Ray R. Allen
Encyclopedia
Ray Robert Allen was a municipal public official and banker in Alexandria
, Louisiana
, who served in 1977 as secretary-treasurer and then finance director when his city converted from the commissioner
to the mayor-council
form of government.
near Danville
in west central Arkansas
, to Frank F. Allen and the former Martha Walker. The family moved to Tensas Parish
in northeastern Louisiana, where Allen graduated from the since defunct Newellton High School
in Newellton
. He served in the United States Army Air Corps
. Allen studied accounting at Alexandria Business College and LaSalle Extension University, a correspondence school
based in Chicago, Illinois
.
s Carl Close (1950–1953), W. George Bowdon, Jr.
(1953–1969), Ed Karst
(1969–1973), John K. Snyder
(first term from 1973–1977), and Carroll E. Lanier
(first two years, 1977–1979).
At the time of his retirement from the city service in January 1979, Allen told the Alexandria Daily Town Talk
that some mayors and commissioners had objected when he prevented their utilization of city funds for questionable purposes. At the time, Allen said, "Everybody wanted the city finances for something different. Everybody had a pet project . . . If some of them had had their way, they'd have taken all of the city's money and put it in their own special projects and left nothing for anyone else. So it was a continual war keeping them from gaining control of the finances of the city," Allen said.
Allen noted that different city commissioner often pressured him to permit spending of funds for their own projects: "I made a lot of people mad by following the law. They wanted to get rid of me, and if I played the political game, they might have. They were looking for ways to put me in jail, but I followed the law, and they couldn’t do it. I won my battle, and they lost."
He credited Lanier with bringing stability to municipal finances, both as finance and utilities commissioner from 1969–1973 and as mayor for a five-and one-half-year term beginning in 1977. Lanier was unseated as commissioner in 1973 by businessman and attorney Arnold Jack Rosenthal
(1923–2010), who thereafter convinced the council to hire Velda Mae LaBorde Lee (1935–2011) of rural Flatwoods in Rapides Parish as an internal auditor to check Allen's financial practices. Formerly of Union Parish
in north Louisiana, Lee was an honor graduate of Louisiana Tech University
and obtained a master's degree in accounting from Louisiana State University
in Baton Rouge
. She was only the second woman in Louisiana to obtain CPA
designation. Later she was finance director in the second Snyder administration.<
When Rosenthal criticized Allen for "insubordination", as reported by The Town Talk, Allen sued for defamation but won no judgment. Snyder fired Allen in 1977, but Lanier quickly elevated him to the new finance director position. Lanier was unseated by Snyder in 1982, who served a second four-year term amid much controversy.
In 1970, Allen received the Charles E. Dunbar Jr.
, Career Service Award from the Louisiana Civil Service League for his service as secretary-treasurer.
Allen was a deacon at the large Calvary Baptist
Church in Alexandria and a former member of Parkview Baptist Church. He was often called upon to lead the invocation at city council meetings. He was affiliated with the Masonic lodge
. A superior ping pong player, Allen often competed with students at Louisiana College
in Pineville
. He died of natural causes at the age of eighty-nine at his Alexandria residence at 3807 Gingerbread Road. He was predeceased by his wife, the former Lily M. Hinds (February 4, 1928–September 19, 2007), a native of Ajax
, an unincorporated community in Natchitoches Parish
. She was the daughter of Mumford Hinds (1888–1971) and the former Lola Walker. Ray and Lily Allen married in Shreveport
; their mothers had the maiden name "Walker" but were unrelated. Allen was survived by their two daughters, Gale A. Henry and husband Charles of Monroe
, and Debbie A. Poirrier of Baton Rouge
, four grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren. Services were held on April 10, 2010, at the Hixon Brothers Funeral Home Chapel in Alexandria. Interment was at Alexandria Memorial Gardens.
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....
, 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 1977 as secretary-treasurer and then finance director when his city converted from the commissioner
City commission government
City commission government is a form of municipal government which once was common in the United States, but many cities which were formerly governed by commission have since switched to the council-manager form of government...
to the mayor-council
Mayor-council government
The mayor–council government system, sometimes called the mayor–commission government system, is one of the two most common forms of local government for municipalities...
form of government.
Background
Allen was born in Yell CountyYell County, Arkansas
Yell County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of 2010, the population was 22,185. The county has two county seats, Dardanelle and Danville...
near Danville
Danville, Arkansas
Danville is a city in Yell County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 2,392 at the 2000 census. Along with Dardanelle, it is one of two county seats for Yell County.Danville is part of the Russellville Micropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
in west central Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
, to Frank F. Allen and the former Martha Walker. The family moved to Tensas Parish
Tensas Parish, Louisiana
Tensas Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The seat of the parish is St. Joseph. In 2010, the population of Tensas Parish was 5,252; it is the least-populous of all sixty-four parishes....
in northeastern Louisiana, where Allen graduated from the since defunct Newellton High School
Newellton High School
Newellton High School was a rural public high school in Newellton in northern Tensas Parish in northeastern Louisiana, along the Mississippi River. NHS operated throughout most of the 20th century until its closure in 2006...
in Newellton
Newellton, Louisiana
Newellton is a town in northern Tensas Parish in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Louisiana. The population is 1,227 in the 2010 census, a decline of 255 from 2000. Newellton is some 65 percent African American. It is just west of the Mississippi River on Lake St. Joseph, an ox-bow lake....
. He served in the United States Army Air Corps
United States Army Air Corps
The United States Army Air Corps was a forerunner of the United States Air Force. Renamed from the Air Service on 2 July 1926, it was part of the United States Army and the predecessor of the United States Army Air Forces , established in 1941...
. Allen studied accounting at Alexandria Business College and LaSalle Extension University, a correspondence school
Distance education
Distance education or distance learning is a field of education that focuses on teaching methods and technology with the aim of delivering teaching, often on an individual basis, to students who are not physically present in a traditional educational setting such as a classroom...
based in Chicago, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
.
Alexandria municipal finance
In 1947, Allen began his municipal tenure as a cashier and then an accountant in the Alexandria finance department. From 1963-1977, while he was the Alexandria secretary-treasurer, the city budget grew from $9 million to $40 million. His municipal service spanned the administrations of MayorMayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
s Carl Close (1950–1953), W. George Bowdon, Jr.
W. George Bowdon, Jr.
William George Bowdon, Jr., was the Democratic mayor of Alexandria, the largest city in central Louisiana, from 1953–1969. At thirty-one, he was the youngest mayor in his city's history and the first to serve a four-year, instead of a two-year, term...
(1953–1969), Ed Karst
Ed Karst
Charles Edward "Ed" Karst was an attorney and politician remembered for his controversial tenure as the mayor of Alexandria, the seat of Rapides Parish and the largest city in central Louisiana...
(1969–1973), John K. Snyder
John K. Snyder
John Kenneth Snyder, Sr., sometimes known as Tillie Snyder , was a colorful, outspoken Democratic mayor of Alexandria, Louisiana, from 1973–1977 and again from 1982-1986....
(first term from 1973–1977), and Carroll E. Lanier
Carroll E. Lanier
Carroll Edwin Lanier is a former Democratic mayor of Alexandria, the seat of Rapides Parish and the largest city in central Louisiana. Lanier served a special 5.5-year term from June 1977 to December 1982. He was the first mayor under the current mayor-council form of municipal government, which...
(first two years, 1977–1979).
At the time of his retirement from the city service in January 1979, Allen told the Alexandria Daily Town Talk
The Town Talk (Alexandria)
The Town Talk, started as The Daily Town Talk in 1883 and later named the Alexandria Daily Town Talk, is the major newspaper of Central Louisiana. It is published by Gannett in Alexandria, the seat of Rapides Parish and the economic center of Central Louisiana.The daily newspaper has a circulation...
that some mayors and commissioners had objected when he prevented their utilization of city funds for questionable purposes. At the time, Allen said, "Everybody wanted the city finances for something different. Everybody had a pet project . . . If some of them had had their way, they'd have taken all of the city's money and put it in their own special projects and left nothing for anyone else. So it was a continual war keeping them from gaining control of the finances of the city," Allen said.
Allen noted that different city commissioner often pressured him to permit spending of funds for their own projects: "I made a lot of people mad by following the law. They wanted to get rid of me, and if I played the political game, they might have. They were looking for ways to put me in jail, but I followed the law, and they couldn’t do it. I won my battle, and they lost."
He credited Lanier with bringing stability to municipal finances, both as finance and utilities commissioner from 1969–1973 and as mayor for a five-and one-half-year term beginning in 1977. Lanier was unseated as commissioner in 1973 by businessman and attorney Arnold Jack Rosenthal
Arnold Jack Rosenthal
Arnold Jack Rosenthal was an attorney and businessman from Alexandria, Louisiana, who from 1973 to 1977 was his city's last elected municipal commissioner of finance and utilities.-Family and educational background:...
(1923–2010), who thereafter convinced the council to hire Velda Mae LaBorde Lee (1935–2011) of rural Flatwoods in Rapides Parish as an internal auditor to check Allen's financial practices. Formerly of Union Parish
Union Parish, Louisiana
Union Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Farmerville....
in north Louisiana, Lee was an honor graduate of 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...
and obtained a master's degree in accounting from 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...
in Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and is the second-largest city in the state.Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, medical, and research center of the American South...
. She was only the second woman in Louisiana to obtain CPA
Certified Public Accountant
Certified Public Accountant is the statutory title of qualified accountants in the United States who have passed the Uniform Certified Public Accountant Examination and have met additional state education and experience requirements for certification as a CPA...
designation. Later she was finance director in the second Snyder administration.<
When Rosenthal criticized Allen for "insubordination", as reported by The Town Talk, Allen sued for defamation but won no judgment. Snyder fired Allen in 1977, but Lanier quickly elevated him to the new finance director position. Lanier was unseated by Snyder in 1982, who served a second four-year term amid much controversy.
In 1970, Allen received the Charles E. Dunbar Jr.
Charles E. Dunbar
Charles Edward Dunbar, Jr. , was an attorney who developed the modern civil service system in the U.S. state of Louisiana. He was the first chairman of the Louisiana State Civil Service Commission, having served from 1940-1947.Dunbar was born in McComb, Mississippi, to Charles Dunbar, Sr., and the...
, Career Service Award from the Louisiana Civil Service League for his service as secretary-treasurer.
Later years
After leaving city service, Allen was affiliated with First Bank for ten years, having retired as a bank officer. He also worked as an accountant for Petron Inc., and he did bookkeeping for the Masonic Children's Home in Alexandria.Allen was a deacon at the large Calvary 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...
Church in Alexandria and a former member of Parkview Baptist Church. He was often called upon to lead the invocation at city council meetings. He was affiliated with 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...
. A superior ping pong player, Allen often competed with students at Louisiana College
Louisiana College
Louisiana College is a private institution of higher education located in Pineville, Louisiana, affiliated with the Louisiana Baptist Convention, serving a student body of approximately 1,300 students. The college operates on a semester system, with two shorter summer terms...
in Pineville
Pineville, Louisiana
Pineville is a city in Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is adjacent to the city of Alexandria, and is part of that city's Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 13,829 at the 2000 census....
. He died of natural causes at the age of eighty-nine at his Alexandria residence at 3807 Gingerbread Road. He was predeceased by his wife, the former Lily M. Hinds (February 4, 1928–September 19, 2007), a native of Ajax
Ajax, Louisiana
Ajax is an unincorporated community in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is located approximately 17 miles northwest of Natchitoches along Louisiana Highway 174.The community is part of the Natchitoches Micropolitan Statistical Area....
, an unincorporated community in Natchitoches Parish
Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana
Natchitoches Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Natchitoches. As of 2000, the population was 39,080. This is the heart of the Cane River Louisiana Creole community...
. She was the daughter of Mumford Hinds (1888–1971) and the former Lola Walker. Ray and Lily Allen married 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....
; their mothers had the maiden name "Walker" but were unrelated. Allen was survived by their two daughters, Gale A. Henry and husband Charles 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 Debbie A. Poirrier of Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and is the second-largest city in the state.Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, medical, and research center of the American South...
, four grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren. Services were held on April 10, 2010, at the Hixon Brothers Funeral Home Chapel in Alexandria. Interment was at Alexandria Memorial Gardens.