Buddy Roemer

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Charles Elson "Buddy" Roemer, III, was governor of Louisiana from 1988 to 1992 and a Democratic member of the U.S. House from 1981-1988. Roemer was born in Bossier City, on October 4, 1943.

1 Congressional service
2 Election as governor, 1987
3 Roemer switches parties
4 The stinging defeat of 1991
5 Attempted comeback fails, 1995
6 External links

[edit] Congressional service

Roemer lost the 1978 jungle primary for the Fourth District seat in Congress vacated by popular incumbent Joseph David "Joe D." Waggonner, Jr. Waggonner announced his opposition to Roemer after Roemer criticized the excessive costs of the Red River navigation progam, which was a favored project of the retiring Waggonner. Roemer finished a solid third in the primary to Democratic state Representative Anthony Claude "Buddy" Leach, Jr., of Leesville, the seat of Vernon Parish, and Republican James H. "Jimmy" Wilson of Vivian in Caddo Parish. Leach went on to defeat Wilson by 266 disputed votes.

Roemer and Wilson again challenged Leach in the 1980 primary. That time, Wilson finished in a solid third place, and Roemer and Leach advanced to the general election held on the same day that Ronald W. Reagan won the presidential election. Roemer scored a large victory over Leach, who was hampered by allegations of vote-buying on his behalf in the 1978 elections.

Roemer frequently supported Reagan policy initiatives in Congress but remained Democrat. He left the House to become governor. He was succeeded by his administrative assistant Jim McCrery, also of Leesville and later of Shreveport, who had also been an aide to Leach earlier. McCrery left the Democratic Party to run for Congress and was narrowly elected as a Republican in the special election held in April 1988. He defeated the Democrat state Senator Foster Campbell, later a Louisiana Public Service Commission member.

[edit] Election as governor, 1987

Roemer polled 33 percent of the vote in a jungle primary election against Edwin Washington Edwards. Edwards, with 28 percent, withdrew from the pending general election with Roemer, an act which essentially handed the governorship to Roemer. Edwards' quick withdrawal also made it difficult for Roemer to consolidate majority support in a general election that was never held. Ironically, Roemer's father, Charles E. Roemer, II, had been Edwards' commissioner of administration in the first Edwards gubernatorial term. Other candidates in the primary had been Congressmen Robert L. "Bob" Livingston, a Metairie Republican, and Wilbert J. "Billy" Tauzin, II, a Democrat from Lafourche Parish. Outgoing Secretary of State James H. "Jim" Brown, originally a lawyer from Ferriday in Concordia Parish, finished in a weak fifth position.

As governor, he worked to boost lagging teacher pay and toughened laws on campaign finance. State employees and retirees received small pay increases too, the first in many years of austere state budgets. Roemer was also the first governor in state history to make a real effort to address the state's environmental deficiencies. The legislature, dominated by supporters of Edwards, repeatedly opposed initiatives proposed by Roemer. Roemer also acquired a reputation for being difficult to work with, something he had been frequently accused of as a member of the U.S. House as well. As a member of Congress, Roemer represented the northwestern Louisiana district anchored about Shreveport and Bossier City between 1981 and 1988.

Despite his spectacular come-from-behind 1987 win for governor, and his reputed national ambitions, Roemer's performance in office was inconsistent and his relations with state legislators poor. Though he was considered an articulate reformer who won election promising a "revolution in Louisiana," he compiled a thin record of lasting accomplishments during his gubernatorial term and even presided over the legalization of a state lottery and controversial riverboat gambling, initiatives many reformers opposed. In his early months as governor, Roemer pushed an ambitious tax and fiscal reform program for state and local governments, but his proposals were so complex and poorly presented that they met defeat at the hands of voters in a statewide constitutional referendum.

[edit] Roemer switches parties

Roemer switched to the Republican Party before the 1991 election, apparently at the urging of Bush White House Chief of Staff John Sununu. Roemer's clumsy handling of his mid-term party switch dismayed as many Republican politicians and activists as it did Democrats, and contributed to a reputation for erratic behavior.

The 1991 gubernatorial contest involved Roemer (Democrat-turned-Republican), Edwin Edwards (Democrat), former Ku Klux Klansman David Duke (Republican opposed by party leaders), and Eighth District Congressman Clyde C. Holloway of Forest Hill (Republican with official grass-roots party endorsement). Roemer came in third in the primary, which led to a nationally watched general election between Duke and Edwards, whom Roemer then endorsed.

[edit] The stinging defeat of 1991

One of the contributing factors to Roemer's defeat in the 1991 runoff election was a last-minute advertising barrage by Marine Shale owner Jack Kent. Marine Shale had been targeted by the Roemer administration as a polluter. Seeking revenge, Kent spent $500,000 of his own money in the closing days of the campaign to purchase anti-Roemer commercials. Others believe that Roemer's defeat was also spurred by his support for abortion rights, which led the more active prolife elements into the Holloway camp, and his disengaged campaign style.

[edit] Attempted comeback fails, 1995

In 1995, Roemer attempted a comeback, running again for governor. Roemer held a wide lead for much of the campaign, although his place in the polls may have been based heavily on name recognition. Roemer faded in the days before the runoff as conservative state senator Murphy J. "Mike" Foster, Jr., who switched affiliation from Democrat to Republican during the campaign, peeled votes away from him. Once again, a late barrage by Jack Kent also damaged Roemer. He finished fourth, but only a few thousand votes out of a general election berth.

Having failed at his political comeback, Roemer has, in recent years, spent his time in the financial world. He has taken part in various investments, most notably a retirement community near the campus of Louisiana State University. In the summer of 2004, Roemer briefly considered entering the race to succeed retiring Senator John Breaux. Roemer passed on the race, and Republican Representative David Vitter of suburban New Orleans was elected to replace Breaux.

In June 2005, Roemer underwent triple bypass heart surgery at the Baton Rouge General Medical Center.

[edit] External links

Portrait

Preceded by Anthony Claude "Buddy" Leach, Jr., (D)	United States Representative for the 4th Congressional District of Louisiana Charles Elson "Buddy" Roemer, III 1981–1988	Succeeded by James O. McCrery, Jr. (R)

Preceded by Edwin Washington Edwards (D)	Governor of Louisiana Charles Elson "Buddy" Roemer, III 1988–1992	Succeeded by Edwin Washington Edwards (D)