Hazel Beard

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Hazel F. Beard (born 1930) is a former mayor of Shreveport, Louisiana. She was the first woman mayor and the first Republican mayor in modern Shreveport history. A fiscal conservative and a small business owner, Mrs. Beard grappled with many economic and social problems during her one term as mayor.

She was a member of the city council at the time of her election as mayor in 1990. She was also the first woman to have been chairperson of the city council. She did not seek reelection as mayor in 1994.

Beard defeated a black Democrat, C.O. Simpkins, in the mayoral general election. Beard polled 38,604 votes (59 percent) to Simpkins' 26,341 (41 percent).

Among the candidates eliminated the 1990 jungle primary was the District B city council member, Republican Carolyn Calhoun Whitehurst, a real estate operator, later Carolyn C. Huckaby. Carolyn Huckaby is descended from a prominent De Soto Parish family: her father, Reimer Calhoun was a Democratic member of the Louisiana state Senate from 1944-1952.

In 1992, when Mayor Beard welcomed George H.W. Bush to Shreveport during Bush's ill-fated reelection campaign, the president mistakenly referred to her as "Nasal" Beard.

Beard's archival material, covering both her city council and mayoral service, is located at Louisiana State University at Shreveport.


Preceded by
John Brennan Hussey (D)
Mayor of Shreveport, Louisiana

Hazel F. Beard (R)
1990–1994

Succeeded by
Robert Warren "Bo" Williams (R)

[edit] References

http://www.sos.louisiana.gov:8090/cgibin/?rqstyp=elcpr&rqsdta=11069009 http://www.rinkworks.com/said/famous.shtml http://www.lsus.edu/library/archives/guide/coll050.htm