Melinda Schwegmann
Encyclopedia
Melinda B. Schwegmann was the lieutenant governor
of Louisiana
from 1992–1996 – the first woman to hold the position. She made an unsuccessful run for governor of Louisiana in 1995. In 1997, she won a special election to the Louisiana State House of Representatives
, District 98, from the Orleans Parish Lakefront, a predominantly African American area, previously represented for fifteen years by a conservative Republican
Garey Forster
. Schwegmann was elected to a full House term in 1999. In 2003, she relinquished the House seat, which was dismembered by reapportionment. Formerly a member of the Democratic Party
, that same year she switched affiliation to the Republican Party
in a fruitless effort to regain the lieutenant governor's position.
. Prior to her entry into politics, she was a teacher and a real estate developer. She attended Louisiana State University
in Baton Rouge, but her bachelor's degree
in education is from the University of New Orleans
. She is an alumna of Phi Mu
Fraternity
. She is married to former Public Service Commissioner John F. Schwegmann
(born 1945) of Metairie
in Jefferson Parish. She is the mother of three children and, as of 2006, the grandmother of two. Mrs. Schwegmann is a past president of the Louisiana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
. She was also a board member of the defunct Schwegmann Giant Supermarket chain, which was started by her late father-in-law John G. Schwegmann
(1911–1995) of Metairie. John G. Schwegmann was a former state representative, state senator, and public service commissioner. John F. Schwegmann succeeded his father as chairman of the supermarket board and as a member of the PSC. The junior Schwegmann was elected to the PSC in 1981 and served until his defeat in 1996. John F. Schwegmann began his political career as a Democrat but switched to "independent" designation in 2002.
, originally from St. Martinville
, in the 1991 general election.
In the 1991 jungle primary
, Hardy and Schwegmann virtually tied, 624,371 (43 percent) for Schwegmann and 620,199 (also 43 percent) for Hardy. In the general election, Schwegmann scored a large victory, 1,009,026 (59 percent) to Hardy's 693,412 (41 percent). There was speculation that Schwegmann benefited from coattails of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Edwin Washington Edwards, who won his fourth nonconsecutive term as governor in that same election over David Duke
, a member of the KKK who was opposed by the GOP
leadership. Hardy had opposed Duke and was unable to conduct an independent campaign that would have enabled him to compete effectively with Schwegmann.
Yet, another Democratic woman also entered the governor's race, state Treasurer (and later U.S. senator) Mary Landrieu
. Neither woman gained a general election spot. Landrieu's father, Maurice "Moon" Landrieu
had been a sharp critic of John G. Schwegmann in the 1960s and 1970s. The 1995 race hence featured Schwegmann-Landrieu competition that resulted in a third-place finish for Landrieu, with Schwegmann in an embarrassing sixth place.
Melinda Schwegmann polled 71,288 ballots (only 5 percent) in the gubernatorial primary; even her father-in-law John G. Schwegmann had run better in the 1971 Democratic primary for governor, eventually won by Edwin Edwards. Mary Landrieu drew 271,938 votes (18 percent); she was approximately 1 percentage point short of winning a second place position, which would have placed her in the general election. Former Democratic State Senator Murphy J. "Mike" Foster
of St. Mary Parish
converted to Republican allegiance during the early portion of the primary campaign. He entered the general election, popularly called the "runoff" in Louisiana, with young black Democratic Congressman Cleo Fields
of Baton Rouge. Foster defeated Fields by a margin of 64–36 percent. Schwegmann was succeeded as lieutenant governor by another Democratic woman, Kathleen Babineaux Blanco of Lafayette
, who served two terms in the second-position.
of New Orleans, the brother of Senator Mary Landrieu. Mitch Landrieu defeated five Republican rivals to win the right to succeed Blanco as lieutenant governor. Blanco was instead elected governor—the first woman to hold the position in Louisiana.
Melinda Schwegmann "pulled a Foster" in this race in that she switched to Republican affiliation to make the lieutenant governor's race. On June 24, 2003, she became the then 50th Republican member of the 105-member Louisiana House. Schwegmann said that she had received more encouragement from Republicans than she had from Democrats in whether she should run again for lieutenant governor. However, another Republican who announced his candidacy thereafter, former Eighth District Congressman Clyde C. Holloway
of tiny Forest Hill
in Rapides Parish received most of the pro-life and conservative vote. Neither Schwegmann, Holloway, nor an African American Republican, Kirt Bennett
of Baton Rouge, was competitive against Mitch Landrieu. Official results from the October 4, 2003, contest showed Landrieu with 674,803 votes (53 percent), compared to Holloway's 249,668 ballots (19 percent), and Schwegmann's 215,402 votes (17 percent). Three other Republicans shared another 10 percent of the vote.
On May 13, 1999, the Louisiana House Labor Committee killed Mrs. Schwegmann's bill to prohibit workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation
by a vote of three for and eight against. All who supported the bill were Democrats at a time, when Schwegmann was herself a Democrat. Religious groups lobbied against Schwegmann's measure.
In 1997, Mrs. Schwegmann was inducted into the Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame
in Winnfield
.
Lieutenant governor
A lieutenant governor or lieutenant-governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction, but is often the deputy or lieutenant to or ranking under a governor — a "second-in-command"...
of Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
from 1992–1996 – the first woman to hold the position. She made an unsuccessful run for governor of Louisiana in 1995. In 1997, she won a special election to the Louisiana State 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...
, District 98, from the Orleans Parish Lakefront, a predominantly African American area, previously represented for fifteen years by a conservative 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...
Garey Forster
Garey Forster
Garey Forster is an American radio host who served in District 98 as a Republican member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1982–1997, when he resigned to become the state secretary of labor under Governor Murphy J...
. Schwegmann was elected to a full House term in 1999. In 2003, she relinquished the House seat, which was dismembered by reapportionment. Formerly a member of the Democratic Party
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...
, that same year she switched affiliation to the Republican Party
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...
in a fruitless effort to regain the lieutenant governor's position.
Biography
Melinda Schwegmann was born in Austin, TexasAustin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
. Prior to her entry into politics, she was a teacher and a real estate developer. She attended Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...
in Baton Rouge, but her bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in education is from the University of New Orleans
University of New Orleans
The University of New Orleans, often referred to locally as UNO, is a medium-sized public urban university located on the New Orleans Lakefront within New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. It is a member of the LSU System and the Urban 13 association. Currently UNO is without a proper chancellor...
. She is an alumna of Phi Mu
Phi Mu
Phi Mu is the second oldest female fraternal organization established in the United States. It was founded at Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia. The organization was founded as the Philomathean Society on January 4, 1852, and was announced publicly on March 4 of the same year...
Fraternity
Fraternities and sororities
Fraternities and sororities are fraternal social organizations for undergraduate students. In Latin, the term refers mainly to such organizations at colleges and universities in the United States, although it is also applied to analogous European groups also known as corporations...
. She is married to former Public Service Commissioner John F. Schwegmann
John F. Schwegmann
John F. Schwegmann is a Metairie businessman, who was elected as a Democrat to the Louisiana Public Service Commission in 1981 to succeed his father, John G. Schwegmann. In 2002, Schwegmann declared himself an independent. He served for 15 years on the PSC, the public body which regulates rates of...
(born 1945) of Metairie
Metairie, Louisiana
Metairie is a census-designated place in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, United States and is a major part of the New Orleans Metropolitan Area. Metairie is the largest community in Jefferson Parish. It is an unincorporated area that would be larger than most of the state's cities if it were...
in Jefferson Parish. She is the mother of three children and, as of 2006, the grandmother of two. Mrs. Schwegmann is a past president of the Louisiana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is a non-profit animal welfare organization originally founded in England in 1824 to pass laws protecting carriage horses from abuse. SPCA groups are now found in many nations, where they campaign for animal welfare, assist in cruelty to animals...
. She was also a board member of the defunct Schwegmann Giant Supermarket chain, which was started by her late father-in-law John G. Schwegmann
John G. Schwegmann
John Gerald Schwegmann, Jr., was a pioneer in the development of the modern supermarket. He owned eighteen stores in the Greater New Orleans area, based from Metairie, a large unincorporated city in Jefferson Parish...
(1911–1995) of Metairie. John G. Schwegmann was a former state representative, state senator, and public service commissioner. John F. Schwegmann succeeded his father as chairman of the supermarket board and as a member of the PSC. The junior Schwegmann was elected to the PSC in 1981 and served until his defeat in 1996. John F. Schwegmann began his political career as a Democrat but switched to "independent" designation in 2002.
Unseating Republican Paul Hardy, 1991
Mrs. Schwegmann, as a Democrat without any previous political experience—she called herself "a housewife and a nonprofit volunteer" – upset incumbent Republican Lieutenant Governor Paul HardyPaul Hardy
Paul Jude Hardy is a Baton Rouge attorney who was the first Republican to have been elected lieutenant governor of Louisiana since Reconstruction...
, originally from St. Martinville
St. Martinville, Louisiana
St. Martinville is a city in and the parish seat of St. Martin Parish, Louisiana, United States. It lies on Bayou Teche, sixteen miles south of Breaux Bridge, eighteen miles southeast of Lafayette, and nine miles north of New Iberia. The population was 6,989 at the 2000 census. It is part of the...
, in the 1991 general election.
In the 1991 jungle primary
Jungle primary
A nonpartisan blanket primary is a primary election in which all candidates for elected office run in the same primary regardless of political party. Under this system, the top two candidates who receive the most votes advance to the next round, as in a runoff election...
, Hardy and Schwegmann virtually tied, 624,371 (43 percent) for Schwegmann and 620,199 (also 43 percent) for Hardy. In the general election, Schwegmann scored a large victory, 1,009,026 (59 percent) to Hardy's 693,412 (41 percent). There was speculation that Schwegmann benefited from coattails of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Edwin Washington Edwards, who won his fourth nonconsecutive term as governor in that same election over David Duke
David Duke
David Ernest Duke is a former Grand Wizard of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan an American activist and writer, and former Republican Louisiana State Representative. He was also a former candidate in the Republican presidential primaries in 1992, and in the Democratic presidential primaries in...
, a member of the KKK who was opposed by the GOP
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...
leadership. Hardy had opposed Duke and was unable to conduct an independent campaign that would have enabled him to compete effectively with Schwegmann.
A weak gubernatorial showing, 1995
Melinda Schwegmann interpreted her big victory at the age of 45 in 1991—she exceeded 1 million raw votes—as a sign that she should run for governor in 1995. As lieutenant governor, her primary responsibility was to manage the Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation & Tourism. Schwegmann said that she also addressed the concerns and issues of seniors citizens, children and the disabled. She thought that voters would elevate her to the governorship based on her stewardship of the second office, sometimes called "light governor" in Louisiana.Yet, another Democratic woman also entered the governor's race, state Treasurer (and later U.S. senator) Mary Landrieu
Mary Landrieu
Mary Loretta Landrieu is the senior United States Senator from the State of Louisiana and a member of the Democratic Party.Born in Arlington, Virginia, Landrieu was raised in New Orleans, Louisiana...
. Neither woman gained a general election spot. Landrieu's father, Maurice "Moon" Landrieu
Moon Landrieu
Maurice Edwin "Moon" Landrieu is a Democratic politician from Louisiana who served as Mayor of New Orleans from 1970–1978. He also is a former judge...
had been a sharp critic of John G. Schwegmann in the 1960s and 1970s. The 1995 race hence featured Schwegmann-Landrieu competition that resulted in a third-place finish for Landrieu, with Schwegmann in an embarrassing sixth place.
Melinda Schwegmann polled 71,288 ballots (only 5 percent) in the gubernatorial primary; even her father-in-law John G. Schwegmann had run better in the 1971 Democratic primary for governor, eventually won by Edwin Edwards. Mary Landrieu drew 271,938 votes (18 percent); she was approximately 1 percentage point short of winning a second place position, which would have placed her in the general election. Former Democratic State Senator Murphy J. "Mike" Foster
Murphy J. Foster, Jr.
Murphy James "Mike" Foster, Jr. served as 53rd Governor of Louisiana from January 1996 until January 2004. Foster's father was Murphy J. Foster, Jr., but Mike Foster uses "Jr." even though he is technically Murphy J. Foster, III. Foster is a businessman, landowner, and sportsman in St...
of St. Mary Parish
St. Mary Parish, Louisiana
St. Mary Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Franklin. As of 2000, the population was 53,500.The Morgan City Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of St. Mary Parish.-Geography:...
converted to Republican allegiance during the early portion of the primary campaign. He entered the general election, popularly called the "runoff" in Louisiana, with young black Democratic Congressman Cleo Fields
Cleo Fields
Cleo Fields is a lawyer and politician. He is a former member of the United States House of Representatives from Louisiana....
of Baton Rouge. Foster defeated Fields by a margin of 64–36 percent. Schwegmann was succeeded as lieutenant governor by another Democratic woman, Kathleen Babineaux Blanco of Lafayette
Lafayette, Louisiana
Lafayette is a city in and the parish seat of Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, United States, on the Vermilion River. The population was 120,623 at the 2010 census...
, who served two terms in the second-position.
Election to the state legislature, 1997
On October 25, 1997, Melinda Schwegmann, in a special election won a seat from the New Orleans Lakefront in the state House of Representatives. She defeated the Republican George Simno, 4,479 (63.3 percent) to 2,599 (36.7 percent). She was elected to a full term in 1999 but surrendered her position, District 98, in 2003 in order to run once again for lieutenant governor. Schwegmann had to rent an apartment in New Orleans, away from the family home in Metairie, to meet the residency qualification for being state representative.A second campaign for lieutenant governor, 2003
The longstanding competition between the Landrieu and Schwegmann families cropped up again in the 2003 lieutenant governor's race. The big primary winner (no general election contest was required) was Democratic State Representative Mitch LandrieuMitch Landrieu
Mitchell Joseph "Mitch" Landrieu is the Mayor of New Orleans, former Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana, and a member of the Landrieu family. Landrieu is a member of the Democratic Party and a Roman Catholic. He is the son of former New Orleans mayor and Secretary of the United States Department of...
of New Orleans, the brother of Senator Mary Landrieu. Mitch Landrieu defeated five Republican rivals to win the right to succeed Blanco as lieutenant governor. Blanco was instead elected governor—the first woman to hold the position in Louisiana.
Melinda Schwegmann "pulled a Foster" in this race in that she switched to Republican affiliation to make the lieutenant governor's race. On June 24, 2003, she became the then 50th Republican member of the 105-member Louisiana House. Schwegmann said that she had received more encouragement from Republicans than she had from Democrats in whether she should run again for lieutenant governor. However, another Republican who announced his candidacy thereafter, former Eighth District Congressman Clyde C. Holloway
Clyde C. Holloway
Clyde Cecil Holloway is an American small business owner from Forest Hill in the southern part of Rapides Parish who is one of five members of the Louisiana Public Service Commission. He also served as a conservative Republican member of the U.S...
of tiny Forest Hill
Forest Hill, Louisiana
Forest Hill is a village in Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is part of the Alexandria, Louisiana Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 456 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Forest Hill is located at ....
in Rapides Parish received most of the pro-life and conservative vote. Neither Schwegmann, Holloway, nor an African American Republican, Kirt Bennett
Kirt Bennett
Kirt Bruce Bennett was an African-American Republican political activist, businessman, and educational leader in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.-Early years:...
of Baton Rouge, was competitive against Mitch Landrieu. Official results from the October 4, 2003, contest showed Landrieu with 674,803 votes (53 percent), compared to Holloway's 249,668 ballots (19 percent), and Schwegmann's 215,402 votes (17 percent). Three other Republicans shared another 10 percent of the vote.
Schwegmann's support for gay rights
Republicans did not coalesce behind Schwegmann in part because most of the focus was on the governorship. Her "gay rights" position also was unpopular with many within the GOP rank-and-file. Schwegmann in fact polled a considerable Republican vote considering that she had supported homosexual rights while in the legislature. A gay rights publication, Southern Voice, called both Schwegmann (and Landrieu as well) "gay-friendly." The magazine noted that Mrs. Schwegmann in the legislature had opposed Louisiana's anti-sodomy laws.On May 13, 1999, the Louisiana House Labor Committee killed Mrs. Schwegmann's bill to prohibit workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation
Sexual orientation
Sexual orientation describes a pattern of emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions to the opposite sex, the same sex, both, or neither, and the genders that accompany them. By the convention of organized researchers, these attractions are subsumed under heterosexuality, homosexuality,...
by a vote of three for and eight against. All who supported the bill were Democrats at a time, when Schwegmann was herself a Democrat. Religious groups lobbied against Schwegmann's measure.
In 1997, Mrs. Schwegmann was inducted into the Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame
Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame
The Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame in Winnfield, Louisiana, highlights the careers of more than a hundred of the state’s leading politicians and political journalists. Because three governors, Huey P. Long, Jr., Oscar K...
in Winnfield
Winnfield, Louisiana
Winnfield is a city in and the parish seat of Winn Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 5,749 at the 2000 census. It has long been associated with the Long faction of the Louisiana Democratic Party and was home to three governors of Louisiana.-Geography:Winnfield is located at ...
.