Lynn Dean
Encyclopedia
Lynn B. Dean is a boat manufacturer from St. Bernard Parish
, Louisiana
, who served from 1996 to 2004 as a Republican
member of the Louisiana State Senate
from District 1 (Jefferson
, Plaquemines
, and St. Bernard parishes). The district embraces a portion of the New Orleans
suburb
s, including the lower southeastern coastal parishes of Plaquemines and St. Bernard, once the domain of the legendary political boss
Leander H. Perez
.
Democrat
, Samuel B. Nunez, Jr.
, then the State Senate President and a former member of the Louisiana House of Representatives
. Nunez won outright in the nonpartisan blanket primary with just under 51 percent of the ballots cast.
In 1991, Dean was elected President of St. Bernard Parish, a new office equivalent to a combined county judge and mayor
al position. He defeated the Democrat Floyd J. Landry, 17,276 (53 percent) to 15,289 (47 percent) in the general election
. With nearly 34 percent of the ballots, Dean had led in the primary; Landry trailed with 28 percent.
In October 1995, Dean ran not for parish president but unseated Nunez in the nonpartisan blanket primary, 19,794 (46.4 percent) to 15,137 (35.5 percent). A third candidate, Democrat Gilbert Andry held the remaining 7,773 (18.2 percent). In the general election Dean trumped Nunez, 23,939 (53.7 percent) to 20,682 (46.3 percent)
Business-oriented and something of a libertarian
, Dean did not support social conservatives
in his own party on several issues. In 1997, Senator Phil Short
of St. Tammany Parish
introduced Senate Bill 37 to remove sexual orientation
from the state's hate crimes law. Short's amendment was defeated in April and again in May of that year, the second time without a vote being taken. Several of Short's fellow Republican senators, including Dean, Ken Hollis
of Metairie
in Jefferson Parish, and Ron Bean
of Shreveport, joined Democrats in speaking against the bill.
In May 2003, Dean authored legislation to repeal Louisiana's anti-sodomy
law. The measure would have declared legal private, consensual sexual acts that had previously been defined in Louisiana law as a "crime against nature." Before Dean's measure could gain full consideration, it was rendered moot by the United States Supreme Court in the decision Lawrence v. Texas
, which on June 26, 2003, struck down anti-sodomy measures in the remaining fourteen states which still had them.
As a freshman member, Dean introduced a "Death with Dignity" law modeled after the legislation in Oregon
, an action opposed by right-to-life groups. No action was taken on the measure.
In 2002, Dean supported higher tobacco taxes, a 12-cent per pack increase in cigarette
prices. He claimed that fewer people smoke as the prices rise, and he argued that state taxpayers should not be billed for excessive health costs of smokers.
allowed Dean to run, and he won the seat in the 1995 general election over Democrat Joseph "Joe" Gallodoro. Dean did no campaigning for the council position other than writing a column in the St. Bernard News. Dean defeated Gallodoro, 12,922 (52.7 percent) to 11,601 (47.3 percent).
On the parish council, Dean opposed hiring attorney
s to fight a federal court order striking down rental regulations in St. Bernard Parish, accented during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina
. The regulations prohibited home rentals to anybody but blood relatives of the owner of the property. The court held such restrictions discriminatory. "Our parish is broke," Dean warned in 2006, "We are going to hire an attorney, and when it's all over with, we are going to lose."
Dean did not seek a second term on the parish council in 2007 and was succeeded by a Democrat, Tony "Ricky" Melerine.
. He is married to the former Jacqueline Miles. They have a son, Douglas Dean (born 1951). Douglas Dean ran unsuccessfully for District E seat on the parish council in the same 1995 election in which his father unseated Senator Nunez. Douglas Dean polled 2,280 votes (46.5 percent) to 2,625 (53.5 percent) for the Independent Henry Rodriguez, Jr.
Nunez and Dean remained on friendly terms through their political campaigns. They are both honorary chairmen of the board of directors of the Nunez Community College
Foundation. The institution, located in Chalmette
, is named for Elaine P. Nunez, the late wife of Senator Nunez.
St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana
St. Bernard Parish is a parish located southeast of New Orleans in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Chalmette, the largest city in the parish. As of 2000, its population was 67,229. It has been ranked the fastest-growing county in the United States from 2007 to 2008 by the U.S....
, 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 from 1996 to 2004 as a 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 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 District 1 (Jefferson
Jefferson Parish, Louisiana
Jefferson Parish is a parish in Louisiana, United States that includes most of the suburbs of New Orleans. The seat of parish government is Gretna....
, Plaquemines
Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana
Plaquemines Parish is the parish with the most combined land and water area in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Pointe à la Hache...
, and St. Bernard parishes). The district embraces a portion of the New Orleans
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
s, including the lower southeastern coastal parishes of Plaquemines and St. Bernard, once the domain of the legendary political boss
Political boss
A boss, in politics, is a person who wields the power over a particular political region or constituency. Bosses may dictate voting patterns, control appointments, and wield considerable influence in other political processes. They do not necessarily hold public office themselves...
Leander H. Perez
Leander Perez
Leander Henry Perez, Sr. , was the Democratic political boss of Plaquemines and St. Bernard parishes in southeastern Louisiana during the middle third of the 20th century. Officially, he served as a district judge, later as district attorney, and as president of the Plaquemines Parish Commission...
.
Election history
Dean's first elective office was as a member of the St. Bernard Parish School Board. In 1987, Dean ran unsuccessfully for the state Senate in a seven-candidate field. He finished second to the incumbentIncumbent
The incumbent, in politics, is the existing holder of a political office. This term is usually used in reference to elections, in which races can often be defined as being between an incumbent and non-incumbent. For example, in the 2004 United States presidential election, George W...
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...
, Samuel B. Nunez, Jr.
Samuel B. Nunez, Jr.
Samuel Bernard Nunez, Jr., known as Sammy Nunez , is a Louisiana politician and businessman from Chalmette, the seat of St. Bernard Parish in the New Orleans suburbs. He was a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1964 to 1969. From 1969 to 1996, the Democrat Nunez was a state...
, then the State Senate President and a former member of 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...
. Nunez won outright in the nonpartisan blanket primary with just under 51 percent of the ballots cast.
In 1991, Dean was elected President of St. Bernard Parish, a new office equivalent to a combined county judge and mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
al position. He defeated the Democrat Floyd J. Landry, 17,276 (53 percent) to 15,289 (47 percent) in the 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 nearly 34 percent of the ballots, Dean had led in the primary; Landry trailed with 28 percent.
In October 1995, Dean ran not for parish president but unseated Nunez in the nonpartisan blanket primary, 19,794 (46.4 percent) to 15,137 (35.5 percent). A third candidate, Democrat Gilbert Andry held the remaining 7,773 (18.2 percent). In the general election Dean trumped Nunez, 23,939 (53.7 percent) to 20,682 (46.3 percent)
Senatorial service
Dean served on the Education and Environmental Quality committees in the state Senate and was vice-chairman of the Retirement Committee.Business-oriented and something of a libertarian
Libertarianism
Libertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...
, Dean did not support social conservatives
Social conservatism
Social Conservatism is primarily a political, and usually morally influenced, ideology that focuses on the preservation of what are seen as traditional values. Social conservatism is a form of authoritarianism often associated with the position that the federal government should have a greater role...
in his own party on several issues. In 1997, Senator Phil Short
Phil Short
Philip Granville Short, known as Phil Short , is a retired military officer formerly of Covington, Louisiana, USA, who served in the Louisiana State Senate from District 12 from 1996 to 1999...
of St. Tammany Parish
St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana
St. Tammany Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana, in the New Orleans–Metairie–Kenner Metropolitan Statistical Area. The parish seat is Covington....
introduced Senate Bill 37 to remove sexual orientation
Sexual orientation
Sexual orientation describes a pattern of emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions to the opposite sex, the same sex, both, or neither, and the genders that accompany them. By the convention of organized researchers, these attractions are subsumed under heterosexuality, homosexuality,...
from the state's hate crimes law. Short's amendment was defeated in April and again in May of that year, the second time without a vote being taken. Several of Short's fellow Republican senators, including Dean, Ken Hollis
Ken Hollis
Jesse Kendrick Hollis, Jr., known as Ken Hollis , was a Republican Party member of the Louisiana State Senate from Metairie in Jefferson Parish in the New Orleans suburbs...
of Metairie
Metairie, Louisiana
Metairie is a census-designated place in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, United States and is a major part of the New Orleans Metropolitan Area. Metairie is the largest community in Jefferson Parish. It is an unincorporated area that would be larger than most of the state's cities if it were...
in Jefferson Parish, and Ron Bean
Ron Bean
Ronald Clarence Bean, known as Ron Bean , was a Republican state senator from Shreveport, Louisiana, between 1992 and 2004, who was hailed by his peers for nonpartisanship. Moreover, he was a United States Army soldier with service in South Korea and Vietnam and a pilot decorated for heroism...
of Shreveport, joined Democrats in speaking against the bill.
In May 2003, Dean authored legislation to repeal Louisiana's anti-sodomy
Sodomy
Sodomy is an anal or other copulation-like act, especially between male persons or between a man and animal, and one who practices sodomy is a "sodomite"...
law. The measure would have declared legal private, consensual sexual acts that had previously been defined in Louisiana law as a "crime against nature." Before Dean's measure could gain full consideration, it was rendered moot by the United States Supreme Court in the decision Lawrence v. Texas
Lawrence v. Texas
Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S. 558 , is a landmark United States Supreme Court case. In the 6-3 ruling, the Court struck down the sodomy law in Texas and, by proxy, invalidated sodomy laws in the thirteen other states where they remained in existence, thereby making same-sex sexual activity legal in...
, which on June 26, 2003, struck down anti-sodomy measures in the remaining fourteen states which still had them.
As a freshman member, Dean introduced a "Death with Dignity" law modeled after the legislation in Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
, an action opposed by right-to-life groups. No action was taken on the measure.
In 2002, Dean supported higher tobacco taxes, a 12-cent per pack increase in cigarette
Cigarette
A cigarette is a small roll of finely cut tobacco leaves wrapped in a cylinder of thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end and allowed to smoulder; its smoke is inhaled from the other end, which is held in or to the mouth and in some cases a cigarette holder may be used as well...
prices. He claimed that fewer people smoke as the prices rise, and he argued that state taxpayers should not be billed for excessive health costs of smokers.
Parish government
In 2003, former parish president and retiring Senator Dean sought to run for the at-large seat in the eastern division on the St. Bernard Parish Council, but his candidacy was initially rejected by the Louisiana Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, which declared him to be a resident of Plaquemines Parish, instead of St. Bernard. Dean's mailing address, 101 Dean Drive, in Braithwaite is ten feet within Plaquemines Parish, but his nearby boat manufacturing plant, which contains an apartment, is at 900 St. Bernard Parkway in St. Bernard Parish. He had always voted in St. Bernard Parish and considered that parish his residence. Ultimately, the Louisiana Supreme CourtLouisiana Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of Louisiana is the highest court and court of last resort in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The modern Supreme Court, composed of seven justices, meets in the French Quarter of New Orleans....
allowed Dean to run, and he won the seat in the 1995 general election over Democrat Joseph "Joe" Gallodoro. Dean did no campaigning for the council position other than writing a column in the St. Bernard News. Dean defeated Gallodoro, 12,922 (52.7 percent) to 11,601 (47.3 percent).
On the parish council, Dean opposed hiring attorney
Attorney at law
An attorney at law in the United States is a practitioner in a court of law who is legally qualified to prosecute and defend actions in such court on the retainer of clients. Alternative terms include counselor and lawyer...
s to fight a federal court order striking down rental regulations in St. Bernard Parish, accented during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
. The regulations prohibited home rentals to anybody but blood relatives of the owner of the property. The court held such restrictions discriminatory. "Our parish is broke," Dean warned in 2006, "We are going to hire an attorney, and when it's all over with, we are going to lose."
Dean did not seek a second term on the parish council in 2007 and was succeeded by a Democrat, Tony "Ricky" Melerine.
Personal life
Dean graduated from Warren Easton High School in New Orleans, LouisianaNew Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
. He is married to the former Jacqueline Miles. They have a son, Douglas Dean (born 1951). Douglas Dean ran unsuccessfully for District E seat on the parish council in the same 1995 election in which his father unseated Senator Nunez. Douglas Dean polled 2,280 votes (46.5 percent) to 2,625 (53.5 percent) for the Independent Henry Rodriguez, Jr.
Junior Rodriguez
Henry Rodriguez, Jr. is a local politician from St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana, in the Greater New Orleans area. He is of Isleño descent and is registered as an Independent. He served as Councilmember on the St. Bernard Parish Council from 1976 to 2004 and as President of the St. Bernard Parish...
Nunez and Dean remained on friendly terms through their political campaigns. They are both honorary chairmen of the board of directors of the Nunez Community College
Nunez Community College
Nunez Community College is located in the town of Chalmette, in St. Bernard Parish, east of New Orleans, in Louisiana. Its full name is Elaine P. Nunez Community College; it was named for the deceased wife of former Louisiana State Senate President Samuel B. Nunez.The school was formed by the 1992...
Foundation. The institution, located in Chalmette
Chalmette, Louisiana
Chalmette is a census-designated place in and the parish seat of St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 32,069 at the 2000 census. It is part of the New Orleans–Metairie–Kenner Metropolitan Statistical Area...
, is named for Elaine P. Nunez, the late wife of Senator Nunez.