W. George Bowdon, Jr.

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William George Bowdon, Jr.
Mayor of Alexandria, Rapides Parish, Louisiana, USA
In office 1953 – June 1969
Succeeded by	Charles Edward "Ed" Karst
Louisiana State Representative from Rapides Parish
In office 1948 – 1952
Preceded by	At-large delegation
Succeeded by	At-large delegation, including Cecil R. Blair

Born	October 18, 1921 (1921-10-18) Alexandria, Louisiana
Died	November 17, 2005 (aged 84) Alexandria, Louisiana
Nationality	American
Political party	Democratic Party
Spouse	Ina Smith "Smitty" Bowdon (1922-2008)
Children	W. George "Bill" Bowdon, III, and two grandsons, W. George Bowdon, IV, and Robert Scott Bowdon
Occupation	Real estate
Described by a friend as a "natural politician", Bowdon's career ended in scandal and a prison sentence.

William George Bowdon, Jr., (October 18, 1921 - November 17, 2005) was the Democratic mayor of Alexandria, the largest city in central Louisiana, from 1953-1969. At thirty-one, he was (and remains) the youngest mayor in his city's history and the first to serve a four-year, instead of a two-year, term. Prior to his mayoralty, Bowdon had served a single term in the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1948-1952. One of his immediate House successors was Cecil R. Blair, who later would serve for fourteen years in the Louisiana State Senate from Rapides Parish.

Bowdon graduated from Bolton High School in Alexandria in 1939; among his classmates were Joe D. Smith, Jr., later publisher of the Alexandria Daily Town Talk and the industrialist and philanthropist Roy O. Martin, Jr. (1921-2007). Bowdon thereafter graduated from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge in 1943. He joined the U.S. Marine Corps and served in the Pacific theater in World War II. He was discharged with the rank of captain.

1 Sixteen years as mayor
2 Running for lieutenant governor, 1959-1960
3 Defeat and downturn, 1969-1972
4 Bowdon's death and legacy
5 See also
6 References

[edit] Sixteen years as mayor

Bowdon served as mayor under the former mayor-commissioner government, in which the executive mayor administered the fire, police, and sanitation departments and shared city council voting power with two full-time, elected commissioners of (1) finance and utilities and (2) streets and parks. Under his administration, the current City Hall office building was constructed, the city water system was expanded, and new industries, including International Paper, Procter and Gamble, and Dresser Industries, came into central Louisiana.

[edit] Running for lieutenant governor, 1959-1960

In 1958, Bowdon was elected by his peers as president of the Louisiana Municipal Association, a position in which he caught the attention of the mayor of New Orleans, deLesseps Story Morrison, Sr.

The next year, Morrison invited Mayor Bowdon to run for lieutenant governor on an intraparty ticket in which Morrison made the second of his three unsuccessful bids for the Louisiana governorship. In joining Morrison, Bowdon signaled that he was part of the anti-Long coalition at least for the time being. Bowdon lost out in his race too, as victory went to State Representative (and former House Speaker) Clarence C. "Taddy" Aycock (1915-1987) of Franklin in St. Mary Parish. Aycock ran in the party runoff on the unofficial "ticket" with former Governor James Houston "Jimmie" Davis. Aycock, a conservative, was lieutenant governor from 1960-1972.

[edit] Defeat and downturn, 1969-1972

Bowdon's long political career, however, ended in the spring of 1969, when he lost a bid for a fifth term. He finished fourth in the Democratic primary with 1,784 votes (15.7 percent). Thereafter, Bowdon was employed in real estate.

A series of scandals involving high municipal officials, including the finance and utilities commissioner, Democrat Leroy Wilson (1905-1978), were uncovered in Bowdon's last term as mayor, and two candidates claiming to be "reformers" went into a Democratic runoff primary. Charles Edward "Ed" Karst, a lawyer originally from New Orleans, then defeated John Kenneth Snyder, Sr. (1922-1993), a Pineville native, for the right to succeed Bowdon. Meanwhile, Carroll E. Lanier, an electrical contractor, defeated Wilson for the utilities commissioner's post.

Bowdon was indicted in 1969 on theft charges for allegedly using city employees to work on personal property. In 1971, he pleaded guilty to stealing $6,641 and was sentenced to five years imprisonment. He served less than a year at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola in West Feliciana Parish.

"He had a little misfortune at the end of his political career, but he came back. He lived a very good life," recalled Butch Crenshaw, a former "No Party " member of the Alexandria City Council, in an interview with the Alexandria Daily Town Talk.

Alexandria City Judge George M. Foote told The Town Talk that Bowdon was "convivial. He was a natural-born politician." Foote was a friend of Bowdon's for seventy years. An avid outdoorsman, Bowdon will be remembered by his friends' children, whom he taught to hunt and fish . . . He was respected for that," Foote said. Crenshaw said that he was twelve years old when he first met Bowdon, whose marksmanship in shooting quail was legendary. "That's how I met him," he said. "He was one of the best shots I've ever seen."

[edit] Bowdon's death and legacy

Bowdon suffered a heart attack in October 2005, and had been a patient at Christus St. Frances Cabrini Hospital until he returned home on November 16, and died the next day.

Then Alexandria Mayor Edward G. "Ned" Randolph, Jr., ordered that all city flags be flown at half-staff in Bowdon's honor until after the funeral services. Bowdon's "commitment and dedicated service . . . has helped to lay a solid foundation for the city of Alexandria and its citizens," Randolph said in a media release.

Bowdon's father, William George Bowdon, Sr., was also the mayor of Alexandria, having served from 1941-1945. Bowdon was survived by his wife, Ina Smith "Smitty" Bowdon (1922-February 26, 2008); a son, W. George "Bill" Bowdon, III, of Baton Rouge, a retired USMC officer, and two grandsons, William George Bowdon, IV, of Bossier City and Robert Scott Bowdon of Houston, Texas.