George T. Oubre

George Telesmar Oubre, Sr. (February 22, 1918 – May 28, 1998),^[1] was a lawyer from his native Vacherie, Louisiana, who represented St. Charles, St. James, and St. John the Baptist parishes in the Louisiana State Senate for a single term from 1968 to 1972, during the second administration of Governor John McKeithen.^[2]'

Political life

In 1970, Senator Oubre was named "Conservationist of the Year" in the elected official category by the Louisiana Wildlife Federation.^[3]

In 1971, Oubre did not seek reelection to the state Senate but instead lost a Democratic runoff election in December for state attorney general to his senatorial colleague, William J. Guste of New Orleans. In this same election, Edwin Edwards defeated J. Bennett Johnston, Jr., for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination. Guste then defeated Republican Tom Stagg of Shreveport in the general election held on February 1, 1972, for the right to succeed Jack P. F. Gremillion of Baton Rouge, who failed in his primary bid for a fifth term in the office.^[4] Another unsuccessful primary candidate was the Lafayette Democratic attorney J. Minos Simon.

Legal career

An alumnus of the Tulane University School of Law in New Orleans,^[5] Oubre in 1983 was a partner in the law firm Levy, Oubre, Lenz & Rosenthal in Metairie in Jefferson Parish, The "Rosenthal" in the firm was Arnold Jack Rosenthal, the last finance and utilities commissioner in Alexandria, when that city was under the commission form of municipal government. Roosevelt ran for the state Senate in Rapides Parish in 1971 while Oubre sought the office of attorney general. Oubre and Rosenthal obtained a $50,000 loan from the Louisiana National Bank in Baton Rouge, and neither made payments accordingly. When the bank sued, Rosenthal purchased the note for the sum of $54,000. He later field suit against Oubre for repayment. Oubre claimed that he did not owe Rosenthal because Rosenthal was indebted to Oubre for half of the original $50,000 as a result of other expenses encountered from their partnership. The court ruled on appeal in favor of Rosenthal.^[6] In 1986, 40th District Court Judge Gerard Walton "Ton" Caire of Edgard in St. John the Baptist Parish ordered Oubre to represent John Francis Wille pro bono in a murder case because Oubre had been convicted for bank fraud.^[7] The Federal Bureau of Prisons does not show Oubre as having been a federal inmate after 1982. Rosenthal, however, was sentenced to twenty-two months in prison, assessed a $2,000 fine, and three years probation on another matter. He was released by the Federal Bureau of Prisons from a facility in Florida on September 4, 1987, after having served a year of the stated sentence.^[8]

Personal life

Oubre was a son of Edgar Joseph Oubre, a farmer in Ward 7 of St. James Parish, and the former Zeolide Kliebert. He and his wife, the former Eve Kliebert (1920–2011), a daughter of Moise Kliebert^[9] and the former Lovica Zeller, had three children, Douglas J. Oubre (born September 1940), Patsy Oubre Simon (born October 1942), and George T. Oubre, Jr. (born March 1960), and twelve grandchikldren. The couple is interred at Our Lady of Peace Cemetery and Mausoleum in Vacherie.^[1][10]

References