Edwin G. Preis

Edwin Gustav Preis, Sr. (February 17, 1916 – July 28, 2011) was a farmer and businessman^[2] who served from 1966 to 2000 as the Democratic mayor of the town of Newellton in Tensas Parish in northeastern Louisiana.

Biography

Preis was born in Waterproof in southern Tensas Parish. In the late 1940s, he moved to Newellton with his wife, Patricia Preis, to whom he was married for sixty-seven years until his death. There he engaged in business and served seven terms as mayor.^[3] After numerous election cycles without opposition, Preis was unseated in the fall of 2000 by Alex Davis, an African American who received 366 votes (56.8 percent) to Preis' 184 (28.6 percent), and 94 votes (14.6 percent) for a third candidate, F. A. "Coonie" McVay.^[4] A Mississippi River delta town, Newellton acquired a large majority of black voters after the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. From 1976 to 1977, Preis was the president of the Louisiana Municipal Association.^[5] He was known for trips to Washington, D.C., from which he often secured such projects as water or sewer systems for his community. In the 1990s, he represented Louisiana at a meeting in the White House with U.S. President Bill Clinton.^[3] His younger son, attorney Phil Preis of Baton Rouge, unsuccessfully sought the governorship in 1995 and 1999.^[6]

Preis was a founder of Little League in Tensas Parish and a devotee, particularly of the sports programs, of the since defunct Newellton High School. During the 1960s, when Newellton was the runner-up at state in its division, Preis served as an announcer at the games.^[3]

Preis died of a short illness at the age of 95. After services at the Newellton Union Church, he was interred at Legion Memorial Cemetery north of Newellton.^[3]

In addition to his wife Patricia and son Phil and his wife, Terry, Edwin Preis is survived by an older son, Edwin Preis, Jr., an attorney in Lafayette, Louisiana, and his wife, Chris Preis, and a daughter, Patricia Preis Thompson, the wife of Dr. Tony Thompson of Nacogdoches, Texas. He had twelve grandchildren.^[3]

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