessdate=July 25, 2014}}</ref>

Billy and Nancy Guin have a son, Billy Guin, Jr. (born 1951), a [[lawyer]] since 1978, formerly with the Shreveport firm of Rountree and Guin, his specialities are civil practice, mediation, criminal defense, and insurance defense litigation. The junior Guin, now resides in Fredericksburg, Texas.<ref name=obit/> Alice Reeves Guin Lind (born 1955) of [[Alexandria, Louisiana|Alexandria]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.intelius.com/results.php?ReportType=1&formname=name&qf=Alice&qmi=G&qn=Lind&qcs=Alexandria%2C+LA&focusfirst=1|title=Alice G. Lind|publisher=intelius.com|accessdate=July 25, 2014}}</ref> Elizabeth Anne "Lisa" Leonard (born 1957) of Metairie in Jefferson Parish,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.intelius.com/results.php?ReportType=1&formname=name&qf=Elizabeth&qmi=G&qn=Leonard&qcs=Metairie&focusfirst=1|title=Elizabeth Guin Leonard|publisher=intelius.com|accessdate=July 25, 2014}}</ref> and Mary Virginia "Ginny" Reynolds (born 1962) of Shreveport.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.intelius.com/results.php?ReportType=1&formname=name&qf=Mary&qmi=G&qn=Reynolds&qcs=Shreveport%2C+LA&focusfirst=1|title=Mary V. Guin Reynolds|publisher=intelius.com|accessdate=July 25, 2014}}</ref>

==References==

==References==