Robert T. Tobin

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Robert Terry Tobin
Mayor of Minden, Webster Parish, Louisiana, USA
In office February 6, 1989 – November 1989
Preceded by	Noel "Gene" Byars
Succeeded by	Paul Aaron Brown
Minden City Council member
In office 1978 – 1989
Preceded by	New position
Succeeded by	Theron W. Winzer

Born	September 10, 1910(1910-09-10) Lucky, Bienville Parish, Louisiana, USA
Died	September 13, 2007 (aged 97) Minden, Louisiana
Nationality	American
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Thelma McCoy Tobin (married 1932-2007)
Children	One daughter (deceased)
Occupation	Educator
Religion	Baptist

Robert Terry Tobin (September 10, 1910 - September 13, 2007) was an African-American educator who became the first and thus far only member of his race to have served, briefly, as mayor of Minden, a small city of some 13,000 residents and the seat of Webster Parish in northwestern Louisiana. Minden became majority black in the 2000 census.

Tobin, a Democrat, was elected in 1978 to the Minden City Council from the predominantly black District A. He defeated J.D. Hampton, 519 (67 percent) to 255 (33 percent). In 1966, Hamptom became the first black in modern times to have run for the office of Minden mayor when he had unsuccessfully challenged Frank T. Norman in the party primary. Tobin was reelected to the city council without opposition in 1982 and 1986. In 1989, the city council appointed him as mayor to succeed his fellow Democrat, Noel "Gene" Byars, who was recalled amid a controversy over charging the municipality for personal expenses.

In the special election for mayor held later in 1989, Tobin ran first with 1,545 votes. Republican Paul A. Brown, relative newcomer to Minden, trailed slightly with 1,509 ballots. Future Mayor Bill Robertson and Councilwoman Peggy J. Staples (the first woman ever to have served on the Minden City Council) followed with 1,028 and 452, respectively. In the runoff campaign, Brown defeated Tobin. Brown, however, held the post only for a year, for Robertson rebounded in 1990 to claim the mayor's office for a full term. Robertson has served as mayor ever since, having been reelected to a fifth four-year term in 2006.

Tobin was the second of seven children born to Nat Tobin and the former Jane Patterson (1894-1982) in the village of Lucky in Bienville Parish. The family moved to Arcadia, the seat of Bienville Parish, so that the Tobin children could obtain a better education. Tobin graduated from a segregated black school in Arcadia, where he met and later married the former Thelma McCoy. At the time of Tobin's death, the couple had been married for seventy-six years and had outlived a daughter.

Tobin was a veteran of the 78th United States Army Signal Corps. He received an honorable discharge at the rank of technical sergeant, a position abolished in 1948. He was a long-time member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Tobin attended the then all-black Southern University in Baton Rouge, having graduated with a major in science and a minor in mathematics. He entered the teaching profession at Castor Elementary School in Castor, also in Bienville Parish. He was later principal of that school and then moved to the former all-black Webster High School in Minden, which was consolidated with the previously white Minden High School in 1975. Tobin was invited to Webster High School by his friend and mentor, Wilbur Leon Hayes. At Webster, Tobin was a classroom teacher, an assistant principal, and principal. During his career, Tobin attended Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, from which he obtained a master of science degree in science and secondary school supervision. Tobin retired from educational service in 1970.

Tobin then spent a year building his own house as well as in travel and fishing. He was a member of civic and professional organizations, including the Webster Association of Retired Teachers, Louisiana Association of Educators, National Association of Educators, Phi Delta Kappa, Kiwanis Club, and National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

Two services were held in Tobin's honor on September 17, 2007: (1) the St. Rest Baptist Church in Minden, where Tobin was a deacon and a Sunday school teacher, and (2) the New Prosperity Baptist Church in Lucky. Interment was at the New Prosperity Baptist Church Garden of Memories in Lucky. Tobin often said: "By the Grace of God, I have come this far, and He will surely lead me on."