Francis C. Thompson
Encyclopedia
Francis Coleman Thompson (born October 29, 1941) is a wealthy developer from Delhi
in Richland Parish, Louisiana
, U.S.
, where he served as a senior Democratic
member of the Louisiana House of Representatives
. He served continuously from 1975 until 2007. Because of state term limits, Thompson was ineligible to have sought a ninth four-year term in the jungle primary
on October 20, 2007.
Instead, Thompson was elected outright over two fellow Democrats to the District 34 seat in the Louisiana State Senate
vacated by the also term-limited Charles Jones (born 1950) of Monroe
. Thompson received 13,763 votes (51 percent) to 10,937 (42 percent) for African-American State Representative Willie Hunter, Jr., of Monroe
and 2,113 (8 percent) for Paxton J. Branch. Ten days after he vacated the seat to Thompson, Charles Jones was charged with two counts of making and subscribing a false federal income tax
return and one count of tax evasion
.
Hunter charged irregularities in the primary election in part on grounds that certain Thompson supporters in heavily black East Carroll Parish distributed food packages to the poor with instructions that they should vote for Francis Thompson to maintain such assistance.
In addition to his own Richland Parish, Thompson's House district included all or portions of East Carroll, Madison, Morehouse, Ouachita, and West Carroll parishes in northeast Louisiana. His Senate district will include parts of Concordia, East Carroll, Madison, Ouachita, Richland, and Tensas parishes.
in 1959. He received his bachelor of science
and master of science
degrees from Louisiana Tech University
in Ruston
, the seat of Lincoln Parish. He also procured an Ed.D. degree from the University of Louisiana at Monroe
(then Northeast Louisiana University). Thompson was a teacher
from 1963 to 1965, but he vacated the classroom to become vice president of a manufacturing
company from 1965 to 1972. Later, he returned to the classroom as a ULM assistant professor
of education
.
From 1968 to 1975, Thompson was an elected member of the Richland Parish School Board. He won a special election in 1975 to fill the House seat vacated by the resignation of Democrat Benny Gay Christian (1925–1982), who had served in the state House since 1964. Later in the year, Thompson won a full term in the seat, which in time became the single-member District 19. Prior to his legislative years, Thompson worked in Baton Rouge for the Louisiana Department of Education
under Superintendent
Louis J. Michot
from 1974 to 1975. He was a member of the Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement from 1973 to 1974. Thompson has also been a member of the Southern Regional Education Board and the Education Commission of the States. He has been active in the Retarded Children's Association and the Louisiana Mental Health
Drug Advisory Council. He is a member of the Masonic lodge
and the Lions Club.
Thompson is married to the former Marilyn Bryant (born October 6, 1944). The couple lives at 456 Robin Hood Lane in Delhi. They have three children, including sons Francis Todd Thompson (born ca. 1963) of Baton Rouge and Brant L. Thompson (born April 1, 1965 of Delhi. Thompson is Presbyterian.
" program, which the legislature approved without dissent. The program was developed by the Louisiana State University
Agriculture Center and sponsored by the Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation. It is an environmental education program designed to help farmers and ranchers identify and adopt best management practices to improve water
quality in lake
s, stream
s and bayou
s. It involves classroom instruction, field days and implementation of farm-specific conservation
plans to maximize productivity while minimizing environmental impacts. Thompson's model program has been proposed for national acceptance.
north of Delhi that was completed in 2001. The reservoir has since been converted to a state park. Thompson's brother, Michael L. "Mike" Thompson (born February 1, 1949) of Delhi is the former executive director of the reservoir district. On June 26, 2008, Mike Thompson along with District Attorney
William R. "Billy" Coenen (born July 1, 1947) of the Fifth Judicial District and a resident of Rayville
and engineer
Terry Denmon of Monroe were indicted
by a federal grand jury
in Shreveport
for having conspired
secretly to purchase land along what would become Poverty Point Reservoir and then selling the land at an elevated price. The trio is each charged with one count of conspiracy and eight counts of mail fraud. Mike Thompson is also under indictment for alleged violations of the Hobbs Act
. Thompson is accused of having used district employees to perform personal work for him at the lake.
According to the indictment, Thompson, Coenen, and Denmon bought a 5 acres (20,234.3 m²) tract of land on what would later form the shores of the reservoir for $16,800. They reportedly used a nominee purchaser to hide their interest. Subsequently, Thompson used his position as executive director to have trees removed from the property. Thompson and Denmon (born May 15, 1944), whose engineering firm was contracted to work for the district, had the property excavated, the indictment states. The tract was subdivided, and six of the eight lots sold for a total of $250,000. Coenen is implicated through his role as attorney for the Poverty Point District as well as being district attorney.
. He polled 50,144 votes (28 percent) and went into a general election
with the Republican
ophthalmologist John Cooksey
of Monroe, who led in the jungle primary with 60,853 ballots (34 percent). Former U.S. Representative Clyde C. Holloway
of Rapides Parish trailed in third place with 48,226 (27 percent). Holloway then endorsed Cooksey, who defeated Thompson by a comfortable margin. Cooksey received 135,990 votes (58 percent) to the more liberal Thompson's 97,363 (42 percent). Cooksey served three terms before leaving the U.S. House early in 2003. Cooksey's campaign manager, Lee Fletcher
, was thereafter named as his chief of staff. Fletcher tried to win the House seat himself in 2002 but lost to Democrat (later Republican) Rodney Alexander
.
Though he is a Democrat, Thompson broke party ranks in the 2003 gubernatorial primary to support Republican candidate Hunt Downer
of Houma
, a former state House Speaker
, who finished sixth in the balloting though he had the support of a cross-section of state legislators from both parties.
In 2005, Francis Thompson was inducted into the Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame
in Winnfield
.
Delhi, Louisiana
Delhi, originally called Deerfield, is a town in Richland Parish, Louisiana, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the town population was 3,066.-History:...
in Richland Parish, 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...
, U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, where he served as a senior Democratic
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...
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...
. He served continuously from 1975 until 2007. Because of state term limits, Thompson was ineligible to have sought a ninth four-year term in the jungle primary
Jungle 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...
on October 20, 2007.
Instead, Thompson was elected outright over two fellow Democrats to the District 34 seat 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...
vacated by the also term-limited Charles Jones (born 1950) of Monroe
Monroe, Louisiana
Monroe is a city in and the parish seat of Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 53,107, making it the eighth largest city in Louisiana. A July 1, 2007, United States Census Bureau estimate placed the population at 51,208, but 51,636...
. Thompson received 13,763 votes (51 percent) to 10,937 (42 percent) for African-American State Representative Willie Hunter, Jr., of Monroe
Monroe, Louisiana
Monroe is a city in and the parish seat of Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 53,107, making it the eighth largest city in Louisiana. A July 1, 2007, United States Census Bureau estimate placed the population at 51,208, but 51,636...
and 2,113 (8 percent) for Paxton J. Branch. Ten days after he vacated the seat to Thompson, Charles Jones was charged with two counts of making and subscribing a false federal income tax
Income tax
An income tax is a tax levied on the income of individuals or businesses . Various income tax systems exist, with varying degrees of tax incidence. Income taxation can be progressive, proportional, or regressive. When the tax is levied on the income of companies, it is often called a corporate...
return and one count of tax evasion
Tax evasion
Tax evasion is the general term for efforts by individuals, corporations, trusts and other entities to evade taxes by illegal means. Tax evasion usually entails taxpayers deliberately misrepresenting or concealing the true state of their affairs to the tax authorities to reduce their tax liability,...
.
Hunter charged irregularities in the primary election in part on grounds that certain Thompson supporters in heavily black East Carroll Parish distributed food packages to the poor with instructions that they should vote for Francis Thompson to maintain such assistance.
In addition to his own Richland Parish, Thompson's House district included all or portions of East Carroll, Madison, Morehouse, Ouachita, and West Carroll parishes in northeast Louisiana. His Senate district will include parts of Concordia, East Carroll, Madison, Ouachita, Richland, and Tensas parishes.
Early years and education
Thompson graduated from Delhi High SchoolHigh school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
in 1959. He received his bachelor of science
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
and master of science
Master of Science
A Master of Science is a postgraduate academic master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is typically studied for in the sciences including the social sciences.-Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay:...
degrees from Louisiana Tech University
Louisiana Tech University
Louisiana Tech University, often referred to as Louisiana Tech, LA Tech, or Tech, is a coeducational public research university located in Ruston, Louisiana. Louisiana Tech is designated as a Tier 1 school in the national universities category by the 2012 U.S. News & World Report college rankings...
in Ruston
Ruston, Louisiana
Ruston is a city in and the parish seat of Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 20,546 at the 2000 census. Ruston is near the eastern border of the Ark-La-Tex and is the home of Louisiana Tech University. Its economy caters to its college population...
, the seat of Lincoln Parish. He also procured an Ed.D. degree from the University of Louisiana at Monroe
University of Louisiana at Monroe
The University of Louisiana at Monroe is a coeducational public university in Monroe, Louisiana and part of the University of Louisiana System.-History:...
(then Northeast Louisiana University). Thompson was a teacher
Teacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
from 1963 to 1965, but he vacated the classroom to become vice president of a manufacturing
Manufacturing
Manufacturing is the use of machines, tools and labor to produce goods for use or sale. The term may refer to a range of human activity, from handicraft to high tech, but is most commonly applied to industrial production, in which raw materials are transformed into finished goods on a large scale...
company from 1965 to 1972. Later, he returned to the classroom as a ULM assistant professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
of education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
.
From 1968 to 1975, Thompson was an elected member of the Richland Parish School Board. He won a special election in 1975 to fill the House seat vacated by the resignation of Democrat Benny Gay Christian (1925–1982), who had served in the state House since 1964. Later in the year, Thompson won a full term in the seat, which in time became the single-member District 19. Prior to his legislative years, Thompson worked in Baton Rouge for the Louisiana Department of Education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
under Superintendent
Superintendent (education)
In education in the United States, a superintendent is an individual who has executive oversight and administration rights, usually within an educational entity or organization....
Louis J. Michot
Louis J. Michot
Louis Joseph Michot, Jr. , is a prominent Lafayette, Louisiana, businessman, entrepreneur of the former Burger Chef restaurant chain, philanthropist, and a former Democratic state representative , member of the Louisiana Board of Education , and Louisiana State Education Superintendent...
from 1974 to 1975. He was a member of the Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement from 1973 to 1974. Thompson has also been a member of the Southern Regional Education Board and the Education Commission of the States. He has been active in the Retarded Children's Association and the Louisiana Mental Health
Mental health
Mental health describes either a level of cognitive or emotional well-being or an absence of a mental disorder. From perspectives of the discipline of positive psychology or holism mental health may include an individual's ability to enjoy life and procure a balance between life activities and...
Drug Advisory Council. 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...
and the Lions Club.
Thompson is married to the former Marilyn Bryant (born October 6, 1944). The couple lives at 456 Robin Hood Lane in Delhi. They have three children, including sons Francis Todd Thompson (born ca. 1963) of Baton Rouge and Brant L. Thompson (born April 1, 1965 of Delhi. Thompson is Presbyterian.
Interest in agriculture
In 2000, Thompson was named chairman of the House Agriculture Committee. In 2003, he authored the "Master FarmerFarmer
A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, who raises living organisms for food or raw materials, generally including livestock husbandry and growing crops, such as produce and grain...
" program, which the legislature approved without dissent. The program was developed by the Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...
Agriculture Center and sponsored by the Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation. It is an environmental education program designed to help farmers and ranchers identify and adopt best management practices to improve water
Water
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
quality in lake
Lake
A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...
s, stream
Stream
A stream is a body of water with a current, confined within a bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as a branch, brook, beck, burn, creek, "crick", gill , kill, lick, rill, river, syke, bayou, rivulet, streamage, wash, run or...
s and bayou
Bayou
A bayou is an American term for a body of water typically found in flat, low-lying areas, and can refer either to an extremely slow-moving stream or river , or to a marshy lake or wetland. The name "bayou" can also refer to creeks that see level changes due to tides and hold brackish water which...
s. It involves classroom instruction, field days and implementation of farm-specific conservation
Conservation ethic
Conservation is an ethic of resource use, allocation, and protection. Its primary focus is upon maintaining the health of the natural world: its, fisheries, habitats, and biological diversity. Secondary focus is on materials conservation and energy conservation, which are seen as important to...
plans to maximize productivity while minimizing environmental impacts. Thompson's model program has been proposed for national acceptance.
Poverty Point case
During his long legislative career, Thompson worked successfully to procure state funding for Poverty Point Reservoir, a 3000 acres (12.1 km²) lakeLake
A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...
north of Delhi that was completed in 2001. The reservoir has since been converted to a state park. Thompson's brother, Michael L. "Mike" Thompson (born February 1, 1949) of Delhi is the former executive director of the reservoir district. On June 26, 2008, Mike Thompson along with District Attorney
District attorney
In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...
William R. "Billy" Coenen (born July 1, 1947) of the Fifth Judicial District and a resident of Rayville
Rayville, Louisiana
Rayville is a town in, the parish seat of, and the largest community in Richland Parish in northeastern Louisiana, United States. The population was 4,234 at the 2000 census. It is also home of Palmetto Addiction Recovery Center...
and engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
Terry Denmon of Monroe were indicted
Indictment
An indictment , in the common-law legal system, is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that maintain the concept of felonies, the serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that lack the concept of felonies often use that of an indictable offence—an...
by a federal grand jury
Grand jury
A grand jury is a type of jury that determines whether a criminal indictment will issue. Currently, only the United States retains grand juries, although some other common law jurisdictions formerly employed them, and most other jurisdictions employ some other type of preliminary hearing...
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....
for having conspired
Conspiracy (crime)
In the criminal law, a conspiracy is an agreement between two or more persons to break the law at some time in the future, and, in some cases, with at least one overt act in furtherance of that agreement...
secretly to purchase land along what would become Poverty Point Reservoir and then selling the land at an elevated price. The trio is each charged with one count of conspiracy and eight counts of mail fraud. Mike Thompson is also under indictment for alleged violations of the Hobbs Act
Hobbs Act
The Hobbs Act, named after Congressman Sam Hobbs and codified at , is a U.S. federal law that prohibits actual or attempted robbery or extortion affecting interstate or foreign commerce. Section 1951 also proscribes conspiracy to commit robbery or extortion without reference to the conspiracy...
. Thompson is accused of having used district employees to perform personal work for him at the lake.
According to the indictment, Thompson, Coenen, and Denmon bought a 5 acres (20,234.3 m²) tract of land on what would later form the shores of the reservoir for $16,800. They reportedly used a nominee purchaser to hide their interest. Subsequently, Thompson used his position as executive director to have trees removed from the property. Thompson and Denmon (born May 15, 1944), whose engineering firm was contracted to work for the district, had the property excavated, the indictment states. The tract was subdivided, and six of the eight lots sold for a total of $250,000. Coenen is implicated through his role as attorney for the Poverty Point District as well as being district attorney.
Other political developments
In 1996, Thompson ran for the open Fifth District seat in the United States House of RepresentativesUnited States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
. He polled 50,144 votes (28 percent) and went into 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...
with the 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...
ophthalmologist 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:...
of Monroe, who led in the jungle primary with 60,853 ballots (34 percent). Former U.S. Representative Clyde C. Holloway
Clyde C. Holloway
Clyde Cecil Holloway is an American small business owner from Forest Hill in the southern part of Rapides Parish who is one of five members of the Louisiana Public Service Commission. He also served as a conservative Republican member of the U.S...
of Rapides Parish trailed in third place with 48,226 (27 percent). Holloway then endorsed Cooksey, who defeated Thompson by a comfortable margin. Cooksey received 135,990 votes (58 percent) to the more liberal Thompson's 97,363 (42 percent). Cooksey served three terms before leaving the U.S. House early in 2003. Cooksey's campaign manager, Lee Fletcher
Lee Fletcher
Dewey Lee Fletcher, Jr. , was an American political consultant and a talk radio host and blogger in Monroe, who was defeated by 974 votes in a 2002 race for the United States House of Representatives from the Fifth Congressional District in northeast Louisiana...
, was thereafter named as his chief of staff. Fletcher tried to win the House seat himself in 2002 but lost to Democrat (later Republican) Rodney Alexander
Rodney Alexander
Rodney McKinnie Alexander is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2003. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district covers twenty-two parishes in roughly the northeast quadrant of the state...
.
Though he is a Democrat, Thompson broke party ranks in the 2003 gubernatorial primary to support Republican candidate Hunt Downer
Hunt Downer
Major General Huntington Blair Downer, Jr., known as Hunt Downer , is a Republican politician in the U.S. state of Louisiana who is the assistant adjutant general of the state National Guard and the first ever director of the new Louisiana Veterans Affairs Department.A former Speaker of the...
of Houma
Houma, Louisiana
Houma is a city in and the parish seat of Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana, and the largest principal city of the Houma–Bayou Cane–Thibodaux Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city's powers of government have been absorbed by the parish, which is now run by the Terrebonne Parish...
, a former state House 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...
, who finished sixth in the balloting though he had the support of a cross-section of state legislators from both parties.
In 2005, Francis Thompson was inducted into the Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame
Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame
The Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame in Winnfield, Louisiana, highlights the careers of more than a hundred of the state’s leading politicians and political journalists. Because three governors, Huey P. Long, Jr., Oscar K...
in 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 ...
.
External links
- Louisiana State Senate - Francis C. Thompson official government website
- Project Vote Smart - Senator Francis C. Thompson (LA) profile
- Follow the Money - Francis C. Thompson