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User talk:BHathorn

2024-01-12T02:14:08Z

2024-01-04T11:49:19Z

2023-12-31T22:38:19Z

BHathorn: Created page with "{{Infobox officeholder | image=Rick Gallot of LA.jpg | name=Richard Joseph Gallot, Jr. | office=President of the University of Louisiana System | term_start=January 1, 2024 |..."

{{Infobox officeholder
| image=Rick Gallot of LA.jpg
| name=Richard Joseph Gallot, Jr.
| office=President of the University of Louisiana System
| term_start=January 1, 2024
| preceded=[[James Henderson]]
| office2=10th President of Grambling State University
| term_start2=August 1, 2016
| term_end2=December 31, 2023
| preceded2=Willie Larkin
| succeeded2=
| office3=[[Louisiana]] State Senator for District 21
| term_start3=January 9, 2012
| term_end3=January 2016
| preceded3=[[Joe McPherson]]
| succeeded3=Jay Luneau
| office4=Louisiana State Representative for District 11
| term_start4=2000
| term_end4=January 9, 2012
| preceded4=[[Pinkie Wilkerson]]
| succeeded4=[[Patrick Jefferson]]
| party=[[Democratic Party|Democrat]]
| birth_date=April 3, 1966
| birth_place=[[Ruston, Louisiana|Ruston]], Lincoln Parish, Louisiana
| death_date=
| death_place=
| resting_place=
| spouse=Christy Cox Gallot
| children=Four children
| occupation=[[Attorney]]
| nationality=[[African American]]
| alma_mater=Grambling State University 
Southern University Law Center}}

'''Richard Joseph Gallot, Jr.''', known as '''Rick Gallot''' (born April 3, 1966), is the incoming [[African-American]] president of the University of Louisiana System, a conglomerate of nine state universities. He was appointed to the $475,000 per year position, excluding housing and automobile allowances, by the ULS board.<ref name=ulboard/> Gallot is also the former president of his alma mater, Grambling State University in Grambling in Lincoln Parish, [[Louisiana]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.gram.edu/news/?p=1433|title=Grambling State University - Gallot Named Grambling State University President|publisher=www.gram.edu|access-date=December 31, 2023}}</ref> He is also a [[Democratic Party|Democrat]] former state senator for District 29 and a former 12-year state representative for District 11.

==Background==
Born in [[Ruston, Louisiana|Ruston]] in Lincoln Parish, he graduated in 1987 from the historically black Grambling State University, located west of Ruston, and the historically black Southern University Law Center in the capital city of [[Baton Rouge]]. He is an inductee of the Southern Law Hall of Fame.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://votesmart.org/candidate/biography/54275/richard-gallot-jr#.VfGPKBFViko|title=Richard Gallot, Jr. Biography|publisher=[[Project Vote Smart]]|accessdate=September 10, 2015}}</ref>

==Career==
In 2012, after twelve years in the state House of Representatives for District 11, Gallot succeeded the term-limited white Democrat state Senator [[Joe McPherson]] of Rapides Parish, who was term-limited.<ref name=returns>Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, October 22, 2011.</ref> Gallot polled 12,992 votes (50.3 percent) in the nonpartisan blanket primary held on October 22, 2011.<ref>Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, October 22, 2011.</ref>

With a [[liberal]] legislative voting record, Gallot in 2014 was one of only two Democrat state senators to oppose reforms to Louisiana's payday lending laws. He sided with the industry against a grassroots campaign that advocated for reform.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/BillDocs.aspx?i=223923&t=votes|title=Votes on SB 84|publisher=legis.la.gov|accessdate=September 10, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://votesmart.org/candidate/evaluations/54275/richard-gallot-jr#.VfGQlBFViko|title=Richard Gallot, Jr.'s Ratings and Endorsements|publisher=Project Vote Smart|accessdate=December 31, 2023}}</ref>

Gallot did not seek reelection to a second Senate term in the nonpartisan blanket primary held on October 24, 2015. In April 2016, Gallot began a brief stint on the board of directors of the CLEC) Corporation, an electric utility company based in [[Pineville, Louisiana|Pineville]], Louisiana.<ref>Boards of Managers | Cleco, accessed December 31, 2023.</ref>

Upon his selection as the president of Grambling State University, Gallot donated $20,000 to the institution. He said that he did not feel right asking others to contribute to the university if he did not first do so.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theadvertiser.com/story/news/local/education/2016/07/26/uls-naming-system-pres-grambling-pres/87095420/|title=Rick Gallot named new Grambling president |author=Leigh Guidry|publisher=''Baton Rouge Advertiser''|accessdate=December 31, 2023}}</ref>

Gallot was chosen the president of the University of Louisiana System in 2023 but was delayed from taking the position until he met with incoming [[Republican Party|Republican]] [[Governor]] [[Jeff Landry]]. Despite their philosophical differences, Landry agreed that Gallot could take the helm of the state system.<ref name=ulboard>After 2 months, Grambling's Rick Gallot gets contract to lead UL System (thetowntalk.com), author [[Greg Hilburn]], accessed December 31, 2023.</ref>It has not been revealed if Landry obtained concessions from Gallot regarding the status of [[DEI]] and [[CRT]] in the Louisiana college curricula.

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gallot, Rick}}
[[Category:Louisiana People]]
[[Category:African Americans]]
[[Category:Democrats]]
[[Category:State Senators]]
[[Category:State Representatives]]
[[Category:Attorneys]]
[[Category:Educators]]

Don Jones (Louisiana politician)

2023-12-31T22:37:15Z

BHathorn: /* Civic activities */

{{Infobox officeholder
| name=Donald Edward Jones
|image=Don E. Jones of LA.jpg
| nationality=[[United States|American]]
| office=13th [[Mayor]] of [[Bossier City]], [[Louisiana]]
| party=[[Democratic Party|Democrat]]
| term_start=1984
| term_end=1989
| preceded=[[Frank Blackburn]] (interim)
| succeeded=George Dement
| office2=National President of the Junior Chamber International (Jaycees)
| term_start2=July 1, 1982
| term_end2=June 30, 1983
| preceded2=Gene A. Honn
| succeeded2=Tom Bussa
| birth_place=[[Shreveport]], Caddo Parish, Louisiana 
| birth_date=July 10, 1949
| death_date=
| death_place=
| resting_place=
| alma_mater=Bossier High School 
[[Louisiana Tech University]]
| residence=Bossier City, Louisiana
| occupation=[[Business]]man
| spouse=Gay Lynn Marchand Jones
| children=Thomas Edward Jones 
Jacob Marchand Jones 
'''Parents''': 
William Dodwell and Marie "Mamie" Hinkie Jones
| relations=Fred S. Jones (uncle)
| religion=[[Baptist]]
}}
'''Donald Edward Jones''', known as '''Don E. Jones''' (born July 10, 1949),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://voterportal.sos.la.gov/home.aspx?galogin=voter|title=Donald Jones, July 1949|publisher=Louisiana Secretary of State|accessdate=December 28, 2014}}</ref><ref name=jachievement/> is a [[business]]man and civic leader who served from 1984 to 1989 as the thirteenth [[mayor]] of [[Bossier City]] in northwestern [[Louisiana]]. Earlier, he was the national president of the Junior Chamber International, known as the Jaycees.

==Background==

Jones was born in [[Shreveport]]<ref name=whoswho>"Louisiana: Don E. Jones", ''Who's Who in American Politics, 2007-2008'' (Marquis Who's Who: New Providence, [[New Jersey]], 2007), p. 662.</ref> but reared in Bossier City. He graduated in 1967 from Bossier High School in Bossier City<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.classmates.com/people/Don-Don-E-Jones/10000295341|title=Don E. Jones (Class of 1967)|publisher=classmates.com|accessdate=January 12, 2015}}</ref> and is a 2012 inductee of the Bossier High School Hall of Fame.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bearkatsforever.org/HOF/page11.html|title=BSHAA Hall of Fame - 2012|publisher=bearkatsforever.org|accessdate=November 30, 2022}}</ref> In 1971, he received a Bachelor of Science degree in business management from [[Louisiana Tech University]] in [[Ruston, Louisiana|Ruston]].<ref name=businessweek/> He was affiliated with Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity.<ref name=whoswho/> Thereafter, he joined the family-owned Jones Brothers Company, Inc., a general contractor based in Bossier City. He rose to the rank of vice-president of the company<ref name=dej>{{cite web|url=http://www.leagle.com/decision/19841232445So2d787_1995|title=''Wellborn v. Jones''|publisher=leagle.com|date=February 24, 1984|accessdate=December 28, 2014}}</ref> and then the president.<ref name=biomedical/> He and his brother, Bill J. Jones (born 1953), remain the principals of the company, begun in 1953 by their father, William D. Jones (1925-2017),<ref>Obituary: William Dodwell “W. D.” Jones, ''Bossier Press-Tribune,'' accessed December 1, 2022.</ref> and their uncle, Fred S. Jones (1913-1988), a Bossier City public works commissioner under the former city commission government. The company originally installed underground storage tanks and piping and is certified by the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.deq.louisiana.gov/portal/Portals/0/UndergroundStorageTank/active%2009052013.pdf|title=Underground Storage Tank installers|publisher=Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality|accessdate=January 19, 2015}}</ref> Jones Brothers also installs fueling systems in four states in such businesses as bulk plants, convenience stores, and aviation facilities.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1zAPnU54c8EC&pg=PA105&lpg=PA105&dq=Mayor+Don+Jones+of+Bossier+City&source=bl&ots=vwh9WlekQo&sig=c_jOn88OPspT4O6kskUT7jvtQsA&hl=en&sa=X&ei=DQm3VJDUAYiRyASq0IKYDQ&ved=0CEoQ6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=Mayor%20Don%20Jones%20of%20Bossier%20City&f=false|title=''Historic Shreveport-Bossier: An Illustrated History of Shreveport and Bossier City''|author=Marguerite R. Plummer and Gary D. Joiner|publisher=Historical Publishing Network|location=[[San Antonio]], [[Texas]]|date=2000|page=105|isbn=1-893619-08-7|accessdate=January 14, 2015}}</ref>

Jones Brothers also has offices in Scott near [[Lafayette]] and Farmerville near [[Monroe, Louisiana|Monroe]].<ref>"Jones Brothers Company Inc., 4100 Meadow Lane, Bossier City, Louisiana," jonesbrothers.com, accessed January 14, 2015.</ref> Since 1987, Jones has been vice president and secretary of Jones Environmental, Inc., based in a restored historic building at 708 Milam Street in Shreveport, with offices in Scott, Farmerville, and Van Buren, [[Arkansas]]. This company specializes in mold and [[asbestos]] abatement.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jonesenvironmentalinc.com/|title=JonesEnvironmentalInc.|publisher=jonesenvironmentalinc.com|accessdate=January 14, 2015}}</ref> Since 1991, he has been the treasurer of Environmental Gulf States Laboratory, Inc., also based in Bossier City.<ref name=businessweek>{{cite web|url=http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=6385826&privcapId=4612139&previousCapId=4612139&previousTitle=Jones%20Brothers%20Company,%20Inc.|title=Executive Profile: Donald E. Jones|publisher=''Bloomberg Businessweek''|date=January 12, 2015|accessdate=January 12, 2015}}</ref> He is also an owner of Navarre Services Group, Inc.<ref name=jachievement/>

Jones is a member of the [[Baptist Church|Baptist]] denomination;<ref name=whoswho/> his maternal grandfather, Joseph E. Hinkie (1889-1977), was a Baptist pastor from Sabine Parish in western Louisiana.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://files.usgwarchives.net/la/sabine/obits/h/h5200004.txt|title=Mrs. Joseph Hinkie|publisher=''Sabine Index'' (Many, Louisiana)|date=November 11, 1971|accessdate=January 18, 2015}}</ref> Jones is married to the former Gay Lynn Marchand (born September 1949), the daughter of the late Alexander Joseph Marchand, Jr., and the former Hallette Harlan (1919-2014), a [[Roman Catholic]] couple from [[Alexandria, Louisiana|Alexandria]], Louisiana. Don and Gay Jones have two sons, Thomas Edward Jones (born November 1975) and Jacob Marchand Jones (born December 1978).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hixsonbrothers.com/memsol.cgi?user_id=1371450|title=Hallette Harlan Marchand|publisher=hixsonbrothers.com|accessdate=January 18, 2015}}</ref>

==Political life==

Jones's involvement in politics began when he was a delegate to a [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] State Convention in Louisiana.<ref name=natjaycees/> In his first race for office in 1984, Jones won a hotly-contested [[special election]] to fill the months remaining in the second term of Mayor [[Marvin Anding]], a former commander of Barksdale Air Force Base, who had died in office in September 1983. Patricia Janelle Ball Anding (1935-2012), the widow of Mayor Anding, was Jones's opponent. The interim mayor, Democrat [[Frank Blackburn]], had won a special election on March 15, 1980, over the [[Republican Party|Republican]] David Harold Broussard (1947-1998) to fill the at-large seat on the city council created by the election of [[Robert Adley (Louisiana politician)|Robert Adley]] as a state representatives.<ref>''[[Shreveport Journal]],'' March 17, 1980, p. 2.</ref>

On March 28, 1984, a mayoral debate appearance at a Bossier City hotel led thereafter to the filing of a [[defamation]] suit between two partisans of Anding and Jones. Bobby Garrett (born 1943), a Jones campaigner and the director of a local Community Action program, sued Anding backer Roger Kneass (born 1938) regarding remarks made during and after the debate. Kneass asked Jones about reports that he intended to select Garrett for various municipal offices. Garrett was outraged over the implications of Kneass's questioning. After the debate, with the reporters having exited the meeting and the crowd having mostly dissipated, Garrett walked up to Kneass and made remarks that became the subject of dispute. Kneass interpreted Garrett's comments as a threat to Kneass's family; others at the scene said that they heard no such implication. Garrett sued Kneass for having allegedly called Garrett "a thug". Kneass sent a letter to Jones, the [[United States Attorney General]] [[Ed Meese]], and the [[FBI]] to complain of threats to Kneass's family. Reports of the threats against Kneass were repeated by Mrs. Anding to the since defunct ''[[Shreveport Journal]],'' the ''Shreveport Times,'' and KSLA-TV, the [[CBS]] affiilate in Shreveport. Garrett sued and sought damages of $150,000 for humiliation, embarrassment, and loss of future income. The court held in Garrett's favor but awarded him only $2,500 based on mitigating factors as to whether the word "thug" alone is defamation. Jones also said that he would not hire Garrett in any "directory level" position.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.leagle.com/decision/19861358482So2d876_11143.xml/GARRETT%20v.%20KNEASS|title=''Garrett v. Kneass''|date=March 21, 1986|publisher=leagle.com|accessdate=January 17, 2015}}</ref>

In 1985, Mayor Jones moved to demote Bossier City Police Chief Bobby Ray Gauthier (1944-1988)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/40486322/person/19497396364|title=Bobby Ray Gauthier|publisher=trees.ancestry.com|accessdate=January 14, 2015}}</ref> to the rank of patrolman because of actions taken more than two years earlier during the Anding administration. Gauthier was accused of having conspired in 1983 to influence the physical examination of B. W. Spencer to prevent Spencer's promotion to the rank of police lieutenant. Gauthier sued for reinstatement as chief, but the court ruled in favor of the city. Judge [[Graydon K. Kitchens, Jr.]], said that Jones acted in "good faith" when he removed Gauthier from the post.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://casetext.com/case/city-of-bossier-city-v-gauthier|title=''City of Bossier City v. Gauthier''|publisher=casetext.com|accessdate=January 14, 2015}}</ref>

In 1987, Mayor Jones ran unsuccessfully for the District 9 seat in the Louisiana House of Representatives. With 49.96 percent of the votes cast, he came within six ballots of winning the position outright.<ref>Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Results, October 24, 1987.</ref> However, he was placed into a runoff election with his fellow Democrat, Billy Montgomery, a teacher and coach from Bossier Parish, who later switched to Republican affiliation. In the showdown, Montgomery polled 4,998 votes (53.5 percent); Jones, 4,343 (46.5 percent).<ref>Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Results, November 21, 1987.</ref>

Mayor Jones sought to expand business development and investment into the Shreveport-Bossier City area, particularly after job reductions were announced in 1987 by [[AT&T]]. Earlier, Jones said that area officials had "thought of ourselves as a sleepy Southern town with cheap labor to offer corporations from the North, but we realized that we couldn't keep competing in the global economy on that basis any longer. We'd never be able to match the wage levels of [[Third World]] nations, so it was time to see if there was any other way for this area to survive."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://articles.latimes.com/1987-12-30/news/mn-21621_1_economic-development/3|title=World at Crossroads: U.S. Holds Key to '90s Economics Comeback, Rebuilding the U.S. Economy, Last of a series|author=Tom Redburn|date=December 30, 1987|publisher=''[[Los Angeles Times]]''|accessdate=January 14, 2015}}</ref> Jones did not seek a second full term as mayor in 1989 and was succeeded by the Democrat George Dement, a businessman.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bossierpress.com/bossier-city-loses-a-legend/|title=Bossier City loses a legend|publisher=''The Bossier Press-Tribune''|date=January 15, 2014|accessdate=January 14, 2015}}</ref>

Like most area political figures, Jones, even as a former mayor, is a long-term supporter of Barksdale Air Force Base. The Bossier City base fought to attract the "Common Battlefield Airmen Training" program to prepare troops for ready fighting on the ground. Jones said that for Barksdale to attract a program of this scope would have a decisive "economic impact throughout the entire community."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ksla.com/story/5806862/barksdales-mission-could-change|title=Barksdale's Mission Could Change|publisher=KSLA-TV|accessdate=January 14, 2015}}</ref>A member of the civic group Barksdale Forward and the 8th Air Force Consultation Committee, Jones pushed in 2009 for development of the Air Force Cyber Command at Barksdale.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://seclists.org/isn/2007/Jun/40|title=Planners hang hopes on Barksdale's cyber future|author=John Andrew Prime|date=June 10, 2009|publisher=''The Shreveport Times''|accessdate=January 14, 2015}}</ref> However, the selection went to Lackland Air Force Base in [[San Antonio]], [[Texas]].

==Jaycees national president==

Prior to his tenure as mayor, Jones was from 1979 to 1980 the Louisiana state vice president for membership and from 1980 to 1981 the state president of the Junior Chamber International, popularly known as the Jaycees. In June 1982, he was chosen at the national convention in [[Phoenix]], [[Arizona]], as the national Junior Chamber president.<ref name=whoswho/> His selection came on the 42nd ballot after forty hours of politicking.<ref name=natjaycees>"The United States Jaycees Foundation: Don E. Jones (1982-1983," U. S. Jaycee Foundation, accessed January 14, 2051.</ref><ref>"Don E. Jones" profile, ''Future'' magazine, July/August 1982</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://jcimarina.com/about-us/famous-jci-members|title=Famous Junior Chamber International Members|publisher=jcimarina.com|accessdate=January 18, 2015}}</ref> For this assignment as national Jaycee president, Jones, his wife, who was active in the Jaycee Jaynes, and their sons spent the year 1982 to 1983 in [[Tulsa]], [[Oklahoma]].<ref name=dej/> They were the last family to live in the former Jaycee "White House" in south Tulsa and the first in the "Founders Home," having moved early in 1983 to the residence a block from War Memorial Headquarters. This property remains the home for the Jaycee president and his family during the one-year presidential term.<ref name=morejaycees> ''The 1980s,'' U.S. Jaycee Foundation, accessed January 19, 2015.</ref>

As the Jaycee president, Jones traveled through twenty-four states in a bus labeled "U. S. Jaycees Touring America," which received considerable media coverage. Though the Jaycees lost 4,300 members during Jones's tenure as president, the year ended with six consecutive months of growth. As Jones stepped down, the organization had nearly 272,000 members in about 7,000 chapters. During this time the Jaycees continued to exclude women from membership,<ref name=morejaycees/> a policy changed a year later in 1984 with relatively little opposition in the wake of an opinion by the [[United States Supreme Court]] which declared the organization to be a public accommodation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nytimes.com/1984/08/17/us/jaycees-vote-to-admit-women-to-membership.html|title=Jaycees Vote to Admit Women to Membership|date=August 17, 1984|publisher=''[[The New York Times]]''|accessdate=December 1m 2022}}</ref>

Jones was thereafter the JCI national treasurer in 1984.<ref>"Junior Chamber International," jcibortbonifacio.org, accessed January 14, 2015.</ref> He viewed the organization as representing "improvement of the quality of life in America and the continuance of the free enterprise system. ... If we are to continue to remain a free country, it is going to take the efforts of each and every one of us as volunteers ..."<ref name=natjaycees/> On November 22, 1982, Bossier City proclaimed "Don E. Jones Day" because of his leadership over the Jaycees.<ref name=dej/>

While he was the Jaycee president, Jones maintained an official Bossier City residence and was qualified to run for mayor. An opponent, James Quillen Wellborn (1927-2004), a native of Daingerfield, [[Texas]], a [[mathematics]] teacher at Bossier High School and a former chairman of the Bossier Parish Republican Party,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Wellborn&GSfn=James&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSst=20&GScntry=4&GSob=n&GRid=130755666&df=all&|title=James Quillen Wellborn|publisher=findagrave.com|author=John Andrew Prime|date=June 2004|accessdate=December 1, 2022}}</ref> failed to have Jones disqualified from the ballot on the grounds that Jones had not met the residency requirement for municipal office in Bossier City because he had spent part of the preceding year in Tulsa. Instead the [ouisiana Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in Shreveport upheld Jones's validation as a legal resident of Bossier City.<ref name=dej/>

==Civic activities==

Jones is active in Ducks Unlimited and the [[Boy Scouts of America]]. In 2001, he was named a laureate of the organization Junior Achievement. He was a contributor to the restoration of the historic Strand Theatre in downtown Shreveport.<ref name=jachievement>"Donald E. Jones (Biography and Photograph)," Junior Achievement, accessed January 14, 2015.</ref> That same year, ''The Shreveport Times'' named Jones, along with then state Senator [[Rick Gallot]], now the president of the University of Louisiana System, as one of eleven regional "Outstanding Leaders."<ref>"Outstanding Leaders from the Past," ''The Shreveport Times,'' February 4, 2011.</ref>

Jones is a past chairman of the board of directors of the Biomedical Research Foundation, which oversees the operation of former [[Louisiana State University]] public hospitals, the[Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center Shreveport, renamed University Health in 2013, and the E.A. Conway Medical Center in Monroe.<ref>Melody Brumble, "The new BRF Hospital Holdings Board has been announced," ''The Shreveport Times,'' November 25, 2013.</ref>In 2013, Jones was among thirteen BRF directors selected from a list of fifty nominees.<ref name=biomedical>{{cite web|url=http://www.ktbs.com/story/24039143/13-members-selected-for-the-university-health-board-of-directors?clienttype=mobile|title=13 members selected for the University Health Board of Directors|publisher=KTBS-TV|date=November 21, 2013|accessdate=January 12, 2015}}</ref><ref>[[Greg Hilburn]], "University Health Board finalized," ''Lafayette Daily Advertiser,'' November 22, 2013.</ref>

Jones is a board member of the Community Foundation of North Louisiana,<ref>"The Community Foundation," cfnla.org, accessed January 30, 2015.</ref> which in 2011 displayed an initiative known as the "Science of Generosity" exhibit in Shreveport-Bossier City. Created in 2009 through the [[University of Notre Dame]] in South Bend, [[Indiana]], and the John Templeton Foundation, the initiative encourages philanthropy and demonstrates how recipients and givers can both benefit. In 2011, the Community Foundation awarded more than $1 million in scholarships and grants in Bossier Parish.<ref>"Community Foundation puts research on display," ''Bossier Press-Tribune,'' September 1, 2011.</ref>

In 2008, Jones received from the [[United Way]] of Northwest Louisiana the Clyde E. Fant Memorial Award for Outstanding Community Service, named for the late Mayor [[Clyde Fant]] of Shreveport. He was cited as a "bridge builder" willing to work behind the scenes for the good of Shreveport and Bossier City.<ref>Diane Haag, "United Way honors former Bossier City mayor," ''The Shreveport Times,'' January 31, 2008.</ref>

Jones was a regular contributor in her early campaigns to former [[U.S. Senator]] [[Mary Landrieu]] of Louisiana. He also financially supported former [[U.S. President]] [[Bill Clinton]] and former Senators [[John Breaux]] of Louisiana and [[Blanche Lincoln]] of Arkansas.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.city-data.com/elec2/elec-BOSSIER-CITY-LA.html|title=http://www.city-data.com/elec2/elec-BOSSIER-CITY-LA.html|publisher=city-data.com|accessdate=January 12, 2015}}</ref> In 2011, Jones and his son, Jacob, each gave $1,000 to the Republican [[Jeff R. Thompson]] of Bossier City in Thompson's successful campaign for the Louisiana House of Representatives. Thompson in 2015 became a judge of the 9th Judicial District Court in Benton, the seat of Bossier Parish.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ethics.state.la.us/CampaignFinanceSearch/LA-25826.pdf|title=Candidate's Special Report: Jeff R. Thompson|publisher=ethics.state.la.us|accessdate=January 21, 2015}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Don (Louisiana politician)}}
[[Category:Louisiana People]]
[[Category:Business People]]
[[Category:Mayors]]
[[Category:Democrats]]
[[Category:Southern Baptists]]

Pinkie Wilkerson

2023-12-31T22:36:04Z

BHathorn:

{{Infobox officeholder
|name= Pinkie Carolyn Wilkerson
|office=[[Louisiana]] State Representative for District 11 (Claiborne and parts of Bienville, Lincoln, and Union parishes)
|term_start=January 1992
|term_end=August 1, 2000
|preceded=[[Kenneth Volentine]]
|succeeded=[[Rick Gallot]]
|birth_date=February 8, 1948
|birth_place=Grambling, Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, [[United States|USA]]
|death_date=August 1, 2000 (aged 52)
|death_place=[[Bossier City]], Louisiana
|spouse=Presumed [[divorce]]d from John Barabin, Sr.
|children=John Barabin, Jr.
|party=[[Democratic Party|Democrat]]
|occupation=[[Attorney]]
|alma_mater=Grambling State University 
Ohio University 
Southern University Law Center ([[Baton Rouge]]) 
[[Tulane University]]}}

'''Pinkie Carolyn Wilkerson''' (February 8, 1948 – August 1, 2000) was an [[African American]] state representative from her native Grambling, a largely black communty west of [[Ruston, Louisiana|Ruston]], [[Louisiana]], who served from 1992 until her death in a six-vehicle traffic accident on Interstate 20 in [[Bossier City]], Louisiana.<ref name=polgr>{{cite web|url=http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/wilfley-wilkin.html|title=Political Graveyard|publisher=politicalgraveyard.com|accessdate=December 28, 2019}}</ref>

Wilkerson was particularly involved in the areas of health care and [[rural]] development. Her District 11 included Claiborne and portions of Bienville, Lincoln, and Union parishes. The district was especially created after the 1990 [[census]] to guarantee an African-American voter majority.<ref>Statement of Louisiana Legislative Black Caucus, September 26, 2007; no longer on-line.</ref>

==Background==

Wilkerson graduated from the historically black Grambling State University laboratory high school and then the university itself. She received a master’s degree from Ohio University, a research institution in Athens in southeastern [[Ohio]], not to be confused with [[Ohio State University]] in [[Columbus, Ohio|Columbus]]. She then obtained an L. L. B. degree from historically black Southern University Law Center in the capital city of [[Baton Rouge]]. She then obtained an L.L.M. in advanced legal studies at [[Tulane University]] in [[New Orleans]].<ref name=bio>{{cite web|url=http://house.legis.state.la.us/pubinfo/Press_Releases/wilkerson_auto_accident.htm|title=State Rep. Wilkerson Killed in Auto Accident|date=August 1, 2000|publisher=Louisiana House of Representatives|accessdate=December 28, 2019}}</ref>

From 1981 to 1984, she was an assistant professor at her ''alma mater,'' the Southern University Law School. Thereafter, she was an assistant district attorney and an assistant state attorney general. While in the legislature, she continued her law practice in Grambling, where she was active in civic affairs, having served on the Grambling Economic Development Task Force.<ref>"Report of the Grambling Economic Development Task Force," Louisiana State Legislature, September 26, 2009; no longer accessible on line.</ref>

==Politics and elections==

Wilkerson won her House seat on the same day that [[Edwin Edwards]] returned to the Louisiana governorship for his fourth term in a ringing [[general election]] defeat of State Representative [[David Duke]], a former member of the [[Ku Klux Klan]]. Wilkerson defeated the white one-term incumbent, state Representative [[Kenneth Volentine]] of Athens in Claiborne Parish. who had led in the first nonpartisan blanket [[primary]]. Volentine polled 6,150 (46.9 percent) to Wilkerson’s 4,358 (33.2 percent). Two other candidates held the remaining 20 percent of the vote.<ref>Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, October 19, 1991.</ref> In the [[general election]] held on November 16, 1991, Wilkerson unseated Volentine, 8,590 (51.8 percent) to 7,992 (48.2 percent).<ref>Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, November 16, 1991.</ref>

In 1995, Wilkerson won a second term by defeating fellow African American Willie J. Young, 70-30 percent.<ref name=election>Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, October 21, 1995.</ref> In that same election, her 1991 rival, Kenneth Volentine, was handily elected to the first of two terms as the Claiborne Parish [[sheriff]] of Claiborne Parish.<ref name=election/> In 1999, she defeated fellow Democrat Douglas R. Sapp, 80-20 percent, in a low-turnout election.<ref>Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, October 23, 1999.</ref>

Wilkerson was an active national Democrat, having been a delegate to the 1996 [[Democratic National Convention]] in [[Chicago]], [[Illinois]], which renominated the [[Bill Clinton|Clinton]]/[[Al Gore|Gore]] ticket. She was killed two weeks prior to the start of the 2000 Democratic National Convention in [[Los Angeles]], [[California]]. She had been scheduled to be a delegate to that convention too,<ref name=polgr/> in which [[Vice President of the United States|Vice President]] [[Al Gore]] was nominated for the [[U.S. President|presidency]] but subsequently was defeated in a disputed outcome by the [[Moderate Republican]] [[George W. Bush]] of [[Texas]].

==House service==

In the House, Wilkerson was the vice chairman of the Health and Welfare Committee and served on the Civil Law and Procedure and Judiciary committees. She was the first female chairman of the Louisiana Legislative Rural Caucus, having attained that position in 1997.<ref name=bio/>

Later Rural Caucus [[Gil Pinac]] of Crowley in Acadia Parish, a Democrat who later switched parties, described Wilkerson as an active member of the House, particularly on issues affecting rural areas: "Pinkie helped to keep us aware of the issues and the problems facing Louisiana, especially in the rural areas and those of the poor. And Pinkie was more than talk. She always followed through, introducing legislation and initiating projects to ensure that problems were exposed and discussed. She served as chair of the Rural Caucus Stroke Awareness and Cancer Awareness programs."<ref name=bio/>

Wilkerson was best known for her work on education and social issues. She initiated the Youth Academy 2000, by which children are afforded the opportunity to learn directly from professionals in such fields as [[mathematics]], science, computers, medicine, music, and entrepreneurship. She promoted awareness programs regarding [[diabetes]], [[cancer]], lupus, and cardiovascular disease. She introduced legislation to prohibit so-called "drive-through” mastectomies. She pushed to create an incentive program to reward those parishes with reduced rates of school dropout and teen pregnancy.<ref name=bio/>

In 1993, she succeeded in obtaining passage of a bill to establish a 24-hour statewide hot line for compulsive [[gambling|gamblers]], with the contact number placed in gambling establishments and on lottery tickets. That same year she succeeded in passing legislation to authorize courts to issue restraining and protective orders for abused parents. She also labored to include grandparents and grandchildren within the coverage of family violence programs.<ref name=bio/>

She pushed for street lights for the Interstate 20 exchange at Grambling State University, an accomplishment that came after her death through the intervention of Democratic [[U.S. Senator]] [[Mary Landrieu]], a Wilkerson political ally.<ref>"Pinkie Wilkerson’s vision of Grambling I-20 lighting system becomes reality," ''Grambling State University Update,'' October 2004.</ref>

==Legacy==

Wilkerson has been honored by numerous groups. The African-American National Bar Association considers her to have been a role model for state legislators and presents an annual "Pinkie C. Wilkerson Outstanding State Legislator of the Year Award" to a deserving recipient.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nationalbar.org/legislativelaw/NBA_LD_Feb07.pdf|title=National Bar Association: Legislative Update|publisher=nationalbar.org|accessdate=September 26, 2009; no longer accessible}}</ref>

She is further honored through the establishment of the Pinkie C. Wilkerson Life Development Center, a non-profit organization in Grambling.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.taxexemptworld.com/organization.asp?tn=1040795|title=Pinkie C. Wilkerson Life Development Center|publisher=taxexemptworld.com|accessdate=December 28, 2019}}</ref> A short street in Gibsland in Bienville Parish, within her House district, is named for Wilkerson.

At the time of her death, then Louisiana House Speaker [[Charles DeWitt|Charles W. DeWitt, Jr.]], described Wilkerson, accordingly: "{One] could define the term 'dedicated public servant' with two words—Pinkie Wilkerson. That is what she was. Her constituents came first and she worked tirelessly to see that they were represented. Sometimes [one] would get to work in the morning and find a message from Pinkie sent late the night before about a problem she was working on for her district. She was always on the job. Pinkie loved the House of Representatives. She was a loyal, active, extremely hard working member. It is difficult to accept her sudden and untimely death. I can speak for all of my colleagues in saying that she was a positive influence and will not be forgotten. . . . "<ref name=bio/>

Wilkerson was preceded in death by her mother. Her father, Calvin Wilkerson (1911–2000) of Grambling, died forty-five days after his daughter’s passing.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ssdi.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/ssdi.cgi|title=Social Security Death Index|publisher=ssdi.rootsweb.ancestry.com|accessdate=September 26, 2009; under pay wall}}</ref> In addition to a son, John Barabin, Jr., she had a sister and a brother.<ref name=bio/>

In a [[special election]] called to fill Wilkerson’s District 11 seat, victory went to another African American Democrat, [[Rick Gallot]], Jr. In 2007, Wilkerson’s sister, Delores Wilkerson Smith, failed in an effort to dislodge Gallot in the primary election, having received fewer than 17 percent of the ballots cast.<ref>Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, October 20, 2007.</ref>

==References==
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[[Category:Louisiana People]]
[[Category:African Americans]]
[[Category:Women]]
[[Category:Attorneys]]
[[Category:Politicians]]
[[Category:Democrats]]
[[Category:Liberals]]