David I. Patten

David Ivy Patten (December 11, 1920 – June 24, 1998) was a building contractor and a Democratic member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from Catahoula Parish in the northeastern portion of his state. He served from 1964 to 1972.

Political career

In his first legislative term, Patten succeeded William S. Peck, Jr., of Sicily Island and represented only Catahoula Parish. He was reelected to a second term in 1968 from a revised district which combined Catahoula and neighboring Concordia parishes. The incumbent from Concordia Parish, Fred L. Schiele,^[1] did not seek a second term but later served as the sheriff of his parish.

Patten's interest focused on rural development. In 1972, in the newly numbered District 21, Patten was unseated by State Senator J.C. "Sonny" Gilbert of Sicily Island, a brother-in-law of William Peck, who ran that year for the House, rather than the Senate. Patten attempted a comeback in the Catahoula-Concordia district in 1975 in the first-ever nonpartisan blanket primary held in Louisiana and had the support of the Catahoula Parish sheriff. Gilbert did not seek reelection to the House. Patten lost in the official general election, 57-43 percent, to Democrat Dan Richey, then of Ferriday in Concordia Parish. Another candidate was the Democrat Troyce Guice, then of Ferriday, who had run unsuccessfully for the United States Senate in 1966 and again in 1996. Both Gilbert and Richey switched their affiliation to Republican after their legislative tenure.

Patten ran unsuccessfully for Louisiana's 5th congressional district seat in the United States House of Representatives. In the Democratic primaries of both 1970 and 1972, he was soundly defeated by the incumbent, Otto Passman of Monroe,^[2] known as a critic of foreign aid programs.

Patten ran again for the Louisiana State Senate in the 1979 primary but failed to secure a general election berth. The winner once again was Dan Richey, who defeated the Democratic National Committeewoman Mary Lou Winters of Columbia, the seat of Caldwell Parish, in the general election. Eliminated in the primary was state Representative Neal Lane "Lanny" Johnson of St. Joseph in Tensas Parish. On October 19, 1991, Patten ran again for the state Senate from District 32. He received 8,684 votes (20.4 percent) and lost to fellow Democrat Steve D. Thompson, a real estate agent from Winnsboro, who polled 26,840 (63 percent). A third candidate polled the remaining 16.6 percent.^[3]

Personal life

Patten was one of ten children born to Ivy Edward Patten (1896–1961) and the former Mattie Harrell (1900–1979). He was married to the former Carolyn McCauley. He was a member of Meyers Bend Pentecostal Church in Jonesville in Catahoula Parish.

Services were held at the Sandy Lake Pentecostal Church in Jonesville. Patten is interred at Oak Grove Cemetery near Rhinehart, an unincorporated community in Catahoula Parish.

References

1. ↑ http://www.legis.state.la.us/members/h1880-2008.pdf
2. ↑ Louisiana Almanac, 2006
3. ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, Primary election returns, October 19, 1991

Noble Ellington, Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 17, Regular Session, Louisiana Legislature, 1999, Tribute to late Representative David Patten

Obituary of Louise Patten Wright (1925–2008) of Harrisonburg, the seat of Catahoula Parish. She was a sister of David Patten, and family information is contained therein through Young's Funeral Home of Ferriday, February 18, 2008.

Funeral notice of David I. Patten, Monroe News Star, Monroe, Louisiana, June 26, 1998