Marvin Thomas Davis, known as Tommy Davis (born September 29, 1942), is the mayor of Minden in Webster Parish in northwestern Louisiana. Davis was sworn into office on November 5, 2013,[1] and elected to a full term on December 6, 2014.[2]
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town.
Minden is a small city in and the parish seat of Webster Parish in northwestern Louisiana, United States. It is located twenty-eight miles east of Shreveport in Caddo Parish. The population has been relatively stable since 1960, when it was 12,786. Minden is 51.7 percent African American.
Webster Parish is a parish located in the northwestern section of the U.S. state of Louisiana. The seat of the parish is Minden.
2013 special mayoral election
Davis campaign sign (2014)
A Republican, Davis handily won the special election held on October 19, 2013. He unseated interim Mayor Joe Cornelius, Sr., an African-AmericanDemocrat and the former Mayor Pro Tem and the former District A member of the Minden City Council. Cornelius had served since June 27 upon the death of Mayor Bill Robertson, the longest-serving mayor in Minden history. Robertson had assumed the office in January 1991.[3]
The Republican Party, also referred to as the GOP, is one of the two major political parties in the United States; the other is its historic rival, the Democratic Party.
The Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. Tracing its heritage back to Thomas Jefferson and James Madison's Democratic-Republican Party, the modern-day Democratic Party was founded around 1828 by supporters of Andrew Jackson, making it the world's oldest active political party.
Billy Henry Robertson, known as Bill Robertson, was the Former mayor of the small city of Minden, the parish seat of Webster Parish in northwestern Louisiana, United States. He was first elected on November 6, 1990 and served for as mayor from January 1, 1991 until his death. With 22.5 years in office, Robertson was the longest-serving Minden mayor; the second longest-serving mayor, John T. David, held the position from 1946 to 1955.
Davis polled votes 2,254 votes (61 percent); Cornelius, 821 ballots (22 percent). A second African-American Democrat, Walter "Woo" Morgan, Jr. (born July 1970), a barber and hair stylist, received the remaining 646 votes (17 percent).[4] Of the 8,298 registered voters inside the city limits, 3,721 (44.8 percent) cast ballots. More than one thousand of those ballots were cast during early voting, which propelled Davis to a head start in the counting with 72 percent.[5]
Early voting is a process by which voters in a public election can vote prior to the scheduled election day. Early voting can take place remotely, such as via postal voting, or in person, usually in designated early voting polling stations. The availability and time periods for early voting vary among jurisdictions and types of election. The goals of early voting are usually to increase voter participation and relieve congestion at polling stations on election day.
Upon taking office as mayor, Davis' District D seat on the Minden City Council became vacant. He was first elected to the council on September 30, 2006, when he defeated the then Democrat Terry Lamar "T.G." Gardner (born May 18, 1954), 481 (58.1 percent) to 346 (41.8 percent).[6] The council voted unanimously on November 5 to appoint another Republican businessman, Michael Scott "Mike" Toland (born September 1959), to fill Davis' council seat.[1] Toland follows in the steps of his grandfather, Cecil C. Toland (1905-1976), an oil products distributor, who was elected to the city council in 1952.[7] Gardner, a businessman and entrepreneur, was defeated again for the city council in the 2014 primary, this time by Mike Toland.
After Robertson's death, a letter which he had written while trying to recover from his illness was released. By this means, Robertson posthumously endorsed Davis as his preferred successor should Robertson become unable to complete his term, which extended until January 1, 2015.[8] The Minden City Council, however, ignored Robertson's request and voted three-to-two along racial lines to elevate Cornelius as the interim mayor.[9] On July 19, Davis announced that he would seek to fill through the special election the remaining months of Robertson's term.[10]
In the campaign for mayor, Davis called for the creation of industrial jobs to enhance the spending capacity of the citizens.[11] Davis proposed improvements at the south industrial complex, including construction of an access road and water and sewerage infrastructure. "We have two hundred acres that are available down there, but we need to be able to get to that acreage to develop it. That's across the railroad tracks, so we need to put in a railroad crossing."[11] Davis also urged that the city increase its electrical power grid and water storage capacity.[11]
Infrastructure refers to the fundamental facilities and systems serving a country, city, or other area, including the services and facilities necessary for its economy to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and private physical improvements such as roads, bridges, tunnels, water supply, sewers, electrical grids, and telecommunications. In general, it has also been defined as "the physical components of interrelated systems providing commodities and services essential to enable, sustain, or enhance societal living conditions".
The 2014 city budget under Davis included 2 percent raises for city workers and increased fees for some city services, which were passed along to the public: "I don't want to cry wolf, but with our revenue being flat and everything costing more than it used to, we're having to work hard to get a balanced budget. But I'm confident we will have one because we don't want to take it out of reserves."[12]
Election of 2014
Davis is only the third Republican elected mayor of Minden since 1966, the others having been Tom Colten and Paul Aaron Brown,.[3] The term extended for under fifteen months.[9] Davis ran again in the runoff election on December 6, 2014, for a full term as mayor. He faced a No-Party candidate, Charles Deck "Chad" Odom (born February 1975), who holds a Bachelor of Science in Urban Studies and Regional Planning with an emphasis in International Economic Development from the University of New Orleans.[13] In the November 4 primary, Davis led the three-candidate field with 2,045 votes (44.5 percent) to Odom's 1,467 (31.9 percent). In third place was former Mayor Joe Cornelius, Sr., the 2013 losing candidate, with 1,089 votes (23.7 percent).[14] Odom is the son of Webster Parish Police Juror Charles D. Odom (born January 1951), an Independent, and Pattie Lou Cook Odom (born October 1951), the Minden municipal downtown and economic development director who lost a race in 1991 as a Democratic candidate for state representative from Webster Parish. Odom's maternal grandfather was Harold Rae "Boe" Cook (1925-1997),[15] the owner of and popular broadcaster for KASO radio in Minden. One of his great-grandfathers was S. P. D. Coyle, a former mayor of Cotton Valley north of Minden, who died in 1955.[16]
Mayor Tommy Davis campaigning in the 2014 Veterans Day paradeChad Odom campaigning for mayor of Minden. He lost by 225 votes to incumbent Tommy Davis, who thereafter dismissed Odom's mother, Pattie Lou Cook Odom, from her former position as the director of downtown and economic development.
Davis prevailed in the runoff by 225 votes, 2,346 (52.5 percent) to Odom's 2,121 (47.5 percent).[2] Davis said that his narrow victory was "not about me. It's about Minden and where we need to go and where we want to go." Barbara Robertson, widow of former Mayor Bill Robertson, said Davis's victory for a full term was "like fulfilling a dream … This was what he [Robertson] wanted. If he wasn't mayor, he wanted it for Tommy." Mrs. Robertson said that Davis like her husband understands the importance of reserve funds in case of emergencies."[17] ho
Chad Odom said that while he was temporarily discouraged by his defeat: "We caused some of the most powerful people in Minden to spend a lot of money trying to beat a good idea. We're not going away, not going to pretend this didn't happen. The important thing is we continue pushing toward what we want as a community."[18] Chad Odom soon left Minden to become the economic development director for Port Lavaca, Texas. He later took the position as Executive Director of Wharton Economic Development Corporation a Type B Sales Tax Corporation in Wharton, Texas, beginning in January 2017.[13]
On December 30, 2014, Davis dismissed Pattie Odom, his former opponent's mother, from her five-year position as the economic and downtown development director, a post outside civil service. Odom noted that the timing of her exit made it impossible for her to complete a series of end-of-year reports required in the position. Odom said that Davis "asked for my resignation and I said 'No'. He said, due to reorganization, you will be terminated today (Tuesday). You don't fit into the picture.'"[19] Davis said that economic development work will continue in his administration even with the temporarily vacant position.[20] The establishment of the position of economic development director is a result of an assessment through the Louisiana Development Ready Communities, a plan to assist a city regarding economic and residential development.[21]
Odom appealed her termination, but the city council in an open forum unanimously upheld the dismissal. Odom indicated that she would consider legal action against the city. Davis said that had the council voted to rehire Odom, she would have had to remain in her previous position, which no longer exists because of reorganization.[22] The city could not hire a new director until enabling legislation passes the legislature in Baton Rouge. Then State RepresentativeGene Reynolds of Webster Parish introduced a bill favored by Mayor Davis and the city council which would permit the mayor alone with council concurrence to exert all power regarding the hiring and firing of a new economic development director. Meanwhile, all seven members of the previous economic development board resigned. The city hence has no board or no director on duty.[23] James Graham, an African-American native of Virginia and formerly from Delaware, began work as the city's new economic development director on August 6, 2015. Davis said that the city is working to obtain land which businesses can immediately occupy upon their relocation to Minden. The focus will be on water, sewer, and electrical infrastructure, he said.[24]
Mayoral matters
In 2017, Davis advanced a proposed annual municipal budget of $35,164,835 in revenues and $35,539,545 in expenses. The city will use its reserves to fill the $374,710 gap. "The reality is, we are either going to have to raise more revenue or cut services. I know the general public thinks we don't spend our money wisely, but we have made cuts to the budget," Davis said. To draw more revenues, Davis and city leaders plan to reconfigure water billings so that consumers will fall into one of four tiers based on usage.[25]
In August 2017, Mayor Davis announced that prints of two Ben Earl Looney paintings, the Louisiana State Capitol and the Pentagon Barracks in Baton Rouge, will be displayed in the Cypress Room at Minden City Hall. Davis obtained both prints from Keith Ardoin, an art collector and a town council member in Krotz Springs in St. Landry Parish, whom he met at the Louisiana Municipal Association annual convention. Ardoin made the offer after learning about Looney's Minden background.[26]
On July 12, 2018, Davis gave welcoming remarks for the statewide conference of the African-American Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, which met at the Mt. Zion congregation in Minden for the installation of the Fourth Episcopal District bishop, C. James King, Jr., of Mississippi. Davis bestowed King with a key to the city. Of his initial impression of Minden, King said: "Minden is really nice – I've really liked the people I've met, and that's what it's really all about is the people. The people are very cordial, very friendly, and they welcomed us tremendously."[27]
The city council approved Davis' last budget for 2018-2019 in the amount of $33.3 million. The mayor called the spending plan "a very tight budget this year. … We have scrubbed it very close. We still left in some big projects that need to be done, some equipment purchases, and some street projects that desperately need to be done. But there’s no fluff in it at all – it’s very, very tight.”[28]
2018 election
Davis did not seek a second full term in the nonpartisan blanket primary scheduled for November 6, 2018, in conjunction with congressional races.[29] A Democrat, William Kerry "Winky" Newer (born June 4, 1962), is seeking the position. The Oklahoma native relocated to Minden in 1971 and has been the long-term municipal recreation director. He is married to the former Kathryn Mourad[30] (born May 27, 1958), an Independent, and the sister of Minden Fire Chief Kip Anthony Mourad (born February 21, 1957), a Republican. Newer said if elected he will seek to strengthen municipal financial growth." I will continue our attempts to lower the electrical rates by all means possible. We must continue our effort to attract new industry and business to our area," he said.
A second mayoral candidate, businessman Terry Gardner, is a Republican originally from Shreveport. He is married to the former Deborah Ann "Debbie" Walker (born May 19, 1957).[31] Gardner ran unsuccessfully for the District 4 city council seat in 2014, having been defeated, 64 to 36 percent, by fellow Republican, Mike Toland, who vacates the seat on December 31, 2018. Gardner ran unsuccessfully as a Democrat in two previous city council races, in 2003 against Drew White and in the 2006 race against Davis. Gardner said that he opposes increasing fees and taxes and would if elected instead seek to upgrade the municipal infrastructure through the hiring of a full-time grant writer, who will pursue revenues from outside sources.[31]
In a campaign characterized primarily by aggressive use of yard signs, Gardner emerged from the primary victorious over Newer by 37 votes: 2,164 to 2,127. Turnout was 53.7 percent of registered voters.[32]
Personal life
Until her death in 1996, Davis was married to the former Vernie Bryan, shown in this picture teaching physics and chemistry in 1965 at Minden High School.
A native of Stephens in Ouachita County in south Arkansas, Davis graduated in 1960 from Stephens High School. Prior to becoming mayor, Davis had been involved in several Minden businesses. Davis has three children, Scott Patrick Davis (born September 12, 1966), Stanley Paul Davis (born January 25, 1968), and Suzanne Davis Burkett (born March 25, 1972), from his first marriage to the former Vernie Bryan (1943-1996),[33] daughter of Floyd Thomas Bryan (1903-1956) and Mercie Mae Bryan (1907-2010) of Stephens, Arkansas.[34] Vernie Davis was a teacher at Minden High School and later the private Glenbrook School in Minden. The Davises live for twelve years in Fort Smith, Arkansas, before returning for a second time in Minden in the late 1970s. She is interred at Gardens of Memory Cemetery in Minden.[35] Scott Davis resides in Alexander, a small town near Little Rock, Arkansas. Stanley Davis, a Minden native living in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, is retired from the United States Air Force. He was the featured speaker at the annual Independence Day flag raising ceremony at Eagle Park in 2018. A two-time squadron commander, his most recent service was as commander for the Air Force Reserve's 317th Airlift Squadron in Charleston, South Carolina. He entered the Air Force in 1986 through a Reserve Officer Training Corpsscholarship at Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, at which he was a vice commandant award winner . He was named one of only ten cadets nationwide for an AFROTC Cadet Exchange Program with the Royal Air Force in Great Britain.[36] The Davis daughter, Suzanne Burkett, resides in the small community of Avery in Red River County, Texas.
After Vernie's death, Davis subsequently married the former Nelda Joy Ward Hensley (born August 28, 1946), the widow of Jimmy Keith Hensley (1947-1991), who is interred at Arlington Cemetery[37] in Homer in Claiborne Parish.[38] Davis is a long-term Minden businessman and real estate broker. He is a member of the First Baptist Church of Minden, as had been Mayor Robertson.
Thomas Overton Brooks was a Democratic U.S. representative from the Shreveport-based Fourth Congressional District of northwestern Louisiana, having served for a quarter century beginning on January 3, 1937.
William Monroe Rainach Sr., known as Willie Rainach, was a state legislator from rural Summerfield in Claiborne Parish who led Louisiana's "Massive Resistance" to desegregation during the last half of the 1950s. He served Claiborne and neighboring Bienville Parish in north Louisiana for three terms in the Louisiana State Senate from 1948 to 1960.
Arthur Thomas Colten, known as Tom Colten, was a Louisiana newspaperman and politician from the 1950s to the 1990s who rose from a small-town mayoralty position to head his state's Department of Transportation and Development under three governors from both parties. Colten was also active in the slow process of establishing a viable Republican Party in his adopted state.
Parey Pershing Branton Sr. was a businessman from Shongaloo, Louisiana, who was from 1960 to 1972 a Democratic member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from what is now District 10 in Webster Parish. The district, which includes the parish seat of Minden in northwestern Louisiana, is now represented by the Democrat Gene Reynolds of Dubberly.
John Sidney Garrett was a conservative Democratic member of the Louisiana House of Representatives who served from 1948 to 1972 under four gubernatorial administrations. Garrett was a successful businessman in the small town of Haynesville in Claiborne Parish south of the Arkansas state line. In his last term, he was defeated for reelection even though he was the Speaker of the House. In 1966, Garrett made a strong but losing primary race for the Louisiana Public Service Commission to fill the seat vacated by the election of John McKeithen as governor. At the time, there were only three PSC districts; the number was increased to five under the Louisiana Constitution of 1974.
John Nicholas Sandlin, Sr., of Minden, Louisiana, represented Louisiana's 4th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1921 to 1937.
Fulton Eugene Eason was a businessman from Springhill, Louisiana, who ran as a Republican in four elections for the Louisiana House of Representatives in calendar year 1991. He won the special election runoff on March 23 for a 9-month unexpired term from District 10, then encompassing all of Webster Parish in northwestern Louisiana. Eason was the first Republican ever to seek election to the heavily Democratic Webster Parish seat in the Louisiana House.
Everett Gail Doerge was an American state legislator who served as a Democratic member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from District 10 from January 1992 until his death in office.
Oscar Henry Haynes Jr., known as O. H. Haynes, was from 1964 to 1980 the Democratic sheriff of Webster Parish in northwestern Louisiana. He was also the parish Exxon distributor for some four decades.
Samuel Joseph Odom, known as Sammy Joe Odom, was an American football player for the Houston Oilers, the Northwestern State University Demons in Natchitoches, Louisiana, and the Minden High School Crimson Tide in Minden, the seat of Webster Parish in northwestern Louisiana.
Robert Fulton Odom, Jr., was the longest-serving Commissioner of Agriculture and Forestry in the U.S. state of Louisiana. A Democrat, he held his position from 1980 to 2008 through six gubernatorial administrations.
Jasper Goodwill served from 1955 to 1958 as the Democratic mayor of the small city of Minden, the seat of government of Webster Parish in northwestern Louisiana.
Jefferson Franklin Colbert, known as J. Frank Colbert, was a Democratic politician and Georgist. He served in the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1920 to 1925 and from 1944 to 1946 as the mayor of the small city of Minden, the seat of government of Webster Parish in northwestern Louisiana.
Ernest Dewey Gleason, known as E. D. Gleason, was a Democratic member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from the Evergreen Community north of Minden in Webster Parish in northwestern Louisiana. Gleason served from 1952 until his death at the end of his second term. He was briefly succeeded in office by his widow, Mary Smith Gleason, who was appointed for the remaining eight months by then Governor Earl Kemp Long.
Edward Joseph "Ed" Steimel Sr. was the founding executive director of the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, an interest group based in the city of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Joseph Burgess Cornelius Sr., known as Joe Cornelius Sr., is an American businessman and community organizer in Minden, Louisiana, who is a former interim mayor of his city, located in Webster Parish in the northwestern portion of the state. He is the second African American in nearly a quarter century to succeed directly from the Minden City Council to the mayor's position after an unexpected vacancy developed.
Dorothy Garrett Smith was the first woman to have served as president of the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, which establishes and monitors education policy. Smith was the president from December 1989 until her sudden death eight months later during the administration of Governor Buddy Roemer. She represented nine parishes in northwestern Louisiana: Beauregard, Bossier, Caddo, Claiborne, DeSoto, Red River, Sabine, Vernon, and her own Webster.
John David Batton, known as J. D. Batton, was from 1952 to 1964 the sheriff of his native Webster Parish in northwestern Louisiana. He was defeated after three terms by O. H. Haynes, Jr., a fellow Democrat and the son of the sheriff, O. H. Haynes, Sr., whom Batton had himself unseated twelve years earlier.
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