Ned Randolph

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Edward Gordon "Ned" Randolph, Jr. (born January 1942), a veteran Democratic Party politician, was the mayor of Alexandria in central Louisiana for 20 years. He turned over the office to fellow Democrat Jacques M. Roy on December 4, 2006. Randolph was also a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives (1972-1976) and the Louisiana State Senate (1976-1984). In 1982 and 1992, Randolph was an unsuccessful candidate for the United States House of Representatives, losing to the incumbents Gillis William Long of Alexandria and Richard H. Baker of Baton Rouge, respectively.

1 Early years
2 Legislative service, 1972-1984
3 Two consecutive defeats
4 Elected mayor of his hometown, 1986
5 Second bid for Congress, 1992
6 Randolph's legacy as mayor
7 References

[edit] Early years

Randolph was born in Alexandria to Edward G. Randolph, Sr. (1911-1996), and the former Edith Beatrice Harrison (1910-2005). He graduated from Bolton High School in the Garden District of Alexandria in 1960 and from Princeton University in New Jersey in 1964. Thereafter, he obtained his law degree from Tulane University in New Orleans. He began practicing law in Alexandria and was quickly bitten by the political bug.

[edit] Legislative service, 1972-1984

In 1972, Randolph was elected to the position of state representative for District 27. After he secured the Democratic nomination over a field that included the late Alexandria restaurateur J. Hampton Smith, Randolph polled 71.4 percent of the vote to 28.6 percent for Republican Clyde Connell. In the legislature, Randolph compiled a record of seeking to bring state funding and projects to central Louisiana, a previously neglected part of the state.

In 1975, he ran for the state senate, District 29, and unseated the 16-year incumbent, Cecil R. Blair, a fellow Democrat from Lecompte, in south Rapides Parish, in the first jungle primary held in Louisiana.

In 1976, as a new state senator, he and then State Representative John W. "Jock" Scott, a fellow Alexandria attorney and Randolph's successor in the state House, led the successful Rapides Parish campaign of Democratic presidential nominee Jimmy Carter. A quiet, introspective man, Randolph learned how to get things done for his district during his two terms in the state senate.

[edit] Two consecutive defeats

In 1982, Randolph challenged U.S. Representative Gillis Long of the since defunct Eighth Congressional District. Long prevailed with 71,103 ballots (59.6 percent), to Randolph's 46,656 votes (39.1 percent), (A minor candidate polled 1.3 percent.) In that campaign, Randolph made appearances with popular soap-opera star Deidre Hall of NBC's Days of Our Lives, whom he was dating at the time after the breakup of his first marriage.

In 1983, Randolph was unseated in the jungle primary for reelection to the state senate by fellow Democrat William Joseph "Joe" McPherson, Jr., of Pineville, across the Red River from Alexandria. McPherson, who is still the state senator, was supported by both Congressman Long and Governor Edwin Washington Edwards, who was making a successful bid in that same election for a third term in the governor's office.

Randolph's defeat is considered to have been a fallout from the gubernatorial fight between Edwards and Republican Governor David C. Treen. Other Treen allies in the Democratic Party also lost their seats, including Daniel Wesley Richey of Ferriday Louisiana.

In the primary, Randolph led with 13,501 votes (38.4 percent) to McPherson's 11,032 (31.4 percent). Former Senator Cecil Blair polled 6,096 votes (17.4 percent), and Alexandria Mayor John Kenneth Snyder, Sr., in the second year of his second mayoral term, received 4,496 (12.8 percent). In the runoff -- officially the Louisiana general election -- McPherson, who had the backing of Gillis Long and Edwin Edwards, won, 16,360 votes (53.9 percent) to Randolph's 13,973 (46.1 percent). Turnout was nearly 5,000 less in the runoff than in the primary, a fact that may have worked against incumbent Randolph. With two consecutive defeats, Randolph's political career seemed on the ropes.

[edit] Elected mayor of his hometown, 1986

Yet, in 1986, Randolph launched a successful political comeback. He won the first of his five consecutive terms as mayor of Alexandria. He defeated eight candidates outright in the jungle primary with a margin of 52.5 percent of the vote. In the four subsequent elections, Randolph won in the primaries and did not have to face an opponent in a general election.

On the day of his inauguration, December 1, 1986, the Alexandria Daily Town Talk reported that the theme of the event was "We're proud again. Our pride is back." Nationally syndicated radio host Paul Harvey told the nation that Alexandria was back on a "positive" path.

The city is governed by a mayor-council form of government established in a new charter drafted in the middle 1970s. Curiously, Randolph's first wife, Sanna Randolph, was a member of the city charter commission that created the job description that he exercised for twenty years.

Alexandria's population shifted from a barely white city to a 55 percent black majority during Randolph's tenure. He worked closely with black community leaders, and many supported him in his mayoral campaigns. Randolph also has had a close working relationship with Clarence Fields, the African American mayor of predominantly white Pineville.

[edit] Second bid for Congress, 1992

In 1992, just five years into his mayoral service, Randolph was again attracted by the lure of Congress. When the Eighth Congressional District was disbanded, Alexandria was temporarily placed in a new Sixth District, which included populous East Baton Rouge Parish. Randolph ran as the lone Democrat for the seat. Two Republican congressmen ran against each other, Richard Baker and Clyde C. Holloway of Randolph's own Rapides Parish. Holloway led in the jungle primary, 52,012 (37 percent). Baker was second with 46,990 votes (33 percent). Randolph finished a close third with 42,819 ballots (30 percent).

In the general election, Baker defeated Holloway by 2,728 votes even though Holloway polled majorities in fifteen of the seventeen parishes in the district. A majority of Randolph's supporters were believed to have gone to Baker. Turnout in the congressional general election, which accompanied the Clinton-Bush presidential contest, was 245,178, nearly double the 141,821 votes cast in the primary.

[edit] Randolph's legacy as mayor

Randolph announced on April 3, 2006, that he would not seek a sixth term. The Alexandria Daily Town Talk, his hometown newspaper, said that his 20-year leadership had lifted "the city's esteem and changed its direction."

Randolph succeeded the controversial Snyder, who patterned his politics after the late Earl Kemp Long -- they even shared the middle initial "K" -- ultimately checked himself in to a mental health facility.

"Thank God Ned chose to run," said Glen Earnest Beard, the Alexandria police chief from 1983 until 1991. "When he was elected, it was like a breath of fresh air." At one point, Snyder even seized Beard's police car. Randolph later named Darren Coutee as the first black police chief in modern Alexandria history.

"I think one of the biggest things was that people were somewhat embarrassed to say they were from Alexandria," said Deborah Ann Randolph (born 1957), the mayor's third wife, in reference to the Snyder administration. Snyder had also served an earlier term from 1973-1977, under the former commission form of city government. He was defeated for reelection under the mayor-council charter in 1977.

By 1987, there were public relations campaigns "to try to make people feel good again about themselves and about ," said Mrs. Randolph. A former city council member, Marion Chaney, who works for an Alexandria architectural firm, said, "It was time for a change" by 1986. "I wouldn't say Alexandria was a laughingstock, but it definitely needed a change."

Snyder's erratic personality was so volatile that he was subject to say nearly anything about anybody at any time. Even powerful Governor Edwards was said to fear Snyder's unpredictability.

When Randolph was sworn in, Alexandria faced budget deficits and potential city employee layoffs. In the 20 years since Randolph assumed the office, Alexandria landed a tank car plant, completed the Riverfront Center, opened a performing arts center, and improved its drainage system. However, the city was hurt by the closing of the former England Air Force Base and a city police strike in the 1990s.

A decade after he became mayor, Randolph also ran unsuccessfully for a state judgeship.

Randolph said that his "worst day" in office came early in 2003, when two young police officers, David C. Ezernack and Jeremy E. "Jay" Carruth, were shot to death.

In 2005, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Randolph dismissed three city officials, including Darrell Kilyun Williamson, a longtime friend and a defeated Republican candidate (1984) for the same U.S. House seat that Randolph had twice failed to win himself. Williamson is also a former staff member of the Rapides Area Planning Commission. The officials each won a $25,000 settlement from the city.

Randolph is the father of two children from his first marriage: Sanna Aimee Randolph (born 1970) and journalist Edward G. "Ned" Randolph, III, (born 1971), with the Baton Rouge Morning Advocate.

Preceded by Cecil R. Blair (D)	Louisiana State Senator (District 29 -- Rapides Parish) Edward Gordon "Ned" Randolph, Jr. (D) 1976–1984	Succeeded by William Joseph "Joe" McPherson, Jr., (D)

Preceded by John Kenneth Snyder (D)	Mayor of Alexandria, Louisiana (Rapides Parish) Edward Gordon "Ned" Randolph, Jr. (D) 1986–2006	Succeeded by Jacques Roy (D)