![]() But as he got older he lost the step ahead of the law he had maintained through constant investigations and scandals, and went off for eight years in the hoosegow at the age of 75 after a conviction for receiving bribes in connection with casino licenses. In the Louisiana style, he often courted the appearance of impropriety (his reputation as a womanizer and his two divorces never seemed to hurt him in a state mostly divided between Catholics and Baptists). His persona was that of a Robin Hood who fought for the dispossessed but was perpetually willing to cut himself and his friends and family in on every deal. But mostly he was legendary for personifying Louisiana’s taste for lovable populist rascals in the tradition of Huey and Earl Long even as the state drifted toward its current condition as a Republican-dominated bastion of economic and cultural conservatism.Įdwards grew up poor in Cajun country (his father was half creole and a Protestant his mother, a Catholic, was actually descended from French settlers who bypassed Acadia) and never forgot it. His accomplishments as governor included a key role in shaping the current Louisiana Constitution, a successful effort to tie oil and gas royalties to market prices, and the abolition of party primaries in favor of a nonpartisan “jungle primary” requiring a majority vote (then a general election “runoff” for election). The former four-term governor of Louisiana has died at the age of 93 of natural causes, surrounded by family members, including his 41-year-old third wife, Trina, and his 7-year-old son, Eli.Īt various points in his long life, in addition to his gubernatorial terms, Edwards was a Pentecostal preacher, a councilman in the small southwest Louisiana town of Crowley, a state legislator, a congressman, an associate justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court, chief librarian at the Oakdale Federal Correctional Institute (where he was inmate #03128-095), and even a reality-TV star. To call Edwin Edwards “colorful” is like saying Cajun cuisine is “spicy.” It’s true, but the word is hardly adequate in describing the reality. Edwards and Duke earned spots in a runoff, which Edwards won in a landslide by stoking fears that an ex-Nazi in the governor’s mansion would bring economic ruin.Edwin Edwards in 1985 during his third term as governor of Louisiana. His switch to the Republican Party didn’t help.Įdwards entered the 1991 race - which was open to members of all parties - as did former Klansman David Duke also running as a Republican. Buddy Roemer, Edwards appeared politically finished.īut Roemer suffered political setbacks during his four years, including voter rejection of a tax overhaul package. His fortunes had faded by the time he was acquitted the next year: Bowing out of a 1987 runoff when he faced certain defeat against Democratic Rep. He had seemed impervious to earlier scandals, even when he acknowledged that he and his wife Elaine received $20,000 from South Korean government agent Tongsun Park.īut in 1985, he was indicted on federal racketeering charges involving hospital and nursing home regulations. Meanwhile, his reputation for impropriety caught up with him. Edwards pushed through $700 million in highly unpopular taxes.
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