Difference between revisions of "Dave Norris"

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This article is updated and revised from Wikipedia but the text was originally written by BHathorn (under the name) and does not include alterations made by others from that site.

Dave Noel Norris, Sr. (born August 4, 1942), is the Democratic^[1] former mayor of his native West Monroe, Louisiana, a position which he held from 1978 to 2018. He was usually elected over the 40-year period with minimal opposition. West Monroe is located west of the Ouachita River across from the larger city of Monroe.

Norris was unseated in his bid for an eleventh term in the municipal election held on March 24, 2018, by the commercial photographer and city council member Staci Albritton Mitchell, a Republican. Mitchell led a four-candidate field with 1,241 votes (60 percent) to Norris' 798 votes (38 percent). Two No Party contenders shared the remaining 2 percent of the ballots cast. Turnout was 26.3 percent of registered voters.^[2] There was earlier speculation that state Senator Michael Arthur "Mike" Walsworth, a Moderate Republican, would oppose Norris. but the veteran lawmaker cited state budget woes which need to be addressed and hence passed on a 2018 mayoral race.^[3]

On April 5, 2014, Norris ran unopposed for his tenth and final term as mayor.^[4][5] After earlier pledging to retire in 2018, Norris instead ran again but was defeated. Three Republicans, one Democrat, and one Independent won the five seats on the city council.^[2]

Norris was admitted to Glenwood Regional Medical Center on the morning of his election loss to Mitchell. His family did not disclose details of the illness that caused him to be hospitalized. He was expecting to leave the hospital on or after March 27.^[6]

Background

Norris is one of four children, two surviving, of William Wiley Norris, II (1909–1987), a native of Smith County in south central Mississippi, and the former Rosalie Beeson (1911–1996), who are both interred at Mulhearn Memorial Park Cemetery in Monroe.^[7] His brother, William Wiley Norris, III (1936-2016), was a Monroe-based judge for many years.

Norris graduated from West Monroe High School.^[8] In 1963, he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Louisiana at Monroe, then known as Northeast Louisiana State College. In 1965, he procured a Master of Business Administration from Louisiana Tech University in Ruston. He obtained a doctorate in business administration from Mississippi State University in Starkville.^[9]

From 1966 until his election as mayor in 1978, Norris was an associate professor of economics and director of the Small Business Institute at the his alma mater, ULM. After becoming mayor, he continued to teach part-time at ULM until 1998.^[8][10] One of the students whom Norris mentored was Robert Townley "Bob" Mann, Jr., a journalist and political historian who holds the Douglas Manship Chair of Journalism at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge.^[11]

Political life

In 1971, West Monroe streamlined its city charter and expanded the powers of the mayor. Under Norris' predecessor as mayor, Bert Hatten, the city constructed a new City Hall, police department, jail, and convention center on the former Ouachita Valley Fairgrounds.^[12]

Norris is a key proponent of the Sparta Reuse Project, which converts wastewater into fresh water to reduce the depletion of the Sparta Aquifer. The project is financed from a combination of local, state, and federal stimulus sources earmarked to the city and its engineering firm, Energy Ventures Analysis.^[10] Under Norris, the city built the Ike Hamilton Expo Center, an indoor arena off Interstate 20 popularly called "The Ike". The center is used for equestrian events, conventions, trade shows, and some concerts.^[13][14] Under Norris, the city built the West Ouachita Senior Center and expanded its recreational facilities to include Lazarre Park on the Ouachita River, Kiroli Park, a woodland experience in an urban setting, and Restoration Park, a wetlands park developed from a former gravel pit.^[15]

In February 2010, Norris was unopposed for his ninth term.^[13] Despite struggles with aging infrastructure and municipal retirement commitments, West Monroe has been designated by the consumer advocacy website NerdWallet as one of the top four cities in Louisiana in which to rear a family. Favorable factors in West Monroe cited include median income, affordable home ownership, public school ratings, and economic growth.^[16]

Personal life

Norris is the choir director at the McGuire United Methodist Church in West Monroe. His wife, the former Biddy Dupree, is a pianist and worship coordinator.^[8][17] He has also served on the board of the Salvation Army and the West Monroe Boys Club. He has also worked in the United Fund.^[9]

Dave Noel "Davy" Norris, Jr. (born February 1969), son of Dave and Biddy Norris, holds the Ph.D. in economics from the University of Texas at Austin^[18] and is the director of the Louisiana Tech University Enterprise Center.^[19] Biddy Norris's parents were Justus Theron and Iva Rawls Dupree. There are two other Norris children, Cynthia Susan Norris and Christopher Dupree Norris.^[20]

Hall of Fame induction

In 2017, Norris was inducted into the Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame in Winnfield,^[21]three years after his former student Robert Mann received that honor.

References