Max T. Malone
Encyclopedia
Max Tatum Malone is the president of Malone Oil
and Gas
Exploration Company in Shreveport
and a former Republican
member of the Louisiana State Senate
, in which he served from 1996 until January 14, 2008. Term-limited in the District 37 seat, which includes portions of Caddo and Bossier parishes in northwestern Louisiana, Malone could not seek a fourth term in the October 20, 2007, jungle primary
. Among those who sought to succeed Malone were outgoing District 9 State Representative
Billy Montgomery
of Bossier City
, who was term-limited himself as a state House member, and Montgomery's former House colleague, B.L. "Buddy" Shaw, a retired Shreveport educator and school board member. Shaw defeated Montgomery, 57-43 percent.
Malone's Senate record reflects a conservative bent: 90 to 100 percent support from the pro-business
interest group, the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry
, 0 percent from Planned Parenthood of America, 100 percent from the Louisiana Family Forum
, 77 percent from the Christian Coalition, and 22 percent from the Louisiana Environmental
Action Network. Malone, however, has accumulated a 71 percent rating from the AFL-CIO
and 60 percent from the Louisiana Association of Educators, the state's largest teachers' organization.
Malone rarely voted to raise taxes and was given the nickname "No Tax Max."
Malone opposed the gaming industry. He rejected a proposed $50 million bailout for Harrah's
New Orleans casino
. He also opposed permanent dockside gambling in exchange for an increased tax with the proceeds earmarked for teacher pay raises.
Melissa Scott Flournoy and incumbent
state Senator Greg Barro
narrowly trailed with 9,470 (33 percent) and 9,166 (32 percent), respectively. In the general election, Malone defeated Flournoy—Barro was eliminated—by a comfortable margin. The outcome was 17,075 (59 percent) to 11,961 (41 percent) for Flournoy. There was speculation that Malone benefited from being on the Republican ballot with successful gubernatorial candidate Murphy J. "Mike" Foster, Jr.
Four years earlier, Flournoy had unseated incumbent Republican Representative Arthur W. "Art" Sour, Jr.
, to win a seat held for twenty years by the GOP
. In 1991, Barro had defeated the Republican Ronald Bradford "Ron" Fayard (1946–2011), a Realtor from Bossier City
, by a margin of 59-41 percent, an exact reversal of the 1995 result.
In 1999, Malone was challenged by a somewhat conservative Republican, Robert E. "Bob" Barton
, and a Democrat, Donald M. "Don" Pierson, Jr. In the primary, Malone led with 8,830 votes (41 percent) to Pierson's 6,973 (32 percent), and Barton's 5,966 (27 percent). Malone went on to defeat Pierson in the general election by 249 votes: 7,297 (51 percent) to 7,048 (49 percent). In 2003, Malone again defeated Pierson but by a much larger margin in the two-man primary than he had in the 1999 general election matchup: 14,790 (60 percent) to 10,010 (40 percent).
In 2006, Malone was an unsuccessful Republican candidate for mayor
of Shreveport. He entered the race late and was unable to procure sufficient campaign funding because many GOP
donors had already decided months earlier to support former city attorney Jerry Jones. Malone not only failed to win a general election
berth but finished in sixth place among eleven candidates with only 602 votes (1 percent) in the September 30 primary.
Prior to the city elections, Malone filed suit in a bid to force Democratic city council candidate Joe Shyne off the ballot because Shyne is a former felon
. However, the courts ruled in Shyne's favor because Shyne had been pardon
ed by Governor Foster for a crime in which he had been convicted in a federal, rather than state, court.
, the seat of Claiborne Parish in north Louisiana. He first attended Louisiana Tech University
in Ruston
, the seat of Lincoln Parish. Here Malone and his brother John "Johnny" Malone were members of the Beta-Zeta Chapter of Tau Kappa Epsilon
. He transferred to Methodist-affiliated Centenary College of Louisiana
in Shreveport, from which he obtained both a bachelor of science
degree in geology
and a bachelor of arts
in religion
.
From 1981 to 1986, Malone was a geologist for PAR Oil Corporation. In 1987, he formed his own company Malone Oil & Gas Exploration. He is a member of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists and the Shreveport Geological Society. In community affair, he is a Sunday school
teacher as well as a former assistant cubmaster for the Boy Scouts of America
.
Malone is a Methodist. He and his wife, the former Elizabeth Anne "Betsy" Anderson, reside in Shreveport along with their children, Mark, Mitch, and Marianne.
Oil
An oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and does not mix with water but may mix with other oils and organic solvents. This general definition includes vegetable oils, volatile essential oils, petrochemical oils, and synthetic oils....
and Gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
Exploration Company 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....
and a former 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...
, in which he served from 1996 until January 14, 2008. Term-limited in the District 37 seat, which includes portions of Caddo and Bossier parishes in northwestern Louisiana, Malone could not seek a fourth term in the October 20, 2007, 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...
. Among those who sought to succeed Malone were outgoing District 9 State Representative
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...
Billy Montgomery
Billy Montgomery
Billy Wayne Montgomery, often known as Coach Montgomery , is a former educator who represented the Bossier City-based District 9 in the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1988-2008...
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...
, who was term-limited himself as a state House member, and Montgomery's former House colleague, B.L. "Buddy" Shaw, a retired Shreveport educator and school board member. Shaw defeated Montgomery, 57-43 percent.
Malone's Senate record reflects a conservative bent: 90 to 100 percent support from the pro-business
Business
A business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...
interest group, the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry
Louisiana Association of Business and Industry
The Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, known by the acronym LABI, is the largest and most successful business lobbying group in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It was founded in Baton Rouge in 1976, when Louisiana adopted a new right-to-work law during the administration of Democratic...
, 0 percent from Planned Parenthood of America, 100 percent from the Louisiana Family Forum
Louisiana Family Forum
Louisiana Family Forum is a social conservative non-profit advocacy group based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The organization supports Louisiana's covenant marriage law and opposes abortion and same-sex marriage...
, 77 percent from the Christian Coalition, and 22 percent from the Louisiana Environmental
Environmentalism
Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology and social movement regarding concerns for environmental conservation and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks to incorporate the concerns of non-human elements...
Action Network. Malone, however, has accumulated a 71 percent rating from the AFL-CIO
AFL-CIO
The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, commonly AFL–CIO, is a national trade union center, the largest federation of unions in the United States, made up of 56 national and international unions, together representing more than 11 million workers...
and 60 percent from the Louisiana Association of Educators, the state's largest teachers' organization.
Malone rarely voted to raise taxes and was given the nickname "No Tax Max."
Malone opposed the gaming industry. He rejected a proposed $50 million bailout for Harrah's
Harrah's Entertainment
Caesars Entertainment Corporation is a private gaming corporation that owns and operates over 50 casinos, hotels, and seven golf courses under several brands. The company, based in Paradise, Nevada, is the largest gaming company in the world, with yearly revenues $8.9 billion...
New Orleans casino
Casino
In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
. He also opposed permanent dockside gambling in exchange for an increased tax with the proceeds earmarked for teacher pay raises.
Malone's election history
In his initial election to the state Senate, Malone led in the primary with 10,422 votes (36 percent). Two Democrats, State RepresentativeLouisiana 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...
Melissa Scott Flournoy and incumbent
Incumbent
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...
state Senator Greg Barro
Greg Barro
Gregory John Barro, known as Greg Barro , is an attorney in Shreveport, Louisiana, who served as a Democratic member of the Louisiana State Senate from 1992 to 1996. He represented District 37, which covers parts of Caddo and Bossier parishes the far northwestern portion of the state.In 1987, Barro...
narrowly trailed with 9,470 (33 percent) and 9,166 (32 percent), respectively. In the general election, Malone defeated Flournoy—Barro was eliminated—by a comfortable margin. The outcome was 17,075 (59 percent) to 11,961 (41 percent) for Flournoy. There was speculation that Malone benefited from being on the Republican ballot with successful gubernatorial candidate Murphy J. "Mike" Foster, Jr.
Murphy J. Foster, Jr.
Murphy James "Mike" Foster, Jr. served as 53rd Governor of Louisiana from January 1996 until January 2004. Foster's father was Murphy J. Foster, Jr., but Mike Foster uses "Jr." even though he is technically Murphy J. Foster, III. Foster is a businessman, landowner, and sportsman in St...
Four years earlier, Flournoy had unseated incumbent Republican Representative Arthur W. "Art" Sour, Jr.
Art Sour
Arthur William Sour, Jr., known as Art Sour , was a Shreveport businessman and a pioneer in developing a competitive Republican Party in Louisiana. A conservative, Sour served in the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1972-1992. He was born in Shreveport to Arthur W. Sour and Adele Sour . He...
, to win a seat held for twenty years by the GOP
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
. In 1991, Barro had defeated the Republican Ronald Bradford "Ron" Fayard (1946–2011), a Realtor from 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...
, by a margin of 59-41 percent, an exact reversal of the 1995 result.
In 1999, Malone was challenged by a somewhat conservative Republican, Robert E. "Bob" Barton
Robert E. "Bob" Barton
Robert Earl "Bob" Barton is the first Republican to have served in the Louisiana House of Representatives from Bossier Parish. A former newspaper owner from Bossier City, Barton held the District 8 seat from 1996-2000. The position opened when the 16-year incumbent, Robert Roy Adley, ran for...
, and a Democrat, Donald M. "Don" Pierson, Jr. In the primary, Malone led with 8,830 votes (41 percent) to Pierson's 6,973 (32 percent), and Barton's 5,966 (27 percent). Malone went on to defeat Pierson in the general election by 249 votes: 7,297 (51 percent) to 7,048 (49 percent). In 2003, Malone again defeated Pierson but by a much larger margin in the two-man primary than he had in the 1999 general election matchup: 14,790 (60 percent) to 10,010 (40 percent).
In 2006, Malone was an unsuccessful Republican candidate 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. He entered the race late and was unable to procure sufficient campaign funding because many GOP
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
donors had already decided months earlier to support former city attorney Jerry Jones. Malone not only failed to win 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...
berth but finished in sixth place among eleven candidates with only 602 votes (1 percent) in the September 30 primary.
Prior to the city elections, Malone filed suit in a bid to force Democratic city council candidate Joe Shyne off the ballot because Shyne is a former felon
Felony
A felony is a serious crime in the common law countries. The term originates from English common law where felonies were originally crimes which involved the confiscation of a convicted person's land and goods; other crimes were called misdemeanors...
. However, the courts ruled in Shyne's favor because Shyne had been pardon
Pardon
Clemency means the forgiveness of a crime or the cancellation of the penalty associated with it. It is a general concept that encompasses several related procedures: pardoning, commutation, remission and reprieves...
ed by Governor Foster for a crime in which he had been convicted in a federal, rather than state, court.
Personal life
Malone graduated in 1971 from Homer High School in HomerHomer, Louisiana
Homer is present day parish seat of Claiborne Parish, Louisiana, United States. The town was named after the Greek poet Homer and was laid out around the Courthouse Square in 1850 by Frank Vaughn. The present day brick courthouse, built in the Greek Revival style of architecture, is one of only...
, the seat of Claiborne Parish in north Louisiana. He first attended 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. Here Malone and his brother John "Johnny" Malone were members of the Beta-Zeta Chapter of Tau Kappa Epsilon
Tau Kappa Epsilon
Tau Kappa Epsilon is a college fraternity founded on January 10, 1899 at Illinois Wesleyan University with chapters in the United States, and Canada, and affiliation with a German fraternity system known as the Corps of the Weinheimer Senioren Convent...
. He transferred to Methodist-affiliated Centenary College of Louisiana
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, from which he obtained both a 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...
degree in geology
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
and a bachelor of arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
.
From 1981 to 1986, Malone was a geologist for PAR Oil Corporation. In 1987, he formed his own company Malone Oil & Gas Exploration. He is a member of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists and the Shreveport Geological Society. In community affair, he is a Sunday school
Sunday school
Sunday school is the generic name for many different types of religious education pursued on Sundays by various denominations.-England:The first Sunday school may have been opened in 1751 in St. Mary's Church, Nottingham. Another early start was made by Hannah Ball, a native of High Wycombe in...
teacher as well as a former assistant cubmaster for the Boy Scouts of America
Boy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with over 4.5 million youth members in its age-related divisions...
.
Malone is a Methodist. He and his wife, the former Elizabeth Anne "Betsy" Anderson, reside in Shreveport along with their children, Mark, Mitch, and Marianne.