Billy Chandler
Encyclopedia
Billy Ray Chandler is a retired businessman from Dry Prong
in Grant Parish
, who is a departing Republican
member of the Louisiana House of Representatives
. Prior to redistricting
, Chandler's District 22 encompassed seventy-two precincts from Grant, La Salle, and parts of Winn and northern Rapides parishes in the north central portion of the state. Chandler initially won his seat as a Democrat
in a special election for state representative held on April 29, 2006.
in Pineville
. A 24-year member of the Grant Parish School Board, Chandler and his wife, Marcia F. Chandler (born October 28, 1938), have three children and three grandchildren. He is a retired state manager of the Woodmen of the World Insurance Company. He is a deacon at the First Baptist
Church of Dry Prong. In addition to his previous school board tenure, Chandler served for four years as a Dry Prong alderman.
, the seat of La Salle Parish, who had esigned earlier in 2006. Chandler as a Democrat defeated Republican Tony Kevin Owens (born June 22, 1960), who had relocated to Jena from Winnfield
. Chandler received 5,034 votes (54 percent) to Owens' 4,234 votes (46 percent).
On April 1, 2006, five Democrats and four Republicans competed in the first round of balloting for Wright's former seat. The Democrats polled a combined 57 percent of the vote to the GOP
candidates' 43 percent. The top candidates were Owens, with 1,858 (18 percent) and Chandler, with 1,574 (16 percent). In the runoff, Owens doubled his votes, but Chandler tripled his share of the tabulation.
District 22 was created in 1972, with Democrat Richard S. Thompson of Colfax
as its first representative. The district frequently votes Republican in races for U.S. president, governor
, or U.S. senator but had always sent a Democrat to the state legislature, with the exception of 1992-1996, when it was represented by the Independent Stephen L. Gunn
of Montgomery
, also in Grant Parish. Gunn did not seek a second term, and Thomas Wright was elected to succeed him.
Owensn had also lost to Wright in the 2003 general election
. The seat became vacant when Wright resigned as part of a plea bargain
involving a misdemeanor
obscenity
charge at Lake Buhlow in Pineville.
Chandler's victory was made possible by his strong showing as the favorite son in Grant Parish. Chandler told the Alexandria Daily Town Talk
, the largest newspaper in central Louisiana, in a victory statement on election night that he would "represent all parties, wherever they may be, all communities in the district, for one common good, to advance meeting the needs in this district. The constituents have plainly made [it clear] that they haven't been pleased in the past with [Wright's representation]."
Then Louisiana Democratic Party Chairman Chris Whittington hailed Chandler's victory. "As a Democrat, Billy Chandler displays the moral values that we all share: helping the less fortunate, providing for our families and caring for our seniors. He will fight hard in Baton Rouge to provide better schools for our children, create good-paying jobs for our working men and women, and secure retirement benefits for our seniors," Whittington said.
in Grant Parish, and the Republican Brandon Carnell Vickers (born 1972) of Jena. Chandler polled 9,855 votes (64 percent) to 1,719 (11 percent) for Vallery and 3,768 (25 percent) for Vickers.
, and Winn parishes. The small part of Rapides Parish was extracted from the district.
In the general election held on November 19, 2011, new Republican Billy Chandler was unseated by Terry Brown, an Independent. Brown prevailed over Chandler with 6,015 votes (52.4 percent) to 5,465 (47.6 percent).
In the primary held on October 22, 2011, Chandler had led a three-candidate field with 5,790 votes (40.8 percent). Independent Terry Brown trailed with 4,724 votes (33.3 percent). Republican James Timothy "Tim" Murphy polled the remaining but critical 3,666 votes (25.9 percent).
Murphy is a Natchitoches businessman who graduated in 1970 from Montgomery High School in Montgomery and thereafter attended Northwestern State University
for three years. Murphy called himself "The Real Conservative" in the race, noting that Chandler "switched from a Democrat to a Republican after he saw that the new district would be very conservative. I have a problem with that, and you should too."Voters retired Chandler but did not elect Murphy, having instead chosen its second Independent representative in twenty years.
Dry Prong, Louisiana
Dry Prong is a village in central Grant Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is part of the Alexandria, Louisiana Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 421 at the 2000 census.-History:...
in Grant Parish
Grant Parish, Louisiana
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 18,698 people, 7,073 households, and 5,276 families residing in the parish. The population density was 29 people per square mile . There were 8,531 housing units at an average density of 13 per square mile...
, who is a departing Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
member of the Louisiana House of Representatives
Louisiana House of Representatives
The Louisiana House of Representatives is the lower house in the Louisiana State Legislature, the state legislature of the US state of Louisiana. The House is composed of 105 Representatives, each of whom represents approximately 42,500 people . Members serve four-year terms with a term limit of...
. Prior to redistricting
Redistricting
Redistricting is the process of drawing United States electoral district boundaries, often in response to population changes determined by the results of the decennial census. In 36 states, the state legislature has primary responsibility for creating a redistricting plan, in many cases subject to...
, Chandler's District 22 encompassed seventy-two precincts from Grant, La Salle, and parts of Winn and northern Rapides parishes in the north central portion of the state. Chandler initially won his seat as a Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
in a special election for state representative held on April 29, 2006.
Background
Chandler graduated from Dry Prong High Schoo] and attended Louisiana CollegeLouisiana College
Louisiana College is a private institution of higher education located in Pineville, Louisiana, affiliated with the Louisiana Baptist Convention, serving a student body of approximately 1,300 students. The college operates on a semester system, with two shorter summer terms...
in Pineville
Pineville, Louisiana
Pineville is a city in Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is adjacent to the city of Alexandria, and is part of that city's Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 13,829 at the 2000 census....
. A 24-year member of the Grant Parish School Board, Chandler and his wife, Marcia F. Chandler (born October 28, 1938), have three children and three grandchildren. He is a retired state manager of the Woodmen of the World Insurance Company. He is a deacon at the First Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
Church of Dry Prong. In addition to his previous school board tenure, Chandler served for four years as a Dry Prong alderman.
Election of 2006
Chandler succeeded fellow Democrat Thomas D. "Tommy" Wright of JenaJena, Louisiana
Jena is a town in and the parish seat of La Salle Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 2,971 at the 2000 census.In September 2006, Jena became the focus of national news stories in the United States for a racial controversy involving its school system and a group of students known...
, the seat of La Salle Parish, who had esigned earlier in 2006. Chandler as a Democrat defeated Republican Tony Kevin Owens (born June 22, 1960), who had relocated to Jena from Winnfield
Winnfield, Louisiana
Winnfield is a city in and the parish seat of Winn Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 5,749 at the 2000 census. It has long been associated with the Long faction of the Louisiana Democratic Party and was home to three governors of Louisiana.-Geography:Winnfield is located at ...
. Chandler received 5,034 votes (54 percent) to Owens' 4,234 votes (46 percent).
On April 1, 2006, five Democrats and four Republicans competed in the first round of balloting for Wright's former seat. The Democrats polled a combined 57 percent of the vote to the GOP
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
candidates' 43 percent. The top candidates were Owens, with 1,858 (18 percent) and Chandler, with 1,574 (16 percent). In the runoff, Owens doubled his votes, but Chandler tripled his share of the tabulation.
District 22 was created in 1972, with Democrat Richard S. Thompson of Colfax
Colfax, Louisiana
Colfax is a town in and the parish seat of Grant Parish, Louisiana, United States. The town, founded in 1869, is named for the vice president of the United States, Schuyler M. Colfax , who served in the first term of U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant, for whom the parish is named. Colfax is part of...
as its first representative. The district frequently votes Republican in races for U.S. president, governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
, or U.S. senator but had always sent a Democrat to the state legislature, with the exception of 1992-1996, when it was represented by the Independent Stephen L. Gunn
Stephen L. Gunn
Stephen Lee "Steve" Gunn is the departing Independent mayor of his hometown of Montgomery in northern Grant Parish in north central Louisiana...
of Montgomery
Montgomery, Louisiana
left|thumb|200px|First Baptist Church in MontgomeryMontgomery is a town in Grant Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 787 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Alexandria Metropolitan Statistical Area. Founded in 1712, even before New Orleans, Montgomery is situated on U.S...
, also in Grant Parish. Gunn did not seek a second term, and Thomas Wright was elected to succeed him.
Owensn had also lost to Wright in the 2003 general election
General election
In a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.The term...
. The seat became vacant when Wright resigned as part of a plea bargain
Plea bargain
A plea bargain is an agreement in a criminal case whereby the prosecutor offers the defendant the opportunity to plead guilty, usually to a lesser charge or to the original criminal charge with a recommendation of a lighter than the maximum sentence.A plea bargain allows criminal defendants to...
involving a misdemeanor
Misdemeanor
A misdemeanor is a "lesser" criminal act in many common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished much less severely than felonies, but theoretically more so than administrative infractions and regulatory offences...
obscenity
Obscenity
An obscenity is any statement or act which strongly offends the prevalent morality of the time, is a profanity, or is otherwise taboo, indecent, abhorrent, or disgusting, or is especially inauspicious...
charge at Lake Buhlow in Pineville.
Chandler's victory was made possible by his strong showing as the favorite son in Grant Parish. Chandler told the Alexandria Daily Town Talk
The Town Talk (Alexandria)
The Town Talk, started as The Daily Town Talk in 1883 and later named the Alexandria Daily Town Talk, is the major newspaper of Central Louisiana. It is published by Gannett in Alexandria, the seat of Rapides Parish and the economic center of Central Louisiana.The daily newspaper has a circulation...
, the largest newspaper in central Louisiana, in a victory statement on election night that he would "represent all parties, wherever they may be, all communities in the district, for one common good, to advance meeting the needs in this district. The constituents have plainly made [it clear] that they haven't been pleased in the past with [Wright's representation]."
Then Louisiana Democratic Party Chairman Chris Whittington hailed Chandler's victory. "As a Democrat, Billy Chandler displays the moral values that we all share: helping the less fortunate, providing for our families and caring for our seniors. He will fight hard in Baton Rouge to provide better schools for our children, create good-paying jobs for our working men and women, and secure retirement benefits for our seniors," Whittington said.
Election of 2007
Chandler was elected to a full term in the legislature in the nonpartisan blanket primary held on October 20, 2007. Then a Democrat, he defeated Ernie Vallery, a Democratic attorney and LSU and Tulane Law School graduate (born 1954) from PollockPollock, Louisiana
Pollock is a town in Grant Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is part of the Alexandria, Louisiana Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 376 at the 2000 census. Pollock and southern Grant Parish have been booming in recent years with residential and business growth...
in Grant Parish, and the Republican Brandon Carnell Vickers (born 1972) of Jena. Chandler polled 9,855 votes (64 percent) to 1,719 (11 percent) for Vallery and 3,768 (25 percent) for Vickers.
Election of 2011
Shortly before the beginning of the 2011 special legislative session, Chandler switched to Republican affiliation, a move presumably motivated by the increasing Republican nature of his district. The configuration of District 22 has changed. Beginning in 2012, it will encompass all of Grant Parish, most of LaSalle Parish and parts of Natchitoches, Red RiverRed River Parish, Louisiana
Red River Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. Its seat is Coushatta. It was one of the newer parishes created in 1871 by the state legislature under Reconstruction...
, and Winn parishes. The small part of Rapides Parish was extracted from the district.
In the general election held on November 19, 2011, new Republican Billy Chandler was unseated by Terry Brown, an Independent. Brown prevailed over Chandler with 6,015 votes (52.4 percent) to 5,465 (47.6 percent).
In the primary held on October 22, 2011, Chandler had led a three-candidate field with 5,790 votes (40.8 percent). Independent Terry Brown trailed with 4,724 votes (33.3 percent). Republican James Timothy "Tim" Murphy polled the remaining but critical 3,666 votes (25.9 percent).
Murphy is a Natchitoches businessman who graduated in 1970 from Montgomery High School in Montgomery and thereafter attended Northwestern State University
Northwestern State University
Northwestern State University, known as NSU, is a four-year public university primarily situated in Natchitoches, Louisiana, with a nursing campus in Shreveport and general campuses in Leesville/Fort Polk and Alexandria. It is a part of the University of Louisiana System.NSU was founded in 1884 as...
for three years. Murphy called himself "The Real Conservative" in the race, noting that Chandler "switched from a Democrat to a Republican after he saw that the new district would be very conservative. I have a problem with that, and you should too."Voters retired Chandler but did not elect Murphy, having instead chosen its second Independent representative in twenty years.