|
Edwin Washington Edwards (born 7 August, 1927) is a United States politician who served as governor of Louisiana for four terms (1972 - 1980, 1984 - 1988, and 1992 - 1996), more terms than any other Louisiana governor.
A colorful, powerful figure in Louisiana politics, Edwards was long dogged by charges of corruption. In 2001 he was sentenced to 10 years in prison on racketeering charges.
Edwin Edwards was born in rural Avoyelles Parish, near Marksville to a family of Cajun sharecroppers.
He graduated from Louisiana State University law school at age 21 and began practicing law in Crowley, Louisiana. His career was helped by his being bilingual and articulate in English and Cajun French.
He entered politics, being elected to the Crowley City Council in 1954. He was a member of the Democratic Party, which in that era had a virtual monopoly in Louisiana. After serving in the Louisiana State Senate Edwards was elected to the United States House of Representatives, serving from 1965 to 1972.
In 1971 he was elected governor, his greatest support coming from the State's previously largely neglected Cajun and African-American voters.
In his first term as governor, Edwards initiated the first new constitution for Louisiana in 50 years. He easily won reelection in 1975.
In 1979, moderate Republican reformer David C. Treen was elected governor. Edwards defeated Treen's re-election attempt in 1983; before election day, Edwards had told reporters "The only way I can lose this election is if I'm caught in bed with either a dead girl or a live boy".
In the 1987 governor's race, Edwards and Buddy Roemer won the primary election, resulting in a runoff. Edwards, however, dropped out of the race, which made challenger Roemer winner by default.
In the 1991 open primary, incumbent governor Buddy Roemer placed third, so Edwards faced a run-off against David Duke, a brash young politician with ties to the Neo-Nazi movement and the Ku Klux Klan for whom many Louisianans voted more as a protest against Roemer and Edwards than for actual support of Duke.
This run off between a Neo-Nazi and the widely considered corrupt Edwards gained national attention. Support for Edwards grew in between the primary and the run off. Faced with the alternative of Duke, many who were otherwise lukewarm for Edwards found him looking ever better. A very popular bumpersticker urging support for Edwards (although clearly not produced by his campaign) read "Vote For the Crook. It's Important". Edwards said that this would be his final term as governor and he cared about leaving a good legacy, which made many think that the corruption of his previous administrations would not be repeated. Edwards won by a wide margin.
In his last term, Edwards promoted casino gambling in Louisiana. Corrupt dealing in allotting gaming licences led to legal investigations that Edwards succeeded in delaying until he was out of office.
"I did not do anything wrong as a governor, even if you accept the verdict as it is, it doesn't indicate that," Edwards told the press after his conviction. On his way to prison he said "I will be a model prisoner, as I have been a model citizen". As of 2004, Edwin Edwards is incarcerated at the Federal Medical Center in Fort Worth, Texas. According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, Edwards is scheduled to be released in 2011.
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
Edwin Edwards
| 
