Rick L. Farrar

Rick Lamar Farrar
Louisiana State Representative for District 27 (Rapides Parish)
In office 1992–1996
Preceded by	Carl Newton Gunter, Jr.
Succeeded by	Randy Wiggins
In office 2000–2008
Preceded by	Randy E. Wiggins
Succeeded by	Lowell Christopher Hazel
Born	February 12, 1960 Alexandria Louisiana, USA
Died	December 18, 2018 (aged 58) Oschner Medical Center. in Jefferson, Louisiana
Resting place	Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Ball, Louisiana
Political party	Democrat
Spouse(s)	Dana Renee Newman Farrar
Children	Hunter Newman Farrar Cole Farrar Parents: Terry Lynn "Buddy" and Marilyn Price Farrar
Residence	Pineville, Rapides Parish
Alma mater	Pineville High School University of Louisiana at Monroe Southern University Law School (Baton Rouge)
Occupation	Attorney
Religion	United Methodist
Notes: Farrar, an attorney in Pineville, Louisiana, served three nonconsecutive terms as a Democratic state representative for Rapides Parish. He was succeeded twice by the only Republicans to hold the District 27 seat. Farrar was among the lawmakers in 2006 who passed the Pet Evacuation Bill after reports surfaced during Hurricane Katrina of pets having been abandoned in the natural disaster.

Rick Lamar Farrar, known as Rick L. Farrar (February 12, 1960 – December 18, 2018) was an attorney in Pineville, Louisiana, who served as the Democratic state representative for District 27 in northern and eastern Rapides Parish from 1992 to 1996 and again from 2000 to 2008.^[1]

Background[edit]

Farrar was born in Alexandria, the son of Terry Lynn "Buddy" Farrar (1938-2002), a native of Springhill in Webster Parish and the former Marilyn Price (born 1941). In 1978, he graduated from Pinevlle High School. He completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Louisiana at Monroe, then known as Northeast Louisiana State University at which he was a member of Kappa Sigma fraternity, He procured his legal degree from the historically black Southern University School of Law in the capital city of Baton Rouge. He established his law practice in Pineville.^[1]

He had two sons, Hunter Newman Farrar (born 1992) and Cole Farrar, from his marriage to the former Dana Newman (born 1969). Rick never missed a single one of his sons' football, basketball, and baseball games. He was a United Methodist. He had a brother, Todd Lee Farrar.^[1]

Election history[edit]

In 1991, Farrar unseated long-term Democratic incumbent Carl Newton Gunter, Jr. (1938-1999), of Deville in the eastern portion of the parish, 7,729 votes (57 percent) to Gunter's 5,929 (43 percent), exactly 1,800 votes.^[2] Gunter was tied to organized labor but also strongly pro-life. Gunter faced organized opposition from feminist groups who opposed his opposition against abortion. On October 21, 1995, Farrar was unseated by the Republican Randy E. Wiggins of Pineville, a State Farm Insurance agent in Alexandria. Wiggins received 6,350 votes (51.1 percent) to Farrar's 6,077 (48.9 percent).^[3] Wiggins is the first Republican ever elected to the Louisiana House from Rapides Parish since the days of Reconstruction. However, another Republican, Jock Scott was elected to the state legislature in neighboring District 26 as a Democrat before he later switched parties.^[4]

In 1999, Farrar staged a comeback when Wiggins ran, not for reelection, but for the state Senate seat vacated by B. G. Dyess, who retired after a single term. Wiggins narrowly lost to former Senator Joe McPherson, a businessman then from Pineville and later Woodworth. On October 23, 1999, in the nonpartisan blanket primary, Randall Bryan "Randy" Tannehill (born 1960), a Republican member of the Rapides Parish School Board also from Pineville, led Farrar, 4,442 (41.4 percent) to, 4,088 (38.1 percent). A third candidate, Democrat Pete Ferrington of Pineville, polled a critical 2,208 votes (20.6 percent).^[5] In the ensuing general election, Farrar topped Tannehill, the son of Fred L. Tannehill (born February 6, 1932), a former member of the Louisiana State Board of Education. Farrar led 4,318 (54.6 percent) to Tannehill’s 3,595 (45.4 percent). Because of low turnout in the second round of balloting, without a gubernatorial contest, Farrar under-polled his primary totals by 124 votes; Tannehill, by 493 ballots.^[6]

In 2003, Farrar won again, 7,072 votes (61 percent) to Pete Ferrington’s 4,519 votes (39 percent).^[7] In 2005, Farrar was listed as a member of the House Ways and Means Committee under chairman Bryant O. Hammett, Jr., of Ferriday in Concordia Parish in eastern Louisiana.^[8]

In 2006, Farrar was among the lawmakers who spoke for passage of the Pet Evacuation Act, authored by then state Senator Heulette Fontenot, a Republican from Livingston Parish. The legislation was approved after the heartbreak of abandoned pets in natural disasters surfaced during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. After Katrina, Farrar spoke out in 2005 against state assistance to keep New Orleans Saints football within the state. According to Farrar, "There's no political will I have been able to find to give them anything at this point. Instead of showing the can-do spirit of getting back on their feet, they took off. That shows a tremendous lack of character."^[9]

In 2007, Farrar was crushed as he sought his fourth nonconsecutive term in the House by Republican newcomer Chris Hazel, 9,330 votes (62.5 percent) to 5,611 (37.5 percent).^[10] Hazel became only the second Republican since Wiggins to hold the District 27 seat since Reconstruction. The post is now held by Republican Michael T. Johnson, and Hazel is a 19th Judicial Court judge.

Death[edit]

Farrar died at the age of fifty-eight at Oschner Medical Center in Jefferson near New Orleans, Louisiana. He is interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Ball, Louisiana. One of his pallbearers was Democratic state Senator Jay Luneau of Alexandria, who won reelection in 2019 against Farrar's former opponent, Randy Wiggins. An honorary pallbearer was District Attorney Phillip Terrell, A Democrat-turned-Independent, for whom Farrar worked as an assistant DA after leaving the legislature.^[1]

References[edit]