Don W. Williamson
Encyclopedia
Donald Wayne Williamson, usually known as Don Williamson (born October 5, 1927), is a semiretired American
businessman in Shreveport
, the seat of Caddo Parish and the largest city in north Louisiana
, who served in both houses of the Louisiana State Legislature
between 1968 and 1980. A Democrat
, he served in the Louisiana House of Representatives
from 1968 to 1972 and then in the Louisiana State Senate
from 1972 to 1980. Earlier, from 1958–1968, he was a member and later president of the Caddo Parish School Board. Williamson ran a strong but unsuccessful race for state insurance commissioner in 1979 and failed twice in bids for mayor
of Shreveport in 1982 and 1986. After his political retirement, he shifted his registration in the early 1990s to the Republican Party
to voice his opposition to the administration of then U.S. President Bill Clinton
.
in northern Caddo Parish to Earl Guyton Williamson, Sr.
(1903–1992), and the former Mamie Greer (1904–1948). He attended public schools and graduated from Vivian High School (later North Caddo High School) in 1946. He attended the Methodist-affiliated Centenary College
in Shreveport for a year. In 1945, while still in high school, he married his childhood sweetheart, the former Norma Herring of Vivian. They were wed for nearly fifty-seven years until her death of a sudden stroke
in 2002. In 2003, when he retired from business, Williamson married the former Rachel Nelson Dunn, former wife of Forrest Dunn
, who like Williamson is a former Shreveport furniture store owner and a former Democratic member of the Caddo Parish School Board and the Louisiana House of Representatives (1976–1984). Dunn (born 1928) is the administrator of the Louisiana State Exhibit Museum in Shreveport.
From 1949 to 1951, Williamson worked for General Electric
in the building of the United States Navy
's atomic fusion plant in Schenectady, New York
. This work made possible the nuclear-powered submarine advanced by Admiral
Hyman G. Rickover
. It was essential civilian employment and granted Williamson a deferment from the draft in the Korean War
.
Returning to Vivian in 1951, Williamson purchased Vivian Drugs, later North Caddo Drugs. After several years, he went into the furniture business. His Vivian Furniture Company was renamed "Designer Showroom" in 1976, when the operation moved to Shreveport. The business is run by his two sons, Guy Clifford Williamson (born 1953) and Randall Whitfield "Randy" Williamson (born 1957). Two Williamson grandsons also work there: Cliff Williamson and William B. Rowe, III, a son of Williamson's daughter, Sherry Williamson Paschall (born 1948). The sons and grandsons are interior designers. Williamson also has two other grandchildren. And there are two living grown children from Rachel's marriage to Dunn: Linda Dunn Turner (born 1947) of Bossier City
and Robbie Jack Dunn (born 1949) of Shreveport. James Forrest "Jimmy" Dunn (1958–1985), was killed in an automobile accident in Oklahoma
.
In addition to his furniture store, Willamson went into the real estate business in Vivian, a community of nearly four thousand. He played a major role in the development of the southern part of the town, which became the site of the area Wal-Mart and restaurant outlets.
community, who later supported him in his political campaigns, including later state Representative Alphonse J. Jackson (born 1927) and Jackson's daughter, current District 39 state Senator Lydia Patrice Jackson
(born 1960), both Democrats. Williamson said that his motivation as board president was to preserve the integrity of the schools and to treat all citizens fairly in the process of desegregation. "The community responded in a positive way, and things went smoothly," Williamson said. He spent a week in the court of U.S. District Judge Benjamin C. Dawkins, Jr., himself a former Caddo Parish School Board president, during the hearing of the desegregation suit. The board was later reduced to nine members, a more manageable number, through state law under Williamson's leadership.
Billy J. Guin, Sr. (also born 1927), disagrees with Williamson about smaller school boards. In 1964, Guin became one of the first three Republicans elected to the Caddo Parish School Board since Reconstruction and in 1977 the only Republican to have served as city public utilities commissioner. He contends that smaller boards enhance the power of interest groups
. While the larger membership can be cumbersome, Guin said more members insure that the overall well-being of the community is served, rather than the interest of vocal minorities.
of Shreveport, led his party ticket but failed to dislodge a single Democratic candidate.
In 1970, Williamson voted for a two-cent increase in the state sales tax
pushed by then Governor
John McKeithen
to provide pay raises for teachers and state employees. Williamson said that the vote for the sales tax hike was politically unpopular and cost many members their seats in the 1971-1972 election cycle, including even the Speaker
of the House, John Sidney Garrett
of Claiborne Parish. Williamson said that he too may have failed to have been reelected to the House had he run for a second term. Instead, he ran for the newly established single-member District 39 seat in the state Senate. Prior to the 1971 cycle, Louisiana legislators had often been chosen at-large within a parish or from among two or more parishes and not by separate districting. He beat his principal competitor, Caddo Parish Police Juror David Richard Carroll, Sr. (born 1926), a fellow Democrat.
As a House member, Williamson said that he was appalled at conditions he found on entering the legislature. Lobbyists were allowed to roam the House floor at will. Secretaries were often the wives of legislators. It was difficult to reach the podium to speak and be heard. Members had no telephones at their desks on the House floor. Williamson joined the group called the "Young Turks" which demanded reforms. The dissidents succeeded in electing E.L. "Bubba" Henry
of Jonesboro
as Speaker to succeed the defeated Garrett. Among the "Young Turks" were R. W. "Buzzy" Graham
of Alexandria
, future Speaker John Hainkel
(1938–2005) of New Orleans, and Robert Gambrell "Bob" Jones of Lake Charles
, son of former Governor Sam Houston Jones. Though Williamson's father had been a part of the Long faction in state Democratic politics, and Bob Jones' father was the epitome of anti-Longism in Louisiana, Williamson and the younger Jones became good friends and reform-minded allies. Both left the House after a single term to move to the state Senate.
Williamson's House seat, then numbered District 1, went to a Democrat (later Republican) that he initially supported, James H. "Jimmy" Wilson (1931–1986), who like Williamson's father, Earl Williamson, was a former mayor of Vivian, having served from 1966 to 1972. Though Wilson had defeated Earl Williamson in the 1966 mayor's race, Don Williamson put aside family feelings and supported Wilson to be Williamson's successor in the state House.
(1) the establishment of Louisiana Public Broadcasting
, Public Broadcasting Service
(PBS)
(2) the bill to make Louisiana State University at Shreveport a four-year institution
(3) the enlargement and reorganization of the state vocational education system. The latter changes made a vocational school available to nearly all students within thirty miles of their residences.
He and state Senator Edgar G. "Sonny" Mouton, Jr., of Lafayette
, a 1979 gubernatorial hopeful, were the point men on education in the administration of Governor Edwin Washington Edwards. Williamson also worked closely with Representative Joe Henry Cooper
of De Soto Parish on educational issues. Williamson represented Louisiana on the Education Commission of the States, a national federation promoting reforms in education. He also chaired the Senate Health and Welfare Committee.
From 1973 to 1976, Williamson was vice-chairman of the Southern Growth Policies Board, having served under two SGPB chairmen, Governors Jimmy Carter
, Democrat of Georgia
(1973–1974) and Republican James Holshouser
of North Carolina
(1975–1976). The board, which meets three times annually in Atlanta
, seeks to alleviate problems stemming from growth, including environmental issues and dislocation from urban renewal
. The board is headquartered at Duke University
in Durham
. Williamson presided over board meetings in the absences of Carter or Holshouser.
Williamson's Caddo Parish Senate colleagues were, in his first term, Cecil K. Carter, Jr.
, and in his second term, Virginia Shehee
, both of Shreveport. In both terms, Jackson B. Davis
, a Shreveport attorney, was Williamson's senior Caddo Parish colleague.
in critical state House votes and ran a clever advertisement which proclaimed: "He [Wilson] didn't vote for you. Why should you vote for him?" Williamson said that Wilson was not satisfied as a representative but quickly eyed the state Senate and even planned to run for governor.
After his loss to Williamson, Wilson switched parties and made unsuccessful campaigns in 1978 and 1980 as a Republican for the Fourth Congressional District seat vacated by the longtime U.S. Representative Joe David "Joe D." Waggonner, Jr.
, of Plain Dealing
in northern Bossier Parish. The seat first went to Democrat Anthony Claude "Buddy" Leach, then of Leesville
in western Louisiana, and has since been filled by Democrats Buddy Roemer
and Cleo Fields
and Republicans Jim McCrery
, John Cooksey
, and John C. Fleming
.
. He chose the insurance commissioner's race largely because the incumbent, Sherman A. Bernard, Sr. (born 1925), a native of Terrebonne Parish
who had become a house mover in Westwego
in Jefferson Parish in the New Orleans suburbs, was under fire for corrupt practices in the handling of official duties. Bernard was later imprisoned for fraud and was finally released by the Bureau of Prisons in 1996.
Williamson won the endorsement of every major newspaper
in the state, and he campaigned actively in most of the parishes. Cajun
humorist Justin Wilson, whose father, Harry D. Wilson, was a Longite agriculture commissioner, campaigned for him. Bernard failed to win a majority in the primary, and a general election
between the top two Democrats, Bernard and Williamson, was hence held at the same time that Republican David C. Treen
and Democrat Louis Lambert
, then a public service commissioner, contested the governorship.
Still, Bernard prevailed with 627,247 (50.3 percent) to Williamson's 618,952 (49.7 percent). Williamson ran well in Shreveport, Lafayette, Lake Charles, and Baton Rouge, but he was annihilated in Orleans Parish, particularly the predominantly black Ninth Ward
. Bernard also undoubtedly benefited by his being from the Orleans metro area. Williamson said that he believed that there may have been fraudulent practices in the count in New Orleans but he did not request a recount because it would have cost his campaign another $100,000 if he finished on the short end of a second official tally.
, a fellow Democrat and, like Williamson's father, an automobile dealer, but Ford, rather than Chevrolet
. Williamson's principal opponent was Shreveport attorney John Brennan Hussey
. The two waged activist campaigns, and while Williamson finished with more than 40 percent of the vote, Hussey emerged the winner. Williamson said that as mayor he would have tried to promote tourism in the Shreveport-Bossier City area. He favored reinstituting the former "Louisiana Hayride" Country
and Western
music
forum. "I just wanted to have Branson
(the resort city in Missouri
) in Shreveport," he said. Williamson said that he would have been a "mover and shaker" as mayor, whereas he believed Hussey would have been less active in the office satisfied to "clip ribbons" in friendly photo op
s. Williamson said that when he went to meet with the editorial boards of both Shreveport newspapers, Shreveport Times and the defunct Shreveport Journal, one declined to meet with him after having invited him to appear because the papers had already decided to endorse Hussey.
In 1986, Williamson challenged Hussey again but did not run actively. He merely placed his name on the ballot and spoke to individual voters. He spent virtually no money. He again exceeded 40 percent of the vote, but Hussey won a second term. Williamson said that Hussey is a "fine person", but he felt that Hussey needed an opponent in 1986. Hussey was term-limited in 1990. He was succeeded by Hazel F. Beard
(born 1930), Shreveport's first Republican since Reconstruction and its first and thus far only female mayor.
, and Earl Kemp Long, whose political appeal transformed Louisiana from the 1920s-1950s. Earl Williamson was personally close to the Longs as well as a loyal political backer. Don Williamson, however, did not share his father's commitment to Longism. He was a reformer in politics from the beginning of his career to the end. He remained a Democrat like his father while he ran for office but later switched to the Republican Party
.
Three of Don Williamnson's brothers also developed careers. James Whitfield Williamson
(June 12, 1925—November 15, 2008), in their father's legacy, served as alderman (fourteen years) and mayor of Vivian (also fourteen years, from 1972 to 1986) and for a single four-year term on the Caddo Parish Commission. A half-brother, Tedford Fielden Williamson
(born 1957) of Round Rock
, Texas
, in coincidentally Williamson County
served briefly on the Round Rock City Council. He is a Republican but in Texas all municipal offices are elected on nonpartisan
ballot
s. Tedford Williamson is one of two sons of Earl Williamson from his second marriage to the former Mary Jane Hearne. The other half-brother, Clayton Lamar Williamson (born 1952) was city manager in three Texas communities, including Friona
in Parmer County in the Panhandle
, and then a power company official before he launched a new career in counseling.
Don Williamson has been an active Baptist
deacon for more than a half century and is a member of the First Baptist Church of Shreveport. He is a member of the Masonic lodge
, the Lions Club, and the Downtown Shreveport Rotary Club, one of the largest of all the chapters of Rotary International
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
businessman in Shreveport
Shreveport, Louisiana
Shreveport is the third largest city in Louisiana. It is the principal city of the fourth largest metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana and is the 109th-largest city in the United States....
, the seat of Caddo Parish and the largest city in north Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, who served in both houses of the Louisiana State Legislature
Louisiana State Legislature
The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...
between 1968 and 1980. 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...
, he served in the Louisiana House of Representatives
Louisiana State Legislature
The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...
from 1968 to 1972 and then in the Louisiana State Senate
Louisiana State Legislature
The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...
from 1972 to 1980. Earlier, from 1958–1968, he was a member and later president of the Caddo Parish School Board. Williamson ran a strong but unsuccessful race for state insurance commissioner in 1979 and failed twice in bids for mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Shreveport in 1982 and 1986. After his political retirement, he shifted his registration in the early 1990s to the Republican Party
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...
to voice his opposition to the administration of then U.S. President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
.
Early years, business, and family
Williamson was born in VivianVivian, Louisiana
Vivian, is a town in Caddo Parish, Louisiana, United States and is home to the Red Bud Festival. The population was 4,031 at the 2000 census...
in northern Caddo Parish to Earl Guyton Williamson, Sr.
Earl Williamson
Earl Guyton Williamson, Sr. was a prominent businessman and politician in northern Caddo Parish, Louisiana, from the 1930s until the 1970s...
(1903–1992), and the former Mamie Greer (1904–1948). He attended public schools and graduated from Vivian High School (later North Caddo High School) in 1946. He attended the Methodist-affiliated Centenary College
Centenary College of Louisiana
Centenary College of Louisiana is a primarily undergraduate, liberal arts and sciences college in Shreveport, Louisiana. The college is one of the founding members of the Associated Colleges of the South, a pedagogical organization consisting of sixteen Southern liberal arts colleges...
in Shreveport for a year. In 1945, while still in high school, he married his childhood sweetheart, the former Norma Herring of Vivian. They were wed for nearly fifty-seven years until her death of a sudden stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
in 2002. In 2003, when he retired from business, Williamson married the former Rachel Nelson Dunn, former wife of Forrest Dunn
Forrest Dunn
George Forrest Dunn, Jr. , is the retired administrator of the Louisiana State Exhibit Museum in Shreveport and a former Democratic member of the Louisiana House of Representatives, having served from 1972 to 1984 in the now majority African American District 3 seat. In 1980, Dunn made an ill-fated...
, who like Williamson is a former Shreveport furniture store owner and a former Democratic member of the Caddo Parish School Board and the Louisiana House of Representatives (1976–1984). Dunn (born 1928) is the administrator of the Louisiana State Exhibit Museum in Shreveport.
From 1949 to 1951, Williamson worked for General Electric
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
in the building of the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
's atomic fusion plant in Schenectady, New York
Schenectady, New York
Schenectady is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 66,135...
. This work made possible the nuclear-powered submarine advanced by Admiral
Admiral
Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
Hyman G. Rickover
Hyman G. Rickover
Hyman George Rickover was a four-star admiral of the United States Navy who directed the original development of naval nuclear propulsion and controlled its operations for three decades as director of Naval Reactors...
. It was essential civilian employment and granted Williamson a deferment from the draft in the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
.
Returning to Vivian in 1951, Williamson purchased Vivian Drugs, later North Caddo Drugs. After several years, he went into the furniture business. His Vivian Furniture Company was renamed "Designer Showroom" in 1976, when the operation moved to Shreveport. The business is run by his two sons, Guy Clifford Williamson (born 1953) and Randall Whitfield "Randy" Williamson (born 1957). Two Williamson grandsons also work there: Cliff Williamson and William B. Rowe, III, a son of Williamson's daughter, Sherry Williamson Paschall (born 1948). The sons and grandsons are interior designers. Williamson also has two other grandchildren. And there are two living grown children from Rachel's marriage to Dunn: Linda Dunn Turner (born 1947) of Bossier City
Bossier City, Louisiana
Bossier City is a city in Bossier Parish, Louisiana, United States.As of the 2010 Census, the city had a total population of 61,315. Bossier City is closely tied to its larger sister city Shreveport, located on the western bank of the Red River. The Shreveport-Bossier City metropolitan area is the...
and Robbie Jack Dunn (born 1949) of Shreveport. James Forrest "Jimmy" Dunn (1958–1985), was killed in an automobile accident in Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
.
In addition to his furniture store, Willamson went into the real estate business in Vivian, a community of nearly four thousand. He played a major role in the development of the southern part of the town, which became the site of the area Wal-Mart and restaurant outlets.
School board president
Williamson served on the parish school board when the body had twenty-one members. With so many members, it was difficult to preside over the meetings, which Williamson did in his role as the president. In 1965, when the board was ordered by the federal courts to desegregate, Williamson was the president who was credited with guiding the process forward. He said that he made many friends in the African AmericanAfrican American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
community, who later supported him in his political campaigns, including later state Representative Alphonse J. Jackson (born 1927) and Jackson's daughter, current District 39 state Senator Lydia Patrice Jackson
Lydia P. Jackson
Lydia Patrice Jackson is an African American Democratic member of the Louisiana State Senate from Shreveport, Louisiana. Since 2004, Jackson has represented the 39th District in Caddo Parish in the far northwestern corner of her state....
(born 1960), both Democrats. Williamson said that his motivation as board president was to preserve the integrity of the schools and to treat all citizens fairly in the process of desegregation. "The community responded in a positive way, and things went smoothly," Williamson said. He spent a week in the court of U.S. District Judge Benjamin C. Dawkins, Jr., himself a former Caddo Parish School Board president, during the hearing of the desegregation suit. The board was later reduced to nine members, a more manageable number, through state law under Williamson's leadership.
Billy J. Guin, Sr. (also born 1927), disagrees with Williamson about smaller school boards. In 1964, Guin became one of the first three Republicans elected to the Caddo Parish School Board since Reconstruction and in 1977 the only Republican to have served as city public utilities commissioner. He contends that smaller boards enhance the power of interest groups
Special Interest Group
A Special Interest Group is a community with an interest in advancing a specific area of knowledge, learning or technology where members cooperate to effect or to produce solutions within their particular field, and may communicate, meet, and organize conferences...
. While the larger membership can be cumbersome, Guin said more members insure that the overall well-being of the community is served, rather than the interest of vocal minorities.
Reform-minded state representative
On February 6, 1968, Williamson was one of seven Democrats elected at-large to the state House of Representatives from Caddo Parish. The only incumbent Republican who ran that year, the late Taylor W. O'HearnTaylor W. O'Hearn
Taylor Walters O'Hearn was a pioneer in the rebirth of the Republican Party in Louisiana during the mid-twentieth century. He and Morley A. Hudson, both of Shreveport in Caddo Parish, were the first two Republicans elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives since Reconstruction. The pair...
of Shreveport, led his party ticket but failed to dislodge a single Democratic candidate.
In 1970, Williamson voted for a two-cent increase in the state sales tax
Sales tax
A sales tax is a tax, usually paid by the consumer at the point of purchase, itemized separately from the base price, for certain goods and services. The tax amount is usually calculated by applying a percentage rate to the taxable price of a sale....
pushed by then Governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
John McKeithen
John McKeithen
John Julian McKeithen was the 49th Governor of Louisiana, serving from 1964 to 1972. A Democrat from the town of Columbia, he was the first governor of his state in the twentieth century to serve two consecutive terms...
to provide pay raises for teachers and state employees. Williamson said that the vote for the sales tax hike was politically unpopular and cost many members their seats in the 1971-1972 election cycle, including even the Speaker
Speaker (politics)
The term speaker is a title often given to the presiding officer of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body. The speaker's official role is to moderate debate, make rulings on procedure, announce the results of votes, and the like. The speaker decides who may speak and has the...
of the House, John Sidney Garrett
John Sidney Garrett
John Sidney Garrett was a conservative Democratic member of the Louisiana House of Representatives who served from 1948 to 1972 under four gubernatorial administrations. Garrett was a successful businessman in the small town of Haynesville in Claiborne Parish south of the Arkansas state line...
of Claiborne Parish. Williamson said that he too may have failed to have been reelected to the House had he run for a second term. Instead, he ran for the newly established single-member District 39 seat in the state Senate. Prior to the 1971 cycle, Louisiana legislators had often been chosen at-large within a parish or from among two or more parishes and not by separate districting. He beat his principal competitor, Caddo Parish Police Juror David Richard Carroll, Sr. (born 1926), a fellow Democrat.
As a House member, Williamson said that he was appalled at conditions he found on entering the legislature. Lobbyists were allowed to roam the House floor at will. Secretaries were often the wives of legislators. It was difficult to reach the podium to speak and be heard. Members had no telephones at their desks on the House floor. Williamson joined the group called the "Young Turks" which demanded reforms. The dissidents succeeded in electing E.L. "Bubba" Henry
E. L. Henry
Edgerton L. "Bubba" Henry is a Baton Rouge attorney, lobbyist, and partner of the high-powered firm Adams and Reese who served as a Democrat in the House of Representatives from 1968-1980. He was Speaker from 1972–1980. Henry was Governor Edwin Washington Edwards's choice for Speaker...
of Jonesboro
Jonesboro, Louisiana
Jonesboro is a town in and the parish seat of Jackson Parish in the northern portion of the U.S. state of Louisiana. The population was 3,914 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Ruston Micropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
as Speaker to succeed the defeated Garrett. Among the "Young Turks" were R. W. "Buzzy" Graham
R. W. "Buzzy" Graham
Ralph Warren Graham, known as R. W. "Buzzy" Graham , is an insurance agent in Woodworth in south Rapides Parish, Louisiana, who served as a Democrat in the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1968 to 1972. He served alongside T. C. Brister, W. K. Brown, and Robert J. Munson from Rapides and...
of Alexandria
Alexandria, Louisiana
Alexandria is a city in and the parish seat of Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It lies on the south bank of the Red River in almost the exact geographic center of the state. It is the principal city of the Alexandria metropolitan area which encompasses all of Rapides and Grant parishes....
, future Speaker John Hainkel
John Hainkel
John Joseph Hainkel, Jr., was a gregarious, ruffled, and raspy-voiced legislator from New Orleans who died in office after thirty-seven years of service...
(1938–2005) of New Orleans, and Robert Gambrell "Bob" Jones of Lake Charles
Lake Charles, Louisiana
Lake Charles is the fifth-largest incorporated city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, located on Lake Charles, Prien Lake, and the Calcasieu River. Located in Calcasieu Parish, a major cultural, industrial, and educational center in the southwest region of the state, and one of the most important in...
, son of former Governor Sam Houston Jones. Though Williamson's father had been a part of the Long faction in state Democratic politics, and Bob Jones' father was the epitome of anti-Longism in Louisiana, Williamson and the younger Jones became good friends and reform-minded allies. Both left the House after a single term to move to the state Senate.
Williamson's House seat, then numbered District 1, went to a Democrat (later Republican) that he initially supported, James H. "Jimmy" Wilson (1931–1986), who like Williamson's father, Earl Williamson, was a former mayor of Vivian, having served from 1966 to 1972. Though Wilson had defeated Earl Williamson in the 1966 mayor's race, Don Williamson put aside family feelings and supported Wilson to be Williamson's successor in the state House.
As state Senator 1972-1980
In 1976, Williamson chaired the House-Senate Joint Committee on Education. From that berth, he pushed for:(1) the establishment of Louisiana Public Broadcasting
Public broadcasting
Public broadcasting includes radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing and commercial financing.Public broadcasting may be...
, Public Broadcasting Service
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
(PBS)
(2) the bill to make Louisiana State University at Shreveport a four-year institution
(3) the enlargement and reorganization of the state vocational education system. The latter changes made a vocational school available to nearly all students within thirty miles of their residences.
He and state Senator Edgar G. "Sonny" Mouton, Jr., of Lafayette
Lafayette, Louisiana
Lafayette is a city in and the parish seat of Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, United States, on the Vermilion River. The population was 120,623 at the 2010 census...
, a 1979 gubernatorial hopeful, were the point men on education in the administration of Governor Edwin Washington Edwards. Williamson also worked closely with Representative Joe Henry Cooper
Joe Henry Cooper
Joe Henry Cooper was a businessman in Mansfield, the seat of DeSoto Parish in northwestwen Louisiana, who served five consecutive terms in the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1960 to 1980, having at various times represented DeSoto, Red River, Sabine, and Caddo parishes...
of De Soto Parish on educational issues. Williamson represented Louisiana on the Education Commission of the States, a national federation promoting reforms in education. He also chaired the Senate Health and Welfare Committee.
From 1973 to 1976, Williamson was vice-chairman of the Southern Growth Policies Board, having served under two SGPB chairmen, Governors Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
, Democrat of Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
(1973–1974) and Republican James Holshouser
James Holshouser
James Eubert Holshouser, Jr. was the 68th Governor of the state of North Carolina from 1973 to 1977. He was born in Boone, North Carolina....
of North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
(1975–1976). The board, which meets three times annually in Atlanta
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
, seeks to alleviate problems stemming from growth, including environmental issues and dislocation from urban renewal
Urban renewal
Urban renewal is a program of land redevelopment in areas of moderate to high density urban land use. Renewal has had both successes and failures. Its modern incarnation began in the late 19th century in developed nations and experienced an intense phase in the late 1940s – under the rubric of...
. The board is headquartered at Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
in Durham
Durham, North Carolina
Durham is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the county seat of Durham County and also extends into Wake County. It is the fifth-largest city in the state, and the 85th-largest in the United States by population, with 228,330 residents as of the 2010 United States census...
. Williamson presided over board meetings in the absences of Carter or Holshouser.
Williamson's Caddo Parish Senate colleagues were, in his first term, Cecil K. Carter, Jr.
Cecil K. Carter, Jr.
Cecil Kay Carter, Jr., known as C. Kay Carter, Jr., or C. K. Carter , is a businessman from Shreveport, Louisiana, who served as a Democratic member of the Louisiana State Senate from 1972 to 1976....
, and in his second term, Virginia Shehee
Virginia Shehee
Virginia Kilpatrick Shehee is a Shreveport businesswoman and civic leader and the first female state senator from District 38. She won her seat in the 1975 general election by 23 votes over incumbent Cecil K. Carter, Jr. and served a single term until 1980. She was defeated in 1979 by fellow...
, both of Shreveport. In both terms, Jackson B. Davis
Jackson B. Davis
Jackson Beauregard Davis is an American attorney based in Shreveport, Louisiana, who served as a Democrat in the Louisiana State Senate from 1956 to 1980. Now in his nineties, Davis still practices law and is active in community affairs, often addressing public gatherings...
, a Shreveport attorney, was Williamson's senior Caddo Parish colleague.
Defeating Jimmy Wilson, 1975
In 1975, Williamson sought reelection to the state Senate from District 39 and faced an unexpected challenger, state Representative Wilson, who was completing a single term in the House during Williamson's first term in the Senate. Still a Democrat at the time, Wilson ran as an advocate of right-to-work legislation, which the legislature adopted in 1976. Wilson claimed that he would address business growth issues more effectively than had Williamson. Williamson questioned Wilson's high rate of absenteeismAbsenteeism
Absenteeism is a habitual pattern of absence from a duty or obligation. Traditionally, absenteeism has been viewed as an indicator of poor individual performance, as well as a breach of an implicit contract between employee and employer; it was seen as a management problem, and framed in economic...
in critical state House votes and ran a clever advertisement which proclaimed: "He [Wilson] didn't vote for you. Why should you vote for him?" Williamson said that Wilson was not satisfied as a representative but quickly eyed the state Senate and even planned to run for governor.
After his loss to Williamson, Wilson switched parties and made unsuccessful campaigns in 1978 and 1980 as a Republican for the Fourth Congressional District seat vacated by the longtime U.S. Representative Joe David "Joe D." Waggonner, Jr.
Joe Waggonner
Joseph David Waggonner, Jr. , better known as Joe D. Waggonner, was a Democratic U.S. Representative from Bossier Parish who represented the old 4th Congressional District of northwest Louisiana from December 1961 until January 1979. He was also a confidant of Republican U.S...
, of Plain Dealing
Plain Dealing, Louisiana
Plain Dealing is a town in Bossier Parish, Louisiana, United States best known as the birthplace of former U.S. Representative Joe D. Waggonner, Jr. The population was 1,071 at the 2000 census...
in northern Bossier Parish. The seat first went to Democrat Anthony Claude "Buddy" Leach, then of Leesville
Leesville, Louisiana
Leesville is a city in and the parish seat of Vernon Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 6,753 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Fort Polk South Micropolitan Statistical Area. The city is home to the Fort Polk U.S. Army installation...
in western Louisiana, and has since been filled by Democrats Buddy Roemer
Buddy Roemer
Charles Elson "Buddy" Roemer III is an American politician who served as the 52nd Governor of Louisiana, from 1988 to 1992. He was elected as a Democrat but switched to the Republican Party on March 11, 1991...
and Cleo Fields
Cleo Fields
Cleo Fields is a lawyer and politician. He is a former member of the United States House of Representatives from Louisiana....
and Republicans Jim McCrery
Jim McCrery
James Otis "Jim" McCrery, III , is an American lawyer who served as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1988 to 2009; he represented the 4th District of Louisiana, based in the northwestern quadrant of the state.McCrery was a ranking member on the House Ways and...
, John Cooksey
John Cooksey
John Charles Cooksey, M.D. is an ophthalmologist who was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Louisiana from 1997 to 2003.-Early life:...
, and John C. Fleming
John C. Fleming
John Calvin Fleming, Jr. is a Minden, Louisiana physician, the author of the book Preventing Addiction, and the Republican U.S. representative from Louisiana's 4th congressional district...
.
Running for insurance commissioner
Williamson said that the state Senate was consuming so much of his time that he did not wish to seek a third term. Bob Jones had said much the same when he decided to run for governor in 1975, rather than to seek reelection to the Senate. Therefore, Williamson decided to run for a statewide administrative office in the 1979 jungle primaryJungle primary
A nonpartisan blanket primary is a primary election in which all candidates for elected office run in the same primary regardless of political party. Under this system, the top two candidates who receive the most votes advance to the next round, as in a runoff election...
. He chose the insurance commissioner's race largely because the incumbent, Sherman A. Bernard, Sr. (born 1925), a native of Terrebonne Parish
Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana
Terrebonne Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Houma. Its population was 111,860...
who had become a house mover in Westwego
Westwego, Louisiana
Westwego is a city in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, United States, and a suburb of New Orleans. The population was 10,763 at the 2000 census. It lies along the west bank of the Mississippi River.-Geography:...
in Jefferson Parish in the New Orleans suburbs, was under fire for corrupt practices in the handling of official duties. Bernard was later imprisoned for fraud and was finally released by the Bureau of Prisons in 1996.
Williamson won the endorsement of every major newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
in the state, and he campaigned actively in most of the parishes. Cajun
Cajun
Cajuns are an ethnic group mainly living in the U.S. state of Louisiana, consisting of the descendants of Acadian exiles...
humorist Justin Wilson, whose father, Harry D. Wilson, was a Longite agriculture commissioner, campaigned for him. Bernard failed to win a majority in the primary, and a 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...
between the top two Democrats, Bernard and Williamson, was hence held at the same time that Republican David C. Treen
David C. Treen
David Conner "Dave" Treen, Sr. , was an American attorney and politician from Mandeville, St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana – the first Republican Governor of the U.S. state of Louisiana since Reconstruction. He was the first Republican in modern times to have served in the U.S...
and Democrat Louis Lambert
Louis Lambert
Louis Joseph Lambert, Jr. , is a Louisiana attorney, businessman, former member and chairman of the Louisiana Public Service Commission, and a former Louisiana state senator....
, then a public service commissioner, contested the governorship.
Still, Bernard prevailed with 627,247 (50.3 percent) to Williamson's 618,952 (49.7 percent). Williamson ran well in Shreveport, Lafayette, Lake Charles, and Baton Rouge, but he was annihilated in Orleans Parish, particularly the predominantly black Ninth Ward
Ninth Ward of New Orleans
The Ninth Ward or 9th Ward is a distinctive region of New Orleans, Louisiana that is located in the easternmost downriver portion of the city. It is geographically the largest of the 17 Wards of New Orleans....
. Bernard also undoubtedly benefited by his being from the Orleans metro area. Williamson said that he believed that there may have been fraudulent practices in the count in New Orleans but he did not request a recount because it would have cost his campaign another $100,000 if he finished on the short end of a second official tally.
Running twice for mayor of Shreveport
Coming so close in the insurance commissioner's race, Williamson tried once again in politics: he contested the mayoralty of Shreveport in 1982 in an effort to succeed one-term Mayor William T. "Bill" HannaWilliam T. Hanna
William T. Hanna was born October 23, 1920 in New York City, New York.-Marine Corps career:Private Hanna enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps January 14, 1942 at New York. He was killed in action October 9, 1942 while attached to the 1st Marine Division Reinforced on Guadalcanal...
, a fellow Democrat and, like Williamson's father, an automobile dealer, but Ford, rather than Chevrolet
Chevrolet
Chevrolet , also known as Chevy , is a brand of vehicle produced by General Motors Company . Founded by Louis Chevrolet and ousted GM founder William C. Durant on November 3, 1911, General Motors acquired Chevrolet in 1918...
. Williamson's principal opponent was Shreveport attorney John Brennan Hussey
John Brennan Hussey
John Brennan Hussey , an attorney who specializes in contracts, served for two terms as the Democratic mayor of Shreveport, Louisiana. Before serving as mayor, he was a member of the Shreveport City Council, serving as its chairman in 1980.He defeated then Democrat Donald W...
. The two waged activist campaigns, and while Williamson finished with more than 40 percent of the vote, Hussey emerged the winner. Williamson said that as mayor he would have tried to promote tourism in the Shreveport-Bossier City area. He favored reinstituting the former "Louisiana Hayride" Country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
and Western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
forum. "I just wanted to have Branson
Branson, Missouri
Branson is a city in Taney County in the U.S. state of Missouri. It was named after Reuben Branson, postmaster and operator of a general store in the area in the 1880s....
(the resort city in Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
) in Shreveport," he said. Williamson said that he would have been a "mover and shaker" as mayor, whereas he believed Hussey would have been less active in the office satisfied to "clip ribbons" in friendly photo op
Photo op
A photo op , short for photograph opportunity , is an opportunity to take a memorable and effective photograph of a politician, a celebrity, or a notable event...
s. Williamson said that when he went to meet with the editorial boards of both Shreveport newspapers, Shreveport Times and the defunct Shreveport Journal, one declined to meet with him after having invited him to appear because the papers had already decided to endorse Hussey.
In 1986, Williamson challenged Hussey again but did not run actively. He merely placed his name on the ballot and spoke to individual voters. He spent virtually no money. He again exceeded 40 percent of the vote, but Hussey won a second term. Williamson said that Hussey is a "fine person", but he felt that Hussey needed an opponent in 1986. Hussey was term-limited in 1990. He was succeeded by Hazel F. Beard
Hazel Beard
Hazel Fain Beard is the first woman and the first Republican to have served as mayor of Shreveport, Louisiana, since the era of Reconstruction. A fiscal conservative, Mrs...
(born 1930), Shreveport's first Republican since Reconstruction and its first and thus far only female mayor.
Williamson's father and brothers in politics
Earl Williamson, who was an alderman and mayor of Vivian and a member of the Caddo Parish Police Jury (now Caddo Parish Commission, the equivalent of county commission in other states) from 1933 to 1972 and 1979 to 1980. Earl Williamson was also a leading supporter in Caddo Parish of Huey Pierce Long, Jr.Huey Long
Huey Pierce Long, Jr. , nicknamed The Kingfish, served as the 40th Governor of Louisiana from 1928–1932 and as a U.S. Senator from 1932 to 1935. A Democrat, he was noted for his radical populist policies. Though a backer of Franklin D...
, and Earl Kemp Long, whose political appeal transformed Louisiana from the 1920s-1950s. Earl Williamson was personally close to the Longs as well as a loyal political backer. Don Williamson, however, did not share his father's commitment to Longism. He was a reformer in politics from the beginning of his career to the end. He remained a Democrat like his father while he ran for office but later switched to the Republican Party
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...
.
Three of Don Williamnson's brothers also developed careers. James Whitfield Williamson
James Whitfield Williamson
James Whitfield Williamson was a businessman and politician from north Caddo Parish in northwestern Louisiana, the scion of a prominent political family...
(June 12, 1925—November 15, 2008), in their father's legacy, served as alderman (fourteen years) and mayor of Vivian (also fourteen years, from 1972 to 1986) and for a single four-year term on the Caddo Parish Commission. A half-brother, Tedford Fielden Williamson
Tedford Williamson
Tedford Fielden Williamson, known as Ted Williamson , is a Texas businessman who is the scion of a politically-connected family from North Louisiana and himself a former member of the Round Rock, Texas, City Council. Round Rock is located along Interstate 35 in Williamson County north of the state...
(born 1957) of Round Rock
Round Rock, Texas
Round Rock is a city in Travis and Williamson counties in the U.S. state of Texas. It is part of the metropolitan area. The 2010 census places the population at 99,887....
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, in coincidentally Williamson County
Williamson County, Texas
Williamson County is a county located on both the Edwards Plateau to the west, consisting of rocky terrain and hills, and Blackland Prairies in the east consising of rich, fertile farming land, The two areas are roughly bisected by Interstate 35...
served briefly on the Round Rock City Council. He is a Republican but in Texas all municipal offices are elected on nonpartisan
Nonpartisan
In political science, nonpartisan denotes an election, event, organization or person in which there is no formally declared association with a political party affiliation....
ballot
Ballot
A ballot is a device used to record choices made by voters. Each voter uses one ballot, and ballots are not shared. In the simplest elections, a ballot may be a simple scrap of paper on which each voter writes in the name of a candidate, but governmental elections use pre-printed to protect the...
s. Tedford Williamson is one of two sons of Earl Williamson from his second marriage to the former Mary Jane Hearne. The other half-brother, Clayton Lamar Williamson (born 1952) was city manager in three Texas communities, including Friona
Friona, Texas
Friona is a city in Parmer County, Texas, United States. The population was 3,854 at the 2000 census. Friona was established in 1906, originally called Frio the Spanishword for cold....
in Parmer County in the Panhandle
Texas Panhandle
The Texas Panhandle is a region of the U.S. state of Texas consisting of the northernmost 26 counties in the state. The panhandle is a rectangular area bordered by New Mexico to the west and Oklahoma to the north and east...
, and then a power company official before he launched a new career in counseling.
Don Williamson has been an active 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...
deacon for more than a half century and is a member of the First Baptist Church of Shreveport. He is a member of the Masonic lodge
Masonic Lodge
This article is about the Masonic term for a membership group. For buildings named Masonic Lodge, see Masonic Lodge A Masonic Lodge, often termed a Private Lodge or Constituent Lodge, is the basic organisation of Freemasonry...
, the Lions Club, and the Downtown Shreveport Rotary Club, one of the largest of all the chapters of Rotary International
Rotary International
Rotary International is an organization of service clubs known as Rotary Clubs located all over the world. The stated purpose of the organization is to bring together business and professional leaders to provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help...
.