Changes

In 1963, Hatten was heavily involved in the campaign to return former [[Governor]] [[Robert F. Kennon]] to the state's highest office. Kennon, a [[conservative]] Democrat who served as governor from 1952 to 1956, was eliminated in the primary election held on December 7, just two weeks after the assassination of [[John F. Kennedy]]. Kennon had run as an anti-Kennedy candidate in what turned out to have been the former governor's last campaign.<ref name=hannajr>{{cite web|url=http://www.theind.com/LaLaLand/hanna-shares-family-memories-of-jfk-2360/|title=Sam Hanna, Jr.: One fateful day in Dallas, November 20, 2013|publisher=''The Ouachita Citizen''|accessdate=May 22, 2014}}</ref>  

In 1963, Hatten was heavily involved in the campaign to return former [[Governor]] [[Robert F. Kennon]] to the state's highest office. Kennon, a [[conservative]] Democrat who served as governor from 1952 to 1956, was eliminated in the primary election held on December 7, just two weeks after the assassination of [[John F. Kennedy]]. Kennon had run as an anti-Kennedy candidate in what turned out to have been the former governor's last campaign.<ref name=hannajr>{{cite web|url=http://www.theind.com/LaLaLand/hanna-shares-family-memories-of-jfk-2360/|title=Sam Hanna, Jr.: One fateful day in Dallas, November 20, 2013|publisher=''The Ouachita Citizen''|accessdate=May 22, 2014}}</ref>  

On June 14, 1966, Hatten was handily elected mayor of West Monroe to succeed fellow Democrat J. Allen Norris, who served from 1952 to 1966. He defeated the [[Republican Party|Republican]] candidate,  William Green "Billy" Haynes, Jr. (1912-1984),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=18914032|title=William Green Haynes, Jr.|publisher=findagrave.com|accessdate=May 22, 2014}}</ref> also a West Monroe insurance agent, 2,490 votes (68 percent) to 1,171 (32 percent).<ref>On February 1, 1972, W. G. "Billy" Haynes, Jr., a pioneer of the Louisiana [[Republican Party]], ran  for state insurance commissioner but was overwhelmed by the Democrat [[Sherman Bernard]] of Jefferson Parish.</ref> Five Democrats were elected with Hatten to serve on the city council. One of those aldermen, Charles Anding, a trade union official, was elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives in 1987 from District 15, which encompasses West Monroe. Another alderman, Truett Thorn,<ref>''Lake Charles American Press'', June 15, 1966, p. 10.</ref> was a coach at West Monroe High School<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.e-yearbook.com/yearbooks/West_Monroe_High_School_Rebelaire_Yearbook/1983/Page_40.html  

On June 14, 1966, Hatten was handily elected mayor of West Monroe to succeed fellow Democrat J. Allen Norris, who served from 1952 to 1966. He defeated the [[Republican Party|Republican]] candidate,  William Green "Billy" Haynes, Jr. (1912-1984),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=18914032|title=William Green Haynes, Jr.|publisher=findagrave.com|accessdate=May 22, 2014}}</ref> also a West Monroe insurance agent, 2,490 votes (68 percent) to 1,171 (32 percent).<ref>On February 1, 1972, W. G. "Billy" Haynes, Jr., a pioneer of the Louisiana [[Republican Party]], ran  for state insurance commissioner but was overwhelmed by the Democrat Sherman Albert Bernard, Sr. (1925-2012) of Jefferson Parish.</ref> Five Democrats were elected with Hatten to serve on the city council. One of those aldermen, Charles Anding, a trade union official, was elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives in 1987 from District 15, which encompasses West Monroe. Another alderman, Truett Thorn,<ref>''Lake Charles American Press,'' June 15, 1966, p. 10.</ref> was a coach at West Monroe High School<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.e-yearbook.com/yearbooks/West_Monroe_High_School_Rebelaire_Yearbook/1983/Page_40.html  

|title=West Monroe High School (Class of 1983)|publisher=e-yearbook.com|accessdate=May 17, 2014}}</ref>

|title=West Monroe High School (Class of 1983)|publisher=e-yearbook.com|accessdate=May 17, 2014}}</ref>

and the older brother of the Louisiana journalist and gubernatorial press secretary [[Dale Thorn]], another alumnus of the Monroe newspapers.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/clarionledger/obituary.aspx?n=jesse-dale-thorn&pid=170968700#sthash.g1JbouVI.dpuf|title=Jesse Dale Thorn|publisher='' The Baton Rouge Morning Advocate''|accessdate=May 17, 2014}}</ref> Altogether, Hatten served with twelve city council members, all men.<ref name=ouacit>{{cite web|url=http://www.hannapub.com/ouachitacitizen/opinion/columns/article_78056c7c-bff9-11e3-bea2-001a4bcf6878.html|title=Bert Hatten: Neighborly relations remembered, 1998|publisher=''The Ouachita Citizen''|accessdate=May 22, 2014}}</ref>

and the older brother of the Louisiana journalist and gubernatorial press secretary [[Dale Thorn]], another alumnus of the Monroe newspapers.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/clarionledger/obituary.aspx?n=jesse-dale-thorn&pid=170968700#sthash.g1JbouVI.dpuf|title=[[Dale Thorn|Jesse Dale Thorn]]|publisher='' The Baton Rouge Morning Advocate''|accessdate=May 17, 2014}}</ref> Altogether, Hatten served with twelve city council members, all men.<ref name=ouacit>{{cite web|url=http://www.hannapub.com/ouachitacitizen/opinion/columns/article_78056c7c-bff9-11e3-bea2-001a4bcf6878.html|title=Bert Hatten: Neighborly relations remembered, 1998|publisher=''The Ouachita Citizen''|accessdate=May 22, 2014}}</ref>

Hatten often joked that his only experience in municipal government prior to his election as mayor had been in covering city council meetings for the Monroe newspapers. He hence relied on advice from seasoned mayors, William Lorenzo "Jack" Howard (1921-2004) of his sister city of Monroe and [[Clyde Fant]] of [[Shreveport]]. Hatten noted that Monroe and West Monroe, separated by the Ouachita River, never developed the animosity sometimes associated with other twin cities but instead took pride in the strength of each other.<ref name=ouacit/>

Hatten often joked that his only experience in municipal government prior to his election as mayor had been in covering city council meetings for the Monroe newspapers. He hence relied on advice from seasoned mayors, William Lorenzo "Jack" Howard (1921-2004) of his sister city of Monroe and [[Clyde Fant]] of [[Shreveport]]. Hatten noted that Monroe and West Monroe, separated by the Ouachita River, never developed the animosity sometimes associated with other twin cities but instead took pride in the strength of each other.<ref name=ouacit/>