Changes

==Defeat in 1999 primary==

==Defeat in 1999 primary==

​In 1999, however, Fowler ran into insurmountable difficulties, as it turned out in the race, in which ten challengers stepped forward: five Republicans, three fellow Democrats, and two "No party" candidates. Fowler finished a strong third with 247,961 (21 percent) in the multiple-candidate field and missed a general election berth by 9,222 votes. In fact, two Republicans secured the slots in the second balloting: Suzanne Haik Terrell, a former member of the [[New Orleans]] City Council (257,182 or 22 percent) and outgoing state Representative Louis Elwood "Woody" Jenkins of Baton Rouge (305,919 or 26 percent).<ref>Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, October 23, 1999.</ref> Terrell, though the second-place finisher in the primary, went on to defeat Jenkins, who had earlier lost three high-profile races for the [[U.S. Senate]] to [[J. Bennett Johnston, Jr.]], [[Russell Long]], and [[Mary Landrieu]]. Jenkins' loss effectively ended his political career. Presumably had Fowler obtained the second slot, instead of Terrell, he would have lost to Jenkins, considering the allegations which surfaced about abuses of his office. In 2002, Terrell lost in her bid to deny Mary Landrieu a second term in the U.S. Senate.​

​In 1999, however, Fowler ran into insurmountable difficulties, as it turned out in the race, in which ten challengers stepped forward: five Republicans, three fellow Democrats, and two "No party" candidates. Fowler finished a strong third with 247,961 (21 percent) in the multiple-candidate field and missed a general election berth by 9,222 votes. In fact, two Republicans secured the slots in the second balloting: Suzanne Haik Terrell, a former member of the [[New Orleans]] City Council (257,182 or 22 percent) and outgoing state Representative [[Woody Jenkins]] of Baton Rouge (305,919 or 26 percent).<ref>Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, October 23, 1999.</ref> Terrell, though the second-place finisher in the primary, went on to defeat Jenkins, who had earlier lost three high-profile races for the [[U.S. Senate]] to [[J. Bennett Johnston, Jr.]], [[Russell Long]], and [[Mary Landrieu]]. Jenkins' loss effectively ended his political career. Presumably had Fowler obtained the second slot, instead of Terrell, he would have lost to Jenkins, considering the allegations which surfaced about abuses of his office. In 2002, Terrell lost in her bid to deny Mary Landrieu a second term in the U.S. Senate.​

Terrell, like John Henry Baker, a quarter of a century earlier, promised to work to abolish the "useless" office. And she managed to do so in her four-year term, for Terrell was the only woman elections commissioner, the only Republican elections commissioner, and the last of the three elected commissioners in Louisiana history. A political commentator, Alan Ehrenhalt, hailed Terrell's steps to abolish the office, which he dubbed the "most ridiculous elective office in the history of state government."<ref name=jwr>{{cite web|url=http://www.jewishworldreview.com/1001/ehrenhalt083001.asp|author=Alan Ehrenhalt|title=The most ridiculous elective office in the history of state government is about to pass out of existence|date=August 30, 2001|publisher=Jewishworldreview.com|accessdate=February 15, 2011}}</ref> The commissioner of elections did not even keep the tabulation of election returns: that function remains within the duties of the secretary of state, which operates a website with returns dating from 1987 and partial tabulations between 1983 and 1986.

Terrell, like John Henry Baker, a quarter of a century earlier, promised to work to abolish the "useless" office. And she managed to do so in her four-year term, for Terrell was the only woman elections commissioner, the only Republican elections commissioner, and the last of the three elected commissioners in Louisiana history. A political commentator, Alan Ehrenhalt, hailed Terrell's steps to abolish the office, which he dubbed the "most ridiculous elective office in the history of state government."<ref name=jwr>{{cite web|url=http://www.jewishworldreview.com/1001/ehrenhalt083001.asp|author=Alan Ehrenhalt|title=The most ridiculous elective office in the history of state government is about to pass out of existence|date=August 30, 2001|publisher=Jewishworldreview.com|accessdate=February 15, 2011}}</ref> The commissioner of elections did not even keep the tabulation of election returns: that function remains within the duties of the secretary of state, which operates a website with returns dating from 1987 and partial tabulations between 1983 and 1986.