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| party=[[Democratic Party|Democrat]]-turned-[[Republican Party|Republican]]
| party=[[Democratic Party|Democrat]]-turned-[[Republican Party|Republican]]
| term_start=2005
| term_start=2005
| term_end=
| term_end=2021
| preceded=George Elyott Dement
| preceded=George Elyott Dement
| succeeded=[[Tommy Chandler (Louisiana politician)|Tommy Chandler]]
| birth_date=September 26, 1933
| birth_date=September 26, 1933
| birth_place=[[Shreveport]], Louisiana
| birth_place=[[Shreveport]], Louisiana
'''Lorenz James Walker''', known as '''Lo Walker''' (born September 26, 1933), is the first [[Republican Party|Republican]] to serve as the [[mayor]] of [[Bossier City]] in northwestern [[Louisiana]]. First elected in 2005, he is the fifteenth<ref>Some sources count Lorenz Walker as the fourteenth mayor because they omit [[Frank Blackburn|Frank Barnett Blackburn]], the interim mayor from 1983 to 1984.</ref> person to hold the position since [[Ewald Max Hoyer]] was appointed in 1907 by [[Governor]] Newton Crain Blanchard (1849-1922) when Bossier City was a [[village]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bossiercity.org/Bossier-City-History/|title=Bossier City History|author=Louise Stinson|accessdate=January 2, 2015; material no longer on-line}}</ref>
'''Lorenz James Walker''', known as '''Lo Walker''' (born September 26, 1933), is the first [[Republican Party|Republican]] to serve as the [[mayor]] of [[Bossier City]] in northwestern [[Louisiana]]. First elected in 2005, he is the fifteenth<ref>Some sources count Lorenz Walker as the fourteenth mayor because they omit [[Frank Blackburn|Frank Barnett Blackburn]], the interim mayor from 1983 to 1984.</ref> person to hold the position since [[Ewald Max Hoyer]] was appointed in 1907 by [[Governor]] Newton Crain Blanchard (1849-1922) when Bossier City was a [[village]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bossiercity.org/Bossier-City-History/|title=Bossier City History|author=Louise Stinson|accessdate=January 2, 2015; material no longer on-line}}</ref>
Walker was unseated in his bid for a fifth term in the primary election held on March 20, 2021, by another Republican, [[Tommy Chandler (Louisiana politician)|Tommy Chandler]], 4,623 votes (56 percent) to 3,603 (44 percent). Only 23 percent of Bossier City voters bothered to cast a ballot in the race.<ref>Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, March 20, 2021.</ref> He congratulated Chandler on his victory and added, "I really enjoy public service and I enjoy seeing everything we have been able to accomplish over the years. Some people like to fish, hunt, but I just enjoy public service. It’s in my DNA. I’ll miss not having to work at that level.”<ref>Tommy Chandler defeats Lo Walker for Bossier City mayor (shreveporttimes.com), accessed March 22, 2021.</ref>
==Background==
==Background==
In 2012, Walker and other local and state officials participated with the entertainer Jimmy Buffett in a ground-breaking ceremony for the third Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville, a $197 million resort [[casino]] in Bossier City. The name comes from "Margaritaville", a 1977 Buffet song. The singer performed early in his career in Bossier City. The project, includes a hotel and restaurant. Company officials said that the firm will provide more than 1,200 jobs and $12 million in local tax revenues.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.margaritaville.com/news.html?n_id=3106&y=2012&m=3|title=Construction on Bossier City Margaritaville Casino Has Begun|publisher=margaritaville.com|date=March 1, 2012|accessdate=February 28, 2015; specific material on the Bossier City Margaritaville may no longer be on-line}}</ref><ref>The two other Margaritaville casinos are in [[Las Vegas]], [[Nevada]], and Biloxi, [[Mississippi]].</ref>
In 2012, Walker and other local and state officials participated with the entertainer Jimmy Buffett in a ground-breaking ceremony for the third Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville, a $197 million resort [[casino]] in Bossier City. The name comes from "Margaritaville", a 1977 Buffet song. The singer performed early in his career in Bossier City. The project, includes a hotel and restaurant. Company officials said that the firm will provide more than 1,200 jobs and $12 million in local tax revenues.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.margaritaville.com/news.html?n_id=3106&y=2012&m=3|title=Construction on Bossier City Margaritaville Casino Has Begun|publisher=margaritaville.com|date=March 1, 2012|accessdate=February 28, 2015; specific material on the Bossier City Margaritaville may no longer be on-line}}</ref><ref>The two other Margaritaville casinos are in [[Las Vegas]], [[Nevada]], and Biloxi, [[Mississippi]].</ref>
In 2012, Mayor Walker confirmed that taxpayers in his city faced the loss of $6.7 million in damages to the U. L. Coleman Company, a [[real estate]] firm in Shreveport, in the settlement of a long-running legal dispute in state and federal court. Moreover, the city expended $10.4 million in infrastructure improvements, the cost of a walkway over the Arthur Ray Teague Parkway, and a $1 million park between CenturyLink Center, the municipal arena, and the proposed "Walker Place" development project. Demographer and public policy analyst Elliott Stonecipher placed the total loss to the city, including legal fees, at nearly $25 million. Stonecipher said the losses are "100 percent the fault of the government those taxpayers have put in office and strongly supported."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://forward-now.com/2012/12/12/bossier-mob-takes-a-hit-from-u-l-coleman/|title="Bossier Mob" Takes a Hit from U. L. Coleman|date=December 12, 2012|author=Elliott Stonecipher|publisher=''Forward Now!''|accessdate=May 12, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://npaper-wehaa.com/forum-news/2013/05/01/?g=print#?article=1896272|title=Walker Place, Part 2|publisher=''The Forum Newsweekly''|date=May 1, 2013|author=Elliott Stonecipher|accessdate=May 12, 2020}}</ref>
In 2012, Mayor Walker confirmed that taxpayers in his city faced the loss of $6.7 million in damages to the U. L. Coleman Company, a [[real estate]] firm in Shreveport, in the settlement of a long-running legal dispute in state and federal court. Moreover, the city expended $10.4 million in infrastructure improvements, the cost of a walkway over the Arthur Ray Teague Parkway, and a $1 million park between CenturyLink Center, the municipal arena, and the proposed "Walker Place" development project. Demographer and public policy analyst Elliott Stonecipher placed the total loss to the city, including legal fees, at nearly $25 million. Stonecipher said the losses are "100 percent the fault of the government those taxpayers have put in office and strongly supported."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://forward-now.com/2012/12/12/bossier-mob-takes-a-hit-from-u-l-coleman/|title="Bossier Mob" Takes a Hit from U. L. Coleman|date=December 12, 2012|author=[[Elliott Stonecipher]]|publisher=''Forward Now!''|accessdate=May 12, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://npaper-wehaa.com/forum-news/2013/05/01/?g=print#?article=1896272|title=Walker Place, Part 2|publisher=''The Forum Newsweekly''|date=May 1, 2013|author=Elliott Stonecipher|accessdate=May 12, 2020}}</ref>
In December 2014, the city council once again rejected pay increases for municipal employees as Mayor Walker proposed. Columnist Jeffrey Dennis Sadow attributed the lack of funding for the raises to the recurring high costs associated with the operation of the CenturyLink Center, which opened in 2000. CenturyLink cost $1,500 per resident, or more than $55 million, nearly $20 million more than had been anticipated by city officials. Through 2013, the city spent $5 million more to operate the center. Minor league sports teams, unable to survive, abandoned the CenturyLink. In 2013 alone, the city transferred $750,000 into CenturyLink and still ran a deficit of $200,000. Those costs could have funded the pay raises. Sadow proposed that the city sell CenturyLink at a loss so that it not become a permanent white elephant on municipal expenditures.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://thehayride.com/2014/12/sadow-bossier-city-fiddles-while-its-arena-burns-tax-dollars/|title=Sadow: Bossier City Fiddles While Its Arena Burns Tax Dollars|author=Jeffrey Dennis Sadow|date=December 22, 2014|publisher=''The Hayride''|accessdate=May 12, 2020}}</ref>
In December 2014, the city council once again rejected pay increases for municipal employees as Mayor Walker proposed. Columnist Jeffrey Dennis Sadow attributed the lack of funding for the raises to the recurring high costs associated with the operation of the CenturyLink Center, which opened in 2000. CenturyLink cost $1,500 per resident, or more than $55 million, nearly $20 million more than had been anticipated by city officials. Through 2013, the city spent $5 million more to operate the center. Minor league sports teams, unable to survive, abandoned the CenturyLink. In 2013 alone, the city transferred $750,000 into CenturyLink and still ran a deficit of $200,000. Those costs could have funded the pay raises. Sadow proposed that the city sell CenturyLink at a loss so that it not become a permanent white elephant on municipal expenditures.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://thehayride.com/2014/12/sadow-bossier-city-fiddles-while-its-arena-burns-tax-dollars/|title=Sadow: Bossier City Fiddles While Its Arena Burns Tax Dollars|author=Jeffrey Dennis Sadow|date=December 22, 2014|publisher=''The Hayride''|accessdate=May 12, 2020}}</ref>
Walker also ran without opposition for mayor for his third term in 2013.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ktbs.com/story/22384542/lo-walker-to-seek-third-term-as-bossier-city-mayor|title=Lo Walker to seek third term as Bossier City mayor|publisher=KTBS-TV|accessdate=May 12, 2020}}</ref> Early in 2015, he announced that he would seek a fourth term as mayor in the April 2017 municipal election.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bossierpress.com/opinion-mayor-walker-puts-bossier-city-on-notice/|title=Opinion: Mayor Walker is putting Bossier City on notice|publisher=''The Bossier Press-Tribune''|author=Lou Gehrig Burnett|date=January 14, 2015|accessdate=May 12, 2020}}</ref>
Walker also ran without opposition for mayor for his third term in 2013.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ktbs.com/story/22384542/lo-walker-to-seek-third-term-as-bossier-city-mayor|title=Lo Walker to seek third term as Bossier City mayor|publisher=KTBS-TV|accessdate=May 12, 2020}}</ref> Early in 2015, he announced that he would seek a fourth term as mayor in the April 2017 municipal election.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bossierpress.com/opinion-mayor-walker-puts-bossier-city-on-notice/|title=Opinion: Mayor Walker is putting Bossier City on notice|publisher=''The Bossier Press-Tribune''|author=Lou Gehrig Burnett|date=January 14, 2015|accessdate=May 12, 2020}}</ref>
Each year in the second week of November, Walker and the mayor of Shreveport, currently Adrian Perkins, host the "Shreveport/Bossier City Mayors' Prayer Breadfast", patterned on the national event in Washington, D.C.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mykisscountry937.com/shreveportbossier-mayors-prayer-breakfast-planned-for-this-thursday/|title=Shreveport/Bossier Mayors’ Prayer Breakfast Planned For This Thursday|author=Gary McCoy|date=November 11, 2015|publisher=KISS Country Radio|accessdate=May 12, 2020}}</ref>
Each year in the second week of November, Walker and the mayor of Shreveport, currently Adrian Perkins, hosted the "Shreveport/Bossier City Mayors' Prayer Breadfast", patterned on the national event in Washington, D.C.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mykisscountry937.com/shreveportbossier-mayors-prayer-breakfast-planned-for-this-thursday/|title=Shreveport/Bossier Mayors’ Prayer Breakfast Planned For This Thursday|author=Gary McCoy|date=November 11, 2015|publisher=KISS Country Radio|accessdate=May 12, 2020}}</ref>