John Brennan Hussey an attorney

Lawyer

A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...

 who specializes in contracts, served for two terms (1982–1990) as the 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...

 mayor of Shreveport, Louisiana

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....

. 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. "Don" Williamson

Don W. Williamson

Donald Wayne Williamson, usually known as Don Williamson , 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 former member of both houses of the state legislator from Caddo Parish, in two races for mayor, 1982 and 1986. Williamson, thereafter in political retirement, joined 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...

. Williamson was considered a better campaigner than Hussey, but the former lawmaker was mostly identified with northern Caddo Parish, rather than Shreveport, where he had relocated several years earlier.

In 1994, Hussey sought a comeback as mayor but ran third 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...

 with 11,833 votes (22 percent). In the ensuing 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 Republican Robert W. "Bo" Williams

Robert W. "Bo" Williams

Robert Warren "Bo" Williams is a former Republican mayor of Shreveport, Louisiana, having served a single term from 1994-1998....

 defeated the African-American Democrat Roy Cary. Williams served one term until his defeat in 1998.

Hussey was also an elected member of the first Shreveport City Council under the mayor-council single-member district format, having served from 1978 until 1982, when he became mayor. On the council, Hussey drafted the rules to govern city council proceedings. He developed good working relationships with the council's then three black members as well as the council's first president, former Mayor James C. Gardner

James C. Gardner

James Creswell Gardner, I, known as Jim Gardner , was a power company executive best known as the mayor of Shreveport, Louisiana, who served a single term from 1954-1958....

, and Charles J. Peatross, who went on to become a judge

Judge

A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...

. In his memoirs, Gardner said that Hussey "had read everything available on politics and government."

Though a Democrat, Hussey appointed a Republican, Harriet Belchic

Harriet Belchic

Harriet Cameron Belchic was a Republican political activist from Shreveport, Louisiana, who was also the first woman ever granted both bachelor of science and master of science degrees in geology from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge...

, to the Shreveport Women's Commission.