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Among Ford's many council colleagues over the years were later [[Governor]] [[Jimmie Davis]], who was from 1938 to 1942 the commissioner of public safety, a post later held by [[J. Earl Downs]] and George Wendell D'Artois, Jr. (1925-1977), who stepped down amid a scandal in 1976.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2011/10/brad-kozak/when-cops-go-bad-i-the-tale-of-george-dartois/|title=When Cops Go Bad I: The Tale of George D'Artois|author=Brad Kozak|date=October 19, 2011|publisher=thetruthaboutguns.com|accessdate=June 10, 2014}}</ref> [[H. Lane Mitchell]], the public works commissioner from 1934 to 1968, left office enveloped in what developed as a scandal of his own.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.leagle.com/decision/19711060246So2d814_1915.xml/STATE%20v.%20MITCHELL|title=''State v. Mitchell''|date=May 3, 1971|publisher=leagle.com|accessdate=June 14, 2014}}</ref> Ford served from 1946 to 1954 with Mayor Clyde Edward Fant (1905-1973). For his last three years as commissioner, another Ford colleague was later Mayor [[Calhoun Allen]], then the public utilities commissioner.​

Among Ford's many council colleagues over the years were later [[Governor]] [[Jimmie Davis]], who was from 1938 to 1942 the commissioner of public safety, a post later held by [[J. Earl Downs]] and George Wendell D'Artois, Jr. (1925-1977), who stepped down amid a scandal in 1976.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2011/10/brad-kozak/when-cops-go-bad-i-the-tale-of-george-dartois/|title=When Cops Go Bad I: The Tale of George D'Artois|author=Brad Kozak|date=October 19, 2011|publisher=thetruthaboutguns.com|accessdate=June 10, 2014}}</ref> [[H. Lane Mitchell]], the public works commissioner from 1934 to 1968, left office enveloped in what developed as a scandal of his own.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.leagle.com/decision/19711060246So2d814_1915.xml/STATE%20v.%20MITCHELL|title=''State v. Mitchell''|date=May 3, 1971|publisher=leagle.com|accessdate=June 14, 2014}}</ref> Ford served from 1946 to 1954 with Mayor Clyde Edward Fant (1905-1973). For his last three years as commissioner, another Ford colleague was later Mayor [[Calhoun Allen]], then the public utilities commissioner.​

 

==Gardner and McKeithen laud Ford==​

==Gardner and McKeithen laud Ford==​

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Former Shreveport Mayor [[James C. Gardner]], who served with Ford during the 1954 to 1958 term, said that the commissioner, forty-four years his senior, was his mentor in city government. Writing in his memoirs entitled ''Jim Gardner and Shreveport, Vol. 1,'' Gardner recalled how Ford had helped Gardner's father get his first job after having returned from the [[United States Navy]] at the end of [[World War I]]. Gardner continued:​

Former Shreveport Mayor [[James C. Gardner]], who served with Ford during the 1954 to 1958 term, said that the commissioner, forty-four years his senior, was his mentor in city government. Writing in his memoirs entitled ''Jim Gardner and Shreveport, Vol. 1,'' Gardner recalled how Ford had helped Gardner's father get his first job after having returned from the [[United States Navy]] at the end of [[World War I]]. Gardner continued:​

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"Despite the age difference, he was always extremely respectful of me, always referring to me as 'The Mayor.' In city council sessions, I could always count on [his] saying, 'I think that we ought to go along with the Mayor on this.' We became good friends, and I would visit with him every morning that I was Mayor. At this stage our unofficial visits involved his preparation of the 1955 city budget. He was very cooperative in some budget requests that I made. . . . John Ford was perhaps the most totally accessible public official that I ever knew. He answered his own telephone and always insisted on an office opening directly into a public corridor, and his door was always open.  . . . "<ref>[[James C. Gardner]], ''Jim Gardner and Shreveport, Vol. 1,'' Ritz Publications ([[Sarah Hudson-Pierce]]), pp. 289-290.</ref>​

<blockquote>Despite the age difference, he was always extremely respectful of me, always referring to me as 'The Mayor.' In city council sessions, I could always count on [his] saying, 'I think that we ought to go along with the Mayor on this.' We became good friends, and I would visit with him every morning that I was Mayor. At this stage our unofficial visits involved his preparation of the 1955 city budget. He was very cooperative in some budget requests that I made. ... John Ford was perhaps the most totally accessible public official that I ever knew. He answered his own telephone and always insisted on an office opening directly into a public corridor, and his door was always open.  . . .<ref>[[James C. Gardner]], ''Jim Gardner and Shreveport, Vol. 1,'' Ritz Publications ([[Sarah Hudson-Pierce]]), pp. 289-290.</ref>​</blockquote>

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Governor [[John J. McKeithen]] sent a message of condolence to the Ford family and the citizens of Shreveport: "Commissioner Ford's contributions, not only to Shreveport but to all of Louisiana, leave a mark to which all public servants might well aspire. Commissioner Ford was truly a dedicated man, and we all will miss him."<ref name=obit/>​

Governor [[John J. McKeithen]] sent a message of condolence to the Ford family and the citizens of Shreveport: "Commissioner Ford's contributions, not only to Shreveport but to all of Louisiana, leave a mark to which all public servants might well aspire. Commissioner Ford was truly a dedicated man, and we all will miss him."<ref name=obit/>​