Parey Branton
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Parey Pershing Branton, Sr. | |
|
|
|
| In office 1960 – 1972 |
|
| Preceded by | Mary Smith Gleason |
|---|---|
| Succeeded by | R. Harmon Drew, Sr. |
|
|
|
| In office 1983 – 2001 |
|
|
|
|
| Born | November 1918 |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Georgia Lusby Branton (born 1921) |
| Children | Sons Daniel Miles Branton (born 1949) and Parey Branton, Jr. (born 1951) |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Branton was a leader of Louisiana conservatives though he remained within his state's dominant Democratic Party. | |
Parey Pershing Branton, Sr. (born November 1918), is a retired businessman and a former Democratic member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from Webster Parish, who served from 1960-1972. His district included the parish seat of Minden in north Louisiana. In the mid-1960s, he called himself a "Wallace--Goldwater--Free Enterprise--Right-to-Profit Democrat" and printed that slogan on his private vehicle. He refused to support the national Democratic presidential candidates during his tenure in the legislature. Instead, he endorsed Republican Barry M. Goldwater of Arizona in 1964 and former Alabama Governor George C. Wallace, Jr., in 1968. Wallace ran on the American Independent Party banner in a vain attempt to block the election of either Richard M. Nixon or Hubert Humphrey.
Prior to his legislative service, Branton was a member of the Webster Parish School Board. In the November 4, 1958, general election, Branton faced the opposition of his fellow Democrat A.J. Burns, Jr., who filed as a write-in candidate. Burns unseated Branton, who was then the school board president, 269 (55.5 percent) to 216 votes (44.5 percent). Opposition arose to Branton after the Democratic primary when the school board transferred Douglas Newsom from the principalship of Shongaloo High School to that of Dubberly High School in south Webster Parish. Newson's exodus from Shongaloo stalled the development of the agriculture department at the school and angered many votes.[1]
Fresh from his stunning defeat as a school board member, Branton ran in the 1959 Democratic primary for the Webster Parish seat in the Louisiana House. The incumbent E.D. Gleason had died, and the filling of the seat coincided with the timing of the regular primary. Gleason's widow, Mary Smith Gleason, had filled in for a few months. In the runoff election held on January 9, 1960, Branton defeated Minden attorney Henry G. Hobbs, 4,300 votes (50.01 percent) to 4,284 (49.99 percent). Branton won only two of the five wards in the parish to take the seat to which he was reelected in 1963 and 1967.[2]
Branton gave up his legislative seat after three terms to run for lieutenant governor in the 1971 Democratic primary. He was paired on an intraparty ticket with state Senator John G. Schwegmann, Jr., (1911-1995) of Jefferson Parish in the New Orleans suburbs, the gubernatorial choice. Schwegmann, the owner of eighteen grocery stores, was an outspoken conservative who had long been critical of excessive state spending and expanded government. The Schwegmann-Branton ticket fared poorly. Schwegmann finished in fifth place in the primary. Branton placed sixth in the lieutenant governor's race with 53,295 votes.
Branton was seeking to succeed conservative Lieutenant Governor Clarence C. "Taddy" Aycock of Franklin in St. Mary Parish in south Louisiana. Aycock was running for governor that year and finished a notch behind Schwegmann. Branton was weakened in his campaign by the presence of a second candidate from Webster Parish. The developer Francis Edward "Ed" Kennon, Jr. (born 1938), of Minden, a nephew of former Governor Robert F. Kennon, was also running for lieutenant governor. Kennon polled 162,944 votes, more than three times as many ballots as Branton received. The winner of the lieutenant governor's race was former New Orleans City Council member James E. "Jimmy" Fitzmorris, Jr.. The next year, Edward Kennon was elected to the Louisiana Public Service Commission, a position that he held from 1973-1984.
Branton was philosophically aligned with State Senator Harold Montgomery of Doyline in Webster Parish, another staunch conservative often at odds with his party. Branton was also personally and philosophically close to his successor, R. Harmon Drew, Sr., of Minden, another conservative Democrat. In 1995, Branton was an honorary pallbearer at the funerals of both Montgomery and Drew.
Branton resides with his wife, the former Georgia Lusby (born 1921), in the town of Shongaloo, north of Minden. He was the mayor of Shongaloo from 1983 to 2001. He was succeeded in the mayor's office by his son, Daniel Miles Branton (born 1949). The Brantons also have a younger son, Parey P. Branton, Jr. (born 1951). Branton formerly operated a store in Shongaloo and was involved in the cattle and oil and natural gas businesses.
[edit] References
http://find.intelius.com/search-summary-out.php?ReportType=1&
http://ssdi.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/ssdi.cgi
"Harold Montgomery obituary," Shreveport Times, December 18, 1995
Minden Press-Herald:http://www.press-herald.com/news/2005/Mar/0321.html
http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/p/e/r/Dody-L-Perry/GENE4-0005.html
| Preceded by Mary Smith Gleason |
State Representative from Webster Parish
Parey Pershing Branton, Sr. |
Succeeded by R. Harmon Drew, Sr. |
