Forrest Dunn
Encyclopedia
George Forrest Dunn, Jr. (born September 6, 1928), is the retired administrator of the Louisiana State Exhibit Museum in Shreveport
and a former Democratic
member of the Louisiana House of Representatives
, having served from 1972 to 1984 in the now majority African American
District 3 seat. In 1980, Dunn made an ill-fated campaign for the United States House of Representatives
. He lost to the eventual general election
winner, Buddy Roemer
, then of Bossier Parish, and later the Democratic-turned-Republican
governor from 1988 to 1992.
in northern Bossier Parish to George Forrest Dunn, Sr., and the former Gladys Malone. The senior Dunn was a native of Bradley
, a village in Lafayette County in far southwestern Arkansas
, located just north of the Louisiana boundary. He was an automobile mechanic. Two other Louisiana Democratic political figures also have roots in tiny Plain Dealing: former U.S. Representative Joe David "Joe D." Waggonner, Jr.
, and the late state Treasurer A.P. Tugwell.
Dunn attended Bossier High School, did not graduate, but obtained a General Equivalency Diploma
in 1947. He served two years in the United States Navy
, having been stationed aboard the U.S.S. Richmond.
While they were still teenagers, Dunn married the former Rachel Nelson (also born 1928). The couple had three children: Linda Dunn Turner (born 1947), Robby Jack Dunn (born 1949), and James Forrest "Jimmy" Dunn (1952–1985), who perished in an automobile accident in Oklahoma
. The Dunns subsequently divorced, and Forrest Dunn married the former Donna Young (born 1943). The first Mrs. Dunn later married former State Senator
Donald Wayne Williamson
, originally from Vivian
in northern Caddo Parish, and later of Shreveport. Williamson was widowed from his first wife, the former Norma Herring of Vivian. Williamson, like Dunn, spent years in the furniture business. Dunn had two brothers, George Ellis Dunn (1939-2002) and James Wayne Dunn, who died in 2004.
Dunn was a salesman prior to launching Dunn Furntiure Company, which operated for three decades: 1955-1985. The main location was at 4001 Jewella Avenue in Shreveport, and a second outlet was launched on Line Avenue. Son Robby Dunn assisted in the store for a number of years and later ran a flea market. Dunn said that so many changes had occurred in the production, marketing, and sale of furniture over the years that it was "too much to mention."
Four years after the furniture store closed, Dunn accepted an appointment from the Republican Secretary of State W. Fox McKeithen
, to head the state museum, which is located on the site of the Louisiana State Fair. As museum administrator, Dunn has worked to bring to Shreveport new exhibits of interest to a wide segment of the community, including an acclaimed display on Huey Pierce Long, Jr.
, and Earl Kemp Long.
Dunn is a member of the Downtown Shreveport Rotary International
, one of the largest such clubs in the United States. He is a member of St. Marks' Episcopal Church on Rutherford Street in Shreveport.
Dunn was elected to the state legislature from District 3 in the 1971-1972 cycle, which brought Edwin Washington Edwards to the governorship. He worked in the House with Senator Williamson to obtain four-year status for Louisiana State University at Shreveport. He also fought to place Shreveport police and firefighters under the Louisiana state retirement system. He supported a successful constitutional amendment to require members of the Louisiana Board of Elemenatary and Secondary Education (BESE) to run at the same time, rather than with staggered terms.
Dunn called for an appointed state superintendent of education, an idea that came to fruition in the next session after he had left the legislature. He credited former Representative Alphonse J. Jackson of Shreveport, the father of Louisiana state Senator Lydia Jackson of Caddo Parish, with getting the bill passed.
Dunn said that he managed to acquire a popular water ride from the New Orleans World's Fair
of 1984, but the City of Shreveport has never used it. Dunn said that he worked with Republican Governor David C. Treen
to obtain six vans for the H.A.P. House on the Barksdale Air Force Base
in Bossier City
. The H.A.P. House provides special services for the handicapped.
Dunn also obtained state funds for a master plan for the Louisiana State Fair, held each fall in Shreveport, and a master plan and outlay plans for the museum which he administers.
One of Dunn's legislative colleagues was the late R. Harmon Drew, Sr.
, of Minden
, the seat of Webster Parish. Drew's son, Louisiana Circuit Court Judge
Harmon Drew, Jr.
, said that his father considered Dunn one of the hardest working and overall best legislators in Baton Rouge. Their terms coincided from 1972–1978, when the senior Drew returned to his previous post of Minden municipal judge.
, in the 1976 presidential election. In 1980, he ran for the Fourth Congressional District seat then held for a single term by former Representative Anthony Claude "Buddy" Leach, then of Leesville
, the seat of Vernon Parish in western Louisiana. He finished fifth among the six candidates, including former state Senator Cecil K. Carter, Jr.
, of Shreveport, state Senator Foster Campbell
of Bossier Parish, and state Representative Loy F. Weaver
of Claiborne Parish
.
The seat was won by Roemer, who unseated Leach in the "runoff", officially the Louisiana general election, which was held on the same day that Ronald W. Reagan unseated Democrat Jimmy Carter
for the presidency. When asked about his congressional race, the tight-lipped Dunn said simply, "I did not get enough votes." He declined to support either Leach or Roemer in the second round of balloting. Dunn received 8,208 ballots (6.7 percent). As predicted by some Republicans, Dunn polled more than enough votes to keep the Republican candidate, James H. "Jimmy" Wilson of Vivian, from a first- or second-place primary finish, presuming that Dunn voters' second choice in most cases may have been Wilson because the two shared ideas of fiscal conservatism.
Dunn retired in 2010 from the administrator's position at the Louisiana State Exhibit Museum. He was succeeded by Wayne Waddell
, who resigned from the Louisiana House of Representatives to accept the position.
Shreveport, Louisiana
Shreveport is the third largest city in Louisiana. It is the principal city of the fourth largest metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana and is the 109th-largest city in the United States....
and a former Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
member of the Louisiana House of Representatives
Louisiana House of Representatives
The Louisiana House of Representatives is the lower house in the Louisiana State Legislature, the state legislature of the US state of Louisiana. The House is composed of 105 Representatives, each of whom represents approximately 42,500 people . Members serve four-year terms with a term limit of...
, having served from 1972 to 1984 in the now majority African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
District 3 seat. In 1980, Dunn made an ill-fated campaign for the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
. He lost to the eventual general election
General election
In a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.The term...
winner, Buddy Roemer
Buddy Roemer
Charles Elson "Buddy" Roemer III is an American politician who served as the 52nd Governor of Louisiana, from 1988 to 1992. He was elected as a Democrat but switched to the Republican Party on March 11, 1991...
, then of Bossier Parish, and later the Democratic-turned-Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
governor from 1988 to 1992.
Early years, family, business
Dunn was born in Plain DealingPlain Dealing, Louisiana
Plain Dealing is a town in Bossier Parish, Louisiana, United States best known as the birthplace of former U.S. Representative Joe D. Waggonner, Jr. The population was 1,071 at the 2000 census...
in northern Bossier Parish to George Forrest Dunn, Sr., and the former Gladys Malone. The senior Dunn was a native of Bradley
Bradley, Arkansas
Bradley is a city in Lafayette County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 563 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Bradley is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land....
, a village in Lafayette County in far southwestern Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
, located just north of the Louisiana boundary. He was an automobile mechanic. Two other Louisiana Democratic political figures also have roots in tiny Plain Dealing: former U.S. Representative Joe David "Joe D." Waggonner, Jr.
Joe Waggonner
Joseph David Waggonner, Jr. , better known as Joe D. Waggonner, was a Democratic U.S. Representative from Bossier Parish who represented the old 4th Congressional District of northwest Louisiana from December 1961 until January 1979. He was also a confidant of Republican U.S...
, and the late state Treasurer A.P. Tugwell.
Dunn attended Bossier High School, did not graduate, but obtained a General Equivalency Diploma
GED
General Educational Development tests are a group of five subject tests which, when passed, certify that the taker has American or Canadian high school-level academic skills...
in 1947. He served two years in the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
, having been stationed aboard the U.S.S. Richmond.
While they were still teenagers, Dunn married the former Rachel Nelson (also born 1928). The couple had three children: Linda Dunn Turner (born 1947), Robby Jack Dunn (born 1949), and James Forrest "Jimmy" Dunn (1952–1985), who perished in an automobile accident in Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
. The Dunns subsequently divorced, and Forrest Dunn married the former Donna Young (born 1943). The first Mrs. Dunn later married former State Senator
Louisiana State Legislature
The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...
Donald Wayne Williamson
Don W. Williamson
Donald Wayne Williamson, usually known as Don Williamson , is a semiretired American businessman in Shreveport, the seat of Caddo Parish and the largest city in north Louisiana, who served in both houses of the Louisiana State Legislature between 1968 and 1980...
, originally from Vivian
Vivian, Louisiana
Vivian, is a town in Caddo Parish, Louisiana, United States and is home to the Red Bud Festival. The population was 4,031 at the 2000 census...
in northern Caddo Parish, and later of Shreveport. Williamson was widowed from his first wife, the former Norma Herring of Vivian. Williamson, like Dunn, spent years in the furniture business. Dunn had two brothers, George Ellis Dunn (1939-2002) and James Wayne Dunn, who died in 2004.
Dunn was a salesman prior to launching Dunn Furntiure Company, which operated for three decades: 1955-1985. The main location was at 4001 Jewella Avenue in Shreveport, and a second outlet was launched on Line Avenue. Son Robby Dunn assisted in the store for a number of years and later ran a flea market. Dunn said that so many changes had occurred in the production, marketing, and sale of furniture over the years that it was "too much to mention."
Four years after the furniture store closed, Dunn accepted an appointment from the Republican Secretary of State W. Fox McKeithen
W. Fox McKeithen
Walter Fox McKeithen served five terms as Secretary of State of Louisiana between 1988 and 2005. He is best remembered for merging the state's election divisions into one department and for the promotion of historical preservation.-Son of a governor:He was born Walter Fox McKeithen in Columbia in...
, to head the state museum, which is located on the site of the Louisiana State Fair. As museum administrator, Dunn has worked to bring to Shreveport new exhibits of interest to a wide segment of the community, including an acclaimed display on Huey Pierce Long, Jr.
Huey Long
Huey Pierce Long, Jr. , nicknamed The Kingfish, served as the 40th Governor of Louisiana from 1928–1932 and as a U.S. Senator from 1932 to 1935. A Democrat, he was noted for his radical populist policies. Though a backer of Franklin D...
, and Earl Kemp Long.
Dunn is a member of the Downtown Shreveport Rotary International
Rotary International
Rotary International is an organization of service clubs known as Rotary Clubs located all over the world. The stated purpose of the organization is to bring together business and professional leaders to provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help...
, one of the largest such clubs in the United States. He is a member of St. Marks' Episcopal Church on Rutherford Street in Shreveport.
Political life, 1972-1984
Dunn's first venture in politics was his relatively brief tenure on the Caddo Parish School Board from 1969-1972. Ironically, Don Williamson had also served on the school board, including a stint as its president. Williamson left the board to assume his legislative seat just as Dunn was beginning his board service.Dunn was elected to the state legislature from District 3 in the 1971-1972 cycle, which brought Edwin Washington Edwards to the governorship. He worked in the House with Senator Williamson to obtain four-year status for Louisiana State University at Shreveport. He also fought to place Shreveport police and firefighters under the Louisiana state retirement system. He supported a successful constitutional amendment to require members of the Louisiana Board of Elemenatary and Secondary Education (BESE) to run at the same time, rather than with staggered terms.
Dunn called for an appointed state superintendent of education, an idea that came to fruition in the next session after he had left the legislature. He credited former Representative Alphonse J. Jackson of Shreveport, the father of Louisiana state Senator Lydia Jackson of Caddo Parish, with getting the bill passed.
Dunn said that he managed to acquire a popular water ride from the New Orleans World's Fair
World's Fair
World's fair, World fair, Universal Exposition, and World Expo are various large public exhibitions held in different parts of the world. The first Expo was held in The Crystal Palace in Hyde Park, London, United Kingdom, in 1851, under the title "Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All...
of 1984, but the City of Shreveport has never used it. Dunn said that he worked with Republican Governor David C. Treen
David C. Treen
David Conner "Dave" Treen, Sr. , was an American attorney and politician from Mandeville, St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana – the first Republican Governor of the U.S. state of Louisiana since Reconstruction. He was the first Republican in modern times to have served in the U.S...
to obtain six vans for the H.A.P. House on the Barksdale Air Force Base
Barksdale Air Force Base
Barksdale Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately east-southeast of Bossier City, Louisiana.The host unit at Barksdale is the 2d Bomb Wing , the oldest Bomb Wing in the Air Force. It is assigned to the Air Force Global Strike Command's Eighth Air Force...
in Bossier City
Bossier City, Louisiana
Bossier City is a city in Bossier Parish, Louisiana, United States.As of the 2010 Census, the city had a total population of 61,315. Bossier City is closely tied to its larger sister city Shreveport, located on the western bank of the Red River. The Shreveport-Bossier City metropolitan area is the...
. The H.A.P. House provides special services for the handicapped.
Dunn also obtained state funds for a master plan for the Louisiana State Fair, held each fall in Shreveport, and a master plan and outlay plans for the museum which he administers.
One of Dunn's legislative colleagues was the late R. Harmon Drew, Sr.
R. Harmon Drew, Sr.
Richard Harmon Drew, Sr. was a fourth generation judge and a former Democratic state representative who was descended from pioneer families of Webster Parish in north Louisiana...
, of Minden
Minden, Louisiana
Minden is a city in the American state of Louisiana. It serves as the parish seat of Webster Parish and is located twenty-eight miles east of Shreveport, the seat of Caddo Parish. The population, which has been stable since 1960, was 13,027 at the 2000 census...
, the seat of Webster Parish. Drew's son, Louisiana Circuit Court Judge
Judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...
Harmon Drew, Jr.
Harmon Drew, Jr.
Richard Harmon Drew, Jr. , is a Louisiana judge, legal lecturer, and rhythm-and-blues musician. He is serving a second 10-year term on his state's Second Circuit Court of Appeal, based in Shreveport.-Ancestry:...
, said that his father considered Dunn one of the hardest working and overall best legislators in Baton Rouge. Their terms coincided from 1972–1978, when the senior Drew returned to his previous post of Minden municipal judge.
"Didn't get enough votes", 1980
Though he maintains Democratic affiliation, Dunn endorsed Republican President Gerald R. Ford, Jr.Gerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford, Jr. was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974...
, in the 1976 presidential election. In 1980, he ran for the Fourth Congressional District seat then held for a single term by former Representative Anthony Claude "Buddy" Leach, then of Leesville
Leesville, Louisiana
Leesville is a city in and the parish seat of Vernon Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 6,753 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Fort Polk South Micropolitan Statistical Area. The city is home to the Fort Polk U.S. Army installation...
, the seat of Vernon Parish in western Louisiana. He finished fifth among the six candidates, including former state Senator Cecil K. Carter, Jr.
Cecil K. Carter, Jr.
Cecil Kay Carter, Jr., known as C. Kay Carter, Jr., or C. K. Carter , is a businessman from Shreveport, Louisiana, who served as a Democratic member of the Louisiana State Senate from 1972 to 1976....
, of Shreveport, state Senator Foster Campbell
Foster Campbell
Foster L. Campbell, Jr. , is a Democratic member of the Louisiana Public Service Commission, a former 26-year member of the Louisiana State Senate, and an unsuccessful candidate for governor in the October 20, 2007, jungle primary. Campbell polled 161,425 votes and won two parishes: Red River and...
of Bossier Parish, and state Representative Loy F. Weaver
Loy F. Weaver
Loy Frank Weaver is a retired banker from Homer, the seat of Claiborne Parish in north Louisiana, who served as a Democrat in the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1976-1984...
of Claiborne Parish
Claiborne Parish, Louisiana
Claiborne Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Homer and as of 2000, the population is 16,851.-History:The parish is named for the first Louisiana governor, William C. C. Claiborne....
.
The seat was won by Roemer, who unseated Leach in the "runoff", officially the Louisiana general election, which was held on the same day that Ronald W. Reagan unseated Democrat Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
for the presidency. When asked about his congressional race, the tight-lipped Dunn said simply, "I did not get enough votes." He declined to support either Leach or Roemer in the second round of balloting. Dunn received 8,208 ballots (6.7 percent). As predicted by some Republicans, Dunn polled more than enough votes to keep the Republican candidate, James H. "Jimmy" Wilson of Vivian, from a first- or second-place primary finish, presuming that Dunn voters' second choice in most cases may have been Wilson because the two shared ideas of fiscal conservatism.
Dunn retired in 2010 from the administrator's position at the Louisiana State Exhibit Museum. He was succeeded by Wayne Waddell
Wayne Waddell
Wayne Leo Waddell is a Shreveport businessman and a Republican former member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from District 5 in Caddo Parish...
, who resigned from the Louisiana House of Representatives to accept the position.