Richard Alvin Tonry is a former 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...

 politician affiliated with the Democratic Party and a one-term congressman.

Tonry was born in New Orleans. He graduated from Spring Hill College

Spring Hill College

Spring Hill College is a private, Roman Catholic Jesuit liberal arts college in the United States. It was founded in 1830 on the Gulf Coast in Mobile, Alabama, by Most Rev. Michael Portier, Bishop of Mobile, Alabama...

 in Mobile, Alabama

Mobile, Alabama

Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...

, in 1962. He earned a law degree from Loyola University of New Orleans in 1967. He practiced law in the New Orleans area for almost a decade before being elected to 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...

 in 1975.

Shortly after taking his state house seat, Tonry announced his candidacy for Louisiana's 1st congressional district

Louisiana's 1st congressional district

Louisiana's 1st congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The district comprises mostly land on the North Shore and South Shore of Lake Pontchartrain, although it also contains areas west of Lake Pontchartrain. The district includes some or all of the...

 after 36-year incumbent F. Edward Hébert

Felix Edward Hébert

Felix Edward Hébert , known as F. Edward Hébert, was the longest-serving member of the United States House of Representatives from the state of Louisiana, having represented the New Orleans-based First Congressional District as a Democrat from 1941 until his retirement in 1977.Hébert was born in...

 announced his retirement. He narrowly defeated Republican Bob Livingston

Bob Livingston

Robert Linlithgow "Bob" Livingston Jr. is a Washington, D.C.-based lobbyist and a former Republican U.S. Representative from Louisiana...

, an assistant state attorney general, in one of the last elections held before Louisiana adopted its 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...

. A special election would be called and Republican Bob Livingston

Bob Livingston

Robert Linlithgow "Bob" Livingston Jr. is a Washington, D.C.-based lobbyist and a former Republican U.S. Representative from Louisiana...

 was elected to replace him.

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