Tony Davis
| Tony Davis | |
 | |
Member of the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education for District 4 (Bienville, Bossier,
Caddo, DeSoto, Natchitoches, Red River, Sabine, Vernon, Webster, and Winn parishes) | |
| In office January 2016 – January 20, 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Mary Eleanor Johnson Harris |
|---|---|
| Succeeded by | Michael Melerine |
| Born | c. 1976 |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Amy Davis |
| Children | Two children |
| Residence | Natchitoches, Louisiana |
| Alma mater | Northwestern State University |
| Occupation | Businessman |
Tony Davis (full name unavailable) (born c. 1976) is the Republican former member of the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. He is stepping down from his position in District 4 effective January 20, 2021, because of personal business reason. He resides in Natchitoches but expects to leave the state at some tim after he assumes a new position in February 2021 with the National Association of Manufactures.[1]
In November 2015, Davis initially was elected to the BESE seat for northwestern Louisiana, 63,610 votes (51 percent). His runoff opponent, interim member Mary Eleanor Johnson Harris, a Shreveport Republican, polled 60,746 votes (49 percent). Despite his close victory, Davis was the only BESE member to run unopposed in 2019. The board has eight elected members and three gubernatorial appointees. It serves more than 700,000 pupils.
Davis is a graduate of Northwestern State University in Natchitoches. and the "good government" group, Leadership Louisiana. He is the former executive director of Natchitoches Community Alliance and a former president of the Natchitoches Chamber of Commerce. He also serves as vice chairman of the Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts, also in Natchitoches. Davis and his wife, Amy, a design consultant, have two children.[2]
In the race to succeed Davis, a runoff was held on April 24 between Democrat Cassie Williams of Bossier City and Republican Michael Melerine, a Shreveport attorney, who polled in the primary, respectively, 10,764 votes (29 percent) to 10,359 (28 percent). The third-placed candidate, Shelly McFarland (born 1975), the wife of Republican state Representative Jack McFarland of Winnfield, finished with 8,250 votes (22 percent). She ran with a commitment to teacher pay raises but did not address the issue of school choice. Jack McFarland, meanwhile, is seeking to raise the state gasoline tax by four cents to fund highway projects.[3] In fourth place in the primary tabulation was former state Senator John Milkovich of Shreveport, who received 5,843 votes (16 percent). Turnout in the race was just 9.7 percent.[4]
In the runoff contest, Mellerine defeated Williams, 23,541 votes (62 percent) to 14,546 (38 percent).[5] In 2023, Mellerine was elected with 68 percent of the vote to the District 6 seat in the Louisiana House of Representatives.[6]
References
- ↑ Will Sentell (November 19, 2020). BESE leader quitting post; 2021 election to fill vacancy. The Baton Rouge Advocate. Retrieved on December 2, 2020.
- ↑ BESE District 4 Representative: Tony Davis. Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. Retrieved on December 4, 2020.
- ↑ Jeffrey D. Sadow (December 1, 2020). Jack McFarland and Gas Tax, Shelly McFarland and BESE. The Hayride. Retrieved on December 4, 2020.
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, March 20, 2021.
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, Special election returns, April 24, 2021.
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, October 14, 2023.
