Billy Chandler

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Billy Ray Chandler (born 1938), a Democrat from the village of Dry Prong in Grant Parish, is the newest member of the Louisiana House of Representatives. He represents District 22, which encompasses seventy-two precincts from Grant, LaSalle, and parts of Winn and northern Rapides parishes in the north central portion of the state.

Chandler graduated from Dry Prong High School and attended Louisiana College in Pineville. A 24-year member of the Grant Parish School Board, Chandler won a special election runoff on April 29, 2006, to succeed Democrat Thomas D. "Tommy" Wright of Jena in La Salle Parish, who resigned earlier in the year. Chandler defeated Republican Tony Kevin Owens (born 1960), who moved to Jena from Winnfield. Chandler received 5,034 votes (54 percent) to Owens' 4,234 votes (46 percent).

Five Democrats and four Republicans competed in the first round of balloting on April 1. The Democrats polled a combined 57 percent of the vote to the combined GOP's 43 percent. The top candidates were Owens, with 1,858 (18 percent) and Chandler, with 1,574 (16 percent). In the runoff, Owens doubled his votes, but Chandler tripled his share of the tabulation.

Though District 22 frequently votes Republican in races for president, governor, or U.S. senator, it has always sent a Democrat to the state legislature, with the exception of 1992-1996, when it was represented by the Independent Stephen L. Gunn (born 1946) of Montgomery, also in Grant Parish. Gunn did not seek a second term, and Wright was elected to succeed him.

Owens had also lost to Wright in the 2003 general election. He was weakened in his latest attempt at the seat because of controversy surrounding his recent divorce.

The seat became vacant when Wright (born January 16, 1956) resigned as part of a plea bargain involving a misdemeanor obscenity charge at Lake Buhlow in Pineville. Wright and Charles Locker, II, then of Deville in Rapides Parish, were arrested in 2004, when a Red River Waterway Commission park ranger said he walked into a public restroom and found the men engaged in sexual activities. Wright and Locker denied the charges since their arrest and grand jury indictments. The two initially pleaded not guilty. They changed their pleas to guilty on misdemeanor charges. Wright pleaded guilty to flight from an officer, and Locker pleaded guilty to a charge of criminal mischief, according to Harold A. Van Dyke, III, the first assistant district attorney in Rapides Parish.

Chandler's victory was made possible by his strong showing as the favorite son in Grant Parish. Chandler told the Alexandria Daily Town Talk, the largest newspaper of central Louisiana, in a victory statement on election night that he would "represent all parties, wherever they may be, all communities in the district, for one common good, to advance meeting the needs in this district. The constituents have plainly made [it clear] that they haven't been pleased in the past with [Wright's representation]."

Louisiana Democratic Party Chairman Chris Whittington hailed Chandler's victory. "As a Democrat, Billy Chandler displays the moral values that we all share: helping the less fortunate, providing for our families and caring for our seniors. He will fight hard in Baton Rouge to provide better schools for our children, create good-paying jobs for our working men and women and secure retirement benefits for our seniors," Whittington said.

Chandler lives in Dry Prong with his wife, Marcia F. Chandler.