David Thibodaux

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David Thibodaux
David Thibodaux

David Glenn Thibodaux (December 1, 1953 – March 24, 2007) was an English professor at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, a member and officer of the Lafayette Parish School Board, and a four-time conservative Republican candidate for the United States House of Representatives from Louisiana's 7th Congressional District.

He was also an author of several books, including Political Correctness: The Cloning of the American Mind, as well as numerous articles and editorials.

Contents

[edit] School board service

Thibodaux was elected to the District 7 seat on the Lafayette school board without opposition in 1994. He was reelected over a fellow Republican, Michael H. Gallagher, in 1998, having polled 60 percent to Gallagher's 40 percent. In 2002, he defeated the Democrat [[[James A. McGehee, Jr.]]], 58 percent to 42 percent. He was unopposed for his fourth term in 2006. A two-time board president, Thibodaux assumed the vice presidency in January 2007.

Thibodaux's death occurred prior to a scheduled school board budget meeting that he had requested. He worked for a reduction in class sizes and for additional construction and maintenance of parish schools. He was integral in procuring unitary status in the lingering 40-year-old desegregation case against the school board. He made an impassioned plea for unitary status before U.S. District Judge Richard Haik, a brother of another Louisiana Republican leader, Suzanne Haik Terrell, the defeated U.S. Senate candidate in 2002.

Thibodaux stressed the need for money in the classroom, rather than expanded administration. He was frequently at odds with Lafayette Superintendent James Easton.

[edit] Republican congressional pioneer

Thibodaux was a pioneer of the GOP in southwestern Louisiana. He served during the 1980s on the elected Republican State Central Committee. He lost Republican congressional bids in 1986, 1990, 1996 and 2004. In the first two races, he lost to the Democrat James A. "Jimmy" Hayes of Lafayette, who thereafter switched to Republican affiliation in 1995 and failed the next year in a bid for the U.S. Senate. In 1986, Thibodaux received 12 percent of the vote; in 1990, 38 percent. One of Thibodaux's opponents in the 1986 race was then Democratic state Representative James David Cain of Beauregard Parish, later a state Senator and a convert to the Republican Party.

In 1996, Thibodaux lost a general election berth against the Democrat Christopher J. John by only twelve votes. In the primary, John led with 45,404 ballots (26 percent). Democrat Hunter Lundy trailed with 38,605 votes (22 percent). Thibodaux polled 38,593 votes (also 22 percent). Supporters of Thibodaux claimed that three Republican candidates, "Jim" Slatten, Peter Vidrine, and "Charlie" Buckels, with a total of 25,840 votes (15 percent) undercut Thibodaux's opportunity to enter a face-to-face showdown with John. Chris John went on to defeat Lundy. John held the seat until he ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate in 2004.

When John vacated the seat, Thibodaux launched his fourth bid. This time, the Republican hierarchy, including U.S. President George W. Bush, supported a retired physician, Charles Boustany, Jr., of Lafayette. Boustany led strongly in the primary with 105,761 votes (39 percent). Democrat Willie Landry Mount, a former mayor of Lake Charles, trailed with 69,070 (25 percent). Democrat Don Cravins ran third with 67,389 (also 25 percent), and Thibodaux finished in a disappointing fourth place with 26,526 (10 percent). The combined votes of Boustany and Thibodaux represented 51 percent of all ballots cast. With Thibodaux's support, Boustany went on to defeat Mount. Boustany was then reelected to a second term in 2006.

[edit] Thibodaux as a "movement conservative"

Bill Decker of the Lafayette Daily Advertiser described Thibodaux accordingly:

"[He was] a movement conservative who might not appreciate the appropriation of Democrat Al Smith’s nickname. But Thibodaux was a happy warrior. [He] taught English at ULL, took on mamby-pamby language and knee-jerk liberals in a pair of books, the latest of which is called Beyond Political Correctness: Are There Limits to This Lunacy? He was locked in the battle for which he may be remembered most: his duel with U.S. District Judge Richard Haik over school desegregation. Thibodaux fought Haik every way he knew how.

"His opposition was about the proper role of the judiciary, not about indifference to the kids. His push for reduced class sizes, lovingly detailed in half a dozen conversations over the years, was about improving education in Lafayette schools that serve low-income students. And his biggest allies in the fight against the court-ordered desegregation measures were the two black school board members, [Democrats] Ed Sam and Rickey Hardy, who resented the closure of schools in black neighborhoods."

Mrs. Thibodaux told the Daily Advertiser that her husband "gave everything that he could. He was the only person I knew that cried and lost sleep over someone else’s children."

[edit] Personal life

Thibodaux was born in New Iberia, the seat of Iberia Parish, to Albert Joseph Thibodaux and Charlie Janet Thibodaux (November 15, 1932 - January 27, 2006). He graduated from the Catholic Cathedral Carmel High School in Lafayette. He received his bachelor of arts and master of arts degrees from UL Lafayette (then the University of Southwestern Louisiana). He obtained his Ph.D. from Kansas State University in Manhattan. He joined the UL Lafayette faculty in 1980 and attained the rank of associate professor.

In addition to his father, Thibodaux was survived by his second wife of nineteen years, the former Melody Faul; five children, Benjamin Albert Thibodaux and his wife, the former Wendi Robertson, Shannon Griggs Thibodaux, Jeremy David Thibodaux, Claire Michaelle Thibodaux, and Rachel Christine Thibodaux; one grandson; two sisters, and two brothers. In addition to his mother, he was preceded in death by two brothers.

[edit] Death and remembrances

Thibodaux died in 2007 in a Lafayette area hospital after sustaining injuries hours earlier in a motorcycle accident in Scott. According to his son Benjamin Thibodaux, Thibodaux missed a stop sign and collided with another vehicle.

Board president Carl LaCombe, a Democrat, said that Thibodaux "worked tirelessly. He never stopped.”

U.S. Representative Boustany said in a released statement that his former intraparty rival's passing was "a great loss for the people of Lafayette Parish, particularly for those of us who were proud to call him a friend. He will always be remembered for his passionate and relentless pursuit of improving public education for our communities in Lafayette Parish."

Roger F. Villere, Jr., chairman of the Louisiana Republican Party, declared a statewide day of mourning and remembrance for Thibodaux, whom Villere described as a "Republican pioneer in Acadiana".

According to his obituary in the Daily Advertiser, the passionate Thibodaux was a man of the people and for the people. Dedicated to single-handedly making a difference in the world, he served in public office and actively participated in his community. Family values and education were his passions and this showed in all of his endeavors. He was not afraid to fight for everything he believed in, even against great odds. . . . "

Services were held on March 28, 2007, at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church in Lafayette. Thibodaux's eulogist, Alfred Boustany, Jr., told those in attendance: "You are David's eulogy. People from all walks of life came here out of respect and love." Thibodaux was cremated.

On April 4, the Lafayette Parish School Board appointed Mark Cockerham (born 1976), a former student of Thibodaux's who had worked in the 2004 Thibodaux congressional campaign, to fill the District 7 vacancy until a special election can be held in conjunction with the regular primary elections scheduled for October 20, 2007.

Preceded by
Jerome "Jerry" Bourque		 Lafayette Parish School Board (District 7)

David Glenn Thibodaux
1995–2007

 Succeeded by
Mark Cockerham

[edit] References