By James Ronald Skains
Journal Correspondent

The political careers of the six inductees for the 2010 Political Hall of Fame in Winnfield overlapped or influenced each other's careers in the past 50 years for the most part. Two are deceased, but the four who living inductees are expected to attend the event on Saturday, January 30. The two who are deceased will be represented by family members.

Only one is still active as an elected official. Rodney Alexander of Quitman is a four-term Congressman representing the 5th Congressional district of Louisiana. Two of the four have waged unsuccessful campaigns for Governor of Louisiana.

Charlton Lyons of Shreveport ran for Governor as a Republican in 1964 against John McKeithen, then Public Service Commissioner and former confidant of Earl K. Long. Lyons' campaign in 1964 marked the first well organized and funded Republican campaign in the 20th Century. Mr. Lyons, an oil man based in Shreveport, is considered the "father of the modern day Republican Party in Louisiana".

Lyons was not only active in Louisiana politics but also on the national level of the Republican party serving as a state delegate from Louisiana on more than one occasion.

The other inductee who is deceased was also a Republican, having served as chairman of the party from 1988-1992. William "Billy" Nungesser also served as Governor David Treen's chief of staff and executive secretary. Nungesser donated his entire salary from these jobs to children's charities.

Nungesser was based in New Orleans and operated an oil and gas supply business. He was known as a gravelly-voiced, chain smoking combative leader of the Republican Party during the heydays of Governor Edwin Edwards.

Nungesser was a five-time Republican national convention delegate, a member of the New Orleans Levee Board, and served on the Louisiana Gaming Control Board from 1992 to 1994. His son, also known as Billy, is currently Parish President in Plaquemine Parish.

Perhaps, one of the most colorful inductees of all time is Risley "Pappy" Triche. Although retired from elective office after seventeen years, Triche's love for politics is carried on by his son, Marty who is Parish President of Assumption Parish. It was in the small bayou town of Napoleonville that "Pappy" Triche got his start. In 1950, Triche, at the age of 23, became the youngest mayor in Louisiana.

By 1960, Triche, an attorney, was a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives where he became a floor leader first for Governor Jimmie Davis and later for Governor John McKeithen. He later retired from politics but when the next election came around, he "unretired". Triche served a total of 17 years in the State Legislature.

Not only is his son, Marty, an elected official, but so is his daughter, Jane Triche-Malazzo. She is a Judge in the 23rd District Court that includes Assumption, Ascension and St. James Parish. Her son, Richard Perjic is also an attorney based in New Orleans. Prior to his relocation, he was associated in the practice of law with his grandfather in Napoleonville.

Another member of the class of 2010 for the Hall of Fame who got his start in politics in the 1960's was Sammy Nunez from Chalmette. Nunez was first elected to the House in 1964 and became a member of the State Senate in 1969.

He also served a total of twelve years as Senate President under four different Governors. After retiring in 2005, Nunez became a member of the Board of Commissioners of the Port of New Orleans. A community college in Chalmette was named in his honor.

Randy Ewing is the second member of the Class of 2010 who made unsuccessful runs for the office of Governor of Louisiana. Ewing, based in Jonesboro, is a long time timberman who got his start in the industry working with his father. His son, Brandon is now in business with his father at Ewing Timber Company.

Ewing, a member of the Jonesboro High School graduating of 1962, obtained a degree in business from the E. J. Ourso College of Business at LSU prior to joining the family business full time. At LSU Ewing, a history buff, had the opportunity to study under the world renowned historian, Stephen Ambrose.

He is married to the former Rosemary Upshaw and have a daughter, Ashley, in addition to their son Brandon. In 1988, Ewing was elected state Senator from district 35.

Ewing was elected Senate President in 1996 succeeding Sammy Nunez in that office. While a State Senator, Ewing authored the "Balanced Budget Amendment" and helped establish the State Mineral Trust Fund.

In 2000, after deciding not to seek re-election to the Senate, he launched his unsuccessful bid for the governorship. Ewing ran as a Conservative Democrat. He finished fifth with 123,936 votes statewide in a field of almost a dozen candidates.

Since then, Ewing has kept on the periphery of politics, in one instance hosting a fund raiser at his home for U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu.

Rodney Alexander is also a graduate of Jonesboro High School. He was elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives in the same year that Ewing was elected to the Senate, 1988. Alexander represented State House District 13 until being elected to Congress in 2003 as a Conservative Democrat.

He was re-elected after switching to the Republican Party and is currently serving his fourth term in Washington. The 5th District covers 22 parishes reaching from the Arkansas line to south of I-10 in the Baton Rouge area.

After the 2010 census, all of the Congressional Districts will be re-aligned. Most probably, Louisiana will lose one Congressional Seat. Alexander may be shuffled into a scenario of having to run against another sitting member of Congress for re-election.

The Louisiana Political Hall of Fame Museum is located in downtown Winnfield on Main Street. It contains memorabilia of dozens of previous Hall of Fame inductees. The Museum also contains such exhibits as an Earl K. Long for Governor sound truck and the dining room set owned by Huey P. Long.

The Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame was created by an act of the Louisiana Legislature in 1987. Winnfield was also the setting for the movie, "Blaze," starring Paul Newman as Uncle Earl Long.

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