Changes

|term_start2=January 1961

|term_start2=January 1961

|term_end2=December 1961

|term_end2=December 1961

|office3=Member of the Bossier Parish School Board

|office3=Member of the Bossier Parish School Board

|term_star3t=1954

|term_start3=1954

|term_end3=1960

|term_end3=1960

|allegiance=[[United States]]

|allegiance=[[United States]]

==Political life==

==Political life==

In the 1950s, he was from 1954 to 1960 a member of the Bossier Parish School Board and the board president from 1956 to 1957. In 1959, Waggonner was an unsuccessful [[primary]] candidate for the since disbanded position of Louisiana state comptroller, having run on the strongly [[segregation]]ist intra-party ticket headed by state Senator [[William Rainach]] of Claiborne Parish. Victory in the race went to another Democrat, [[Roy Theriot]] (pronounced TERRY OH), the [[mayor]] of Abbeville in Vermilion Parish near [[Lafayette]].  Waggonner ran on the intra-party ticket headed by [[Segregation|segregationist]] [[Governor|gubernatorial]] candidate [[William Rainach]], a state senator and a former state representative for Claiborne Parish.<ref>''Minden Press,'' November 13, 1959, p. 13.</ref59, p. 13.</ref

In the 1950s, he was from 1954 to 1960 a member of the Bossier Parish School Board and the board president from 1956 to 1957. In 1959, Waggonner was an unsuccessful [[primary]] candidate for the since disbanded position of Louisiana state comptroller, having run on the strongly [[segregation]]ist intra-party ticket headed by state Senator [[William Rainach]] of Claiborne Parish. Victory in the race went to another Democrat, [[Roy Theriot]] (pronounced TERRY OH), the [[mayor]] of Abbeville in Vermilion Parish near [[Lafayette]].  Waggonner ran on the intra-party ticket headed by [[Segregation|segregationist]] [[Governor|gubernatorial]] candidate [[William Rainach]], a state senator and a former state representative for Claiborne Parish.

Shortly thereafter on July 23, 1960, Waggonner was nominated in the Democratic primary to the Louisiana State Board of Education, now the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. He won the seat for the Third Public Service Commission District, a configuration since disbanded that then included twenty-eight north Louisiana parishes. Waggonner unseated the incumbent, C. Raymond Heard, and was then unopposed in the November 8 general election, in which [[John F. Kennedy]] defeated [[Richard M. Nixon]]. In this campaign, Waggonner posed as a more determined segregationist than his opponent.<ref>''Minden Press,'' July 25, 1960, p. 1.</ref> One of his advertisements proclaimed: "For: Our Youth and Segregation; Against: Federal Aid to Education."<ref>Waggonner advertisement, ''Minden Press,'' July 18, 1960, p. 5.</ref>

Shortly thereafter on July 23, 1960, Waggonner was nominated in the Democratic primary to the Louisiana State Board of Education, now the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. He won the seat for the Third Public Service Commission District, a configuration since disbanded that then included twenty-eight north Louisiana parishes. Waggonner unseated the incumbent, C. Raymond Heard, and was then unopposed in the November 8 general election, in which [[John F. Kennedy]] defeated [[Richard M. Nixon]]. In this campaign, Waggonner posed as a more determined segregationist than his opponent.<ref>''Minden Press,'' July 25, 1960, p. 1.</ref> One of his advertisements proclaimed: "For: Our Youth and Segregation; Against: Federal Aid to Education."<ref>Waggonner advertisement, ''Minden Press,'' July 18, 1960, p. 5.</ref>

In 1968, Waggonner easily turned back an [[African American]] primary challenger, Leon R. Tarver, II, later president of the historically black Southern University System in [[Baton Rouge]]. Tarver's family operates a Shreveport mortuary. His brother, Gregory "Greg" Tarver, a former Shreveport City Council member, is a long-term state senator for Caddo Parish. Over the years, Waggonner had only token opponents. He did not seek a tenth term in 1978.

In 1968, Waggonner easily turned back an [[African American]] primary challenger, Leon R. Tarver, II, later president of the historically black Southern University System in [[Baton Rouge]]. Tarver's family operates a Shreveport mortuary. His brother, Gregory "Greg" Tarver, a former Shreveport City Council member, is a long-term state senator for Caddo Parish. Over the years, Waggonner had only token opponents. He did not seek a tenth term in 1978.

On April 5, 1966, Waggonner commented on the House floor about the establishment the previous year of [[Rhodesia]], which in 1979 became [[Zimbabwe]]:

On April 5, 1966, Waggonner commented on the House floor about the establishment the previous year of [[Rhodesia]], which in 1979 after fourteen years of existence became [[Zimbabwe]] and was thereafter taken by communists.

<blockquote>Three generations ago, a group of resourceful white men went into the jungle of what is now Rhodesia and carved a civilized land by the sheer force of their brains and management ability. The lesson of history was crystal clear then as it is now: the natives were not capable of producing any semblance of what we call civilization. Now that the white man had led them out of savagery, the [[socialism|Socialist]] left-wing camp is up in arms to turn the country back to them. This is, of course, a not too subtle way of building a Socialist bridge from [[democracy]] to [[communism]].<ref name="rhodesia">Lake, Anthony. ''The "Tar Baby" Option: American Policy Toward Southern Rhodesia,'' 1976, p. 119.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Three generations ago, a group of resourceful white men went into the jungle of what is now Rhodesia and carved a civilized land by the sheer force of their brains and management ability. The lesson of history was crystal clear then as it is now: the natives were not capable of producing any semblance of what we call civilization. Now that the white man had led them out of savagery, the [[socialism|Socialist]] left-wing camp is up in arms to turn the country back to them. This is, of course, a not too subtle way of building a Socialist bridge from [[democracy]] to [[communism]].<ref name="rhodesia">Lake, Anthony. ''The "Tar Baby" Option: American Policy Toward Southern Rhodesia,'' 1976, p. 119.</ref></blockquote>