Jesse J. Guidry | |
Louisiana State Representative
for St. Martin and Iberia parishes | |
In office 1973–1981 | |
Governor | David C. Treen |
---|---|
Preceded by | J. Burton Angelle |
Succeeded by | Harry L. Benoit |
Secretary of the Louisiana
Department of Wildlife and Fisheries | |
In office 1981–1984 | |
Preceded by | J. Burton Angelle |
Succeeded by | J. Burton Angelle |
Born | March 21, 1921 Cecilia, St. Martin Parish, Louisiana |
Died | September 2, 1987 (aged 66) Houston, Texas |
Resting place | Greenoaks Memorial Park in Baton Rouge |
Political party | Democrat |
Spouse(s) | Joe W. Guidry |
Children | Madeline Broussard Bruce Guidry |
Residence | Cecilia, St. Martin Parish, Louisiana, USA |
Military Service
| |
Service/branch | United States Army |
Battles/wars | World War II |
Jesse J. Guidry (March 21, 1921 – September 2, 1987)[1] was a Democratic politician from Cecilia in St. Martin Parish, Louisiana, who served from 1973 to 1981 as a state representative during the first two administrations of Governor Edwin Edwards.[2]
Guidry was the son of Thomas D. Guidry, Sr. (1895-1965), and the former Therese Angelle (1893-1963). He had a sister, Elizabeth L. Castille (1930-2013) of Breaux Bridge, also in St. Martin Parish,[3] and a brother, Thomas Guidry, Jr. (1932-2015), an accountant from Cecilia.[4]
Guidry won a special election in 1973 to succeed Representative J. Burton Angelle, who became the secretary of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries in the first two Edwards administrations. Coincidentally, eight years later, Guidry himself succeeded Angelle as LDWF secretary in the single term of Republican Governor David C. Treen. Guidry's House tenure had also spilled over into the first year of the Treen administration.
While he was LDWF secretary, Guidry was sued by Voison's Oyster House, Inc., of Houma in Terrebonne Parish on grounds that Guidry had denied the company oyster leases. The trial court ordered summary judgment on grounds that Guidry was exempt from suit in federal court under the Eleventh Amendment to the United States Constitution (1791), which requires that suits filed against states be heard in state courts. The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans affirmed the Eleventh Amendment in 1986 and ordered dismissal of Voison's suit, not on the merits, but on the lack of proper jurisdiction.[5]
When Edwards returned to the governorship in 1984 after having unseated Treen, Angelle succeeded Guidry for a third term as the LDWF secretary.[6] Like Guidry, Angelle had ties to Cecilia.
In 1988, the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries headquarters in the capital city of Baton Rouge was named in Guidry's honor.[7]
Categories: [Louisiana People] [Politicians] [State Representatives] [Democrats] [United States Army] [World War II]