Rufus D. Hayes
Encyclopedia
Rufus D. Hayes was an attorney, judge
, and business
man from Baton Rouge
, Louisiana
, who served as his state’s insurance commissioner
from 1957-1964. He was also a former district attorney
in East Baton Rouge Parish and in 1958 the Louisiana Democratic
state chairman. He was a delegate to the 1956
and 1960 Democratic National Convention
s held in Chicago, Illinois
, and Los Angeles
, California
, respectively.
Hayes graduated from Southern Baptist-affiliated Louisiana College
in Pineville
. He received his law degree from Louisiana State University Law Center. During World War II
he fought in the Pacific Theater of Operations
.
Hayes was appointed insurance commissioner by Governor Earl Kemp Long after Long convinced the legislature to remove the insurance duties from the domain of Secretary of State Wade O. Martin, Jr.
, with whom Long had quarreled. Hayes won a term of his own in the 1960 Democratic runoff election, having defeated Paul C. Tate (1922-1983) of Mamou
in Evangeline Parish
, the choice of gubernatorial candidate Bill Dodd. Hayes ran on the Jimmie Davis
ticket, all of whose members were successful at the ballot box. Hayes was the only statewide Democratic nominee unopposed in the general election
held on April 19, 1960.
In 1963-1964, Hayes did not seek a second elected term as insurance commissioner and was succeeded by Dudley A. Guglielmo
, who carried the endorsement of defeated gubernatorial candidates Gillis Long, Shelby M. Jackson
, Robert F. Kennon
, and Claude Kirkpatrick
. Two of the defeated candidates were the outgoing Louisiana State Representative
Jack M. Dyer
, also of Baton Rouge, who ran on the intraparty ticket of deLesseps Story "Chep" Morrison, Sr., and the departing State Senator
Speedy O. Long
of La Salle Parish
, the choice of John J. McKeithen, the winner of the gubernatorial primary runoff and general election.
In 1985, Hayes sold for $750,000 a 14 acres (56,656 m²) parcel on Highland Road to Jimmy Swaggart
Ministries.
Hayes was a judge after his time as insurance commissioner ended. For forty-two years, he was a member of the Hancock Bank board. At the time of his death, Hayes was residing in Baker
in East Baton Rouge Parish. He was living in Oklahoma
at the time he acquired his Social Security card
.
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...
, and business
Business
A business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...
man from Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and is the second-largest city in the state.Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, medical, and research center of the American South...
, 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...
, who served as his state’s insurance commissioner
Insurance commissioner
Insurance commissioner is an executive office in many U.S. states, some in the state cabinet. The office differs state by state:...
from 1957-1964. He was also a former district attorney
District attorney
In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...
in East Baton Rouge Parish and in 1958 the Louisiana 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...
state chairman. He was a delegate to the 1956
1956 Democratic National Convention
The 1956 National Convention of the Democratic Party nominated former Governor Adlai Stevenson of Illinois for President and Senator Estes Kefauver of Tennessee for Vice President. It was held in the International Amphitheatre on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois August 13–17 1956. Unsuccessful...
and 1960 Democratic National Convention
1960 Democratic National Convention
The 1960 Democratic National Convention was held in Los Angeles. In the end, the Kennedy-Johnson ticket was assembled and went on to secure an electoral college victory and a narrow popular vote plurality in the fall over the Republican candidates Richard M...
s held in Chicago, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, and Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, respectively.
Hayes graduated from Southern Baptist-affiliated Louisiana College
Louisiana College
Louisiana College is a private institution of higher education located in Pineville, Louisiana, affiliated with the Louisiana Baptist Convention, serving a student body of approximately 1,300 students. The college operates on a semester system, with two shorter summer terms...
in Pineville
Pineville, Louisiana
Pineville is a city in Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is adjacent to the city of Alexandria, and is part of that city's Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 13,829 at the 2000 census....
. He received his law degree from Louisiana State University Law Center. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
he fought in the Pacific Theater of Operations
Pacific Theater of Operations
The Pacific Theater of Operations was the World War II area of military activity in the Pacific Ocean and the countries bordering it, a geographic scope that reflected the operational and administrative command structures of the American forces during that period...
.
Hayes was appointed insurance commissioner by Governor Earl Kemp Long after Long convinced the legislature to remove the insurance duties from the domain of Secretary of State Wade O. Martin, Jr.
Wade O. Martin, Jr.
Wade Omer Martin, Jr. was the Democratic Secretary of State of Louisiana under five governors, having served from 1944 to 1976...
, with whom Long had quarreled. Hayes won a term of his own in the 1960 Democratic runoff election, having defeated Paul C. Tate (1922-1983) of Mamou
Mamou
Mamou is a city and sub prefecture in a valley of the Fouta Djallon area of Guinea. Population 76,269 .- History :It grew around the railway line from Conakry to Kankan and soon became the local administrative headquarters. Its main industry used to be until the 1990s decade meat processing, while...
in Evangeline Parish
Evangeline Parish, Louisiana
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 35,434 people, 12,736 households, and 9,157 families residing in the parish. The population density was 53 people per square mile . There were 14,258 housing units at an average density of 22 per square mile...
, the choice of gubernatorial candidate Bill Dodd. Hayes ran on the Jimmie Davis
Jimmie Davis
James Houston Davis , better known as Jimmie Davis, was a noted singer of both sacred and popular songs who served two nonconsecutive terms as the 47th Governor of Louisiana...
ticket, all of whose members were successful at the ballot box. Hayes was the only statewide Democratic nominee unopposed in the 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...
held on April 19, 1960.
In 1963-1964, Hayes did not seek a second elected term as insurance commissioner and was succeeded by Dudley A. Guglielmo
Dudley A. Guglielmo
Dudley Anthony Guglielmo, Sr. , was the Louisiana insurance commissioner from 1964 to 1972. He served two terms until he was denied renomination in the 1971 Democratic primary by Sherman A. Bernard, a house mover from Westwego in Jefferson Parish...
, who carried the endorsement of defeated gubernatorial candidates Gillis Long, Shelby M. Jackson
Shelby M. Jackson
Shelby M. Jackson was a Democratic superintendent of public education in Louisiana who served from 1948-1964. In the early 1960s, he tried in vain to block federally-authorized school desegregation. Jackson was posthumously honored in 1994, by the naming of the "Shelby M...
, Robert F. Kennon
Robert F. Kennon
Robert Floyd Kennon, Sr., known as Bob Kennon , was the 48th Governor of Louisiana, serving from 1952-1956. He failed to win a second non-consecutive term in the 1963 Democratic primary....
, and Claude Kirkpatrick
Claude Kirkpatrick
Claude Kirkpatrick was a diversified businessman who served two terms in the Louisiana House of Representatives , worked to establish Toledo Bend Reservoir through his directorship of the state Department of Public Works , and was the administrator and then president of Baton Rouge General Medical...
. Two of the defeated candidates were the outgoing Louisiana State Representative
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...
Jack M. Dyer
Jack M. Dyer
Jack M. Dyer is a Democrat who served in the Louisiana House of Representatives from East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, from 1960-1964....
, also of Baton Rouge, who ran on the intraparty ticket of deLesseps Story "Chep" Morrison, Sr., and the departing 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...
Speedy O. Long
Speedy O. Long
Speedy Oteria Long was a Jena lawyer who was a Democratic U.S. Representative from central Louisiana between 1965 and 1973. Prior to his tenure in the since disbanded Eighth Congressional District, Speedy Long had been a member of the Louisiana state Senate...
of La Salle Parish
La Salle Parish, Louisiana
La Salle Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of 2000, the population was 14,282. The parish seat is Jena.-Geography:The parish has a total area of , of which is land and is water....
, the choice of John J. McKeithen, the winner of the gubernatorial primary runoff and general election.
In 1985, Hayes sold for $750,000 a 14 acres (56,656 m²) parcel on Highland Road to Jimmy Swaggart
Jimmy Swaggart
Jimmy Lee Swaggart is a Pentecostal American pastor, teacher, musician, television host, and televangelist. He has preached to crowds around the world through his weekly telecast...
Ministries.
Hayes was a judge after his time as insurance commissioner ended. For forty-two years, he was a member of the Hancock Bank board. At the time of his death, Hayes was residing in Baker
Baker, Louisiana
Baker is a city in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, United States, and a part of the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 13,793 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Baker is located at...
in East Baton Rouge Parish. He was living 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...
at the time he acquired his Social Security card
Social Security number
In the United States, a Social Security number is a nine-digit number issued to U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and temporary residents under section 205 of the Social Security Act, codified as . The number is issued to an individual by the Social Security Administration, an independent...
.