Edward Kennon
Encyclopedia
Francis Edward Kennon, Jr. (born August 31, 1938), usually known as Ed Kennon is a multi-millionaire Shreveport
real-estate developer and a former Democratic
member of the Louisiana Public Service Commission
, the regulatory body for oil
, natural gas
, and utilities. He represented north Louisiana
on the commission for two six-year terms from January 1, 1973, until December 31, 1984. During his tenure, the panel was enlarged from three to five members under a provision of the Louisiana Constitution of 1974
. Kennon first represented thirty-three parishes in District 3 and then eighteen parishes in the smaller District 5. Kennon was a nephew
of Governor
Robert F. Kennon
, a conservative Democrat who served from 1952-1956.
, the seat of Webster Parish in northwestern Louisiana. His father, Francis Edward Kennon, Sr. (1899–1945), was known as F. E. Kennon; his mother, Clara Wallace Kennon (1913–1997), was a native of Arkansas
. F.E. and his brother, Webb Kennon, operated the former Kennon's Grocery in downtown Minden, the first in Minden to have price tags on the merchandise. After Floyd's death, Clara continued to operate the store, for which she had long handled the financial obligations. She also did tax consulting for individual clients. Kennon's paternal grandfather, Floyd Kennon (1871–1966), started the store. Kennon has a younger brother, Michael Webster "Mike" Kennon (born 1942). After he graduated from Minden High School
in 1956, Ed Kennon attended the Methodist-affiliated Centenary College
in Shreveport but did not graduate. Instead, he entered the concrete
business in Minden with Frank B. Treat, Jr. (1923–1994) and built the Kennon Apartments there. Later he became a high-powered developer in Shreveport, the seat of Caddo Parish, and adjoining Bossier City
in Bossier Parish. He and his wife are directors of the Tri-State Bank
and Trust in Haughton
in Bossier Parish. Kennon purchased the bank from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
. and owns the Tri-State Sand
and Gravel
Company, the developer of Lakewood, a 600-home subdivision
in Bossier. He also is the developer of Forest Hills in Bossier Parish. City.
, a folksy lawyer
from tiny Columbia
, the seat of Caldwell Parish south of Monroe
. Ironically, gubernatorial candidate McKeithen then held the PSC seat to which Kennon would be elected eight years later.
On November 6, 1971, Kennon ran unsuccessfully in a 10-candidate Democratic field for lieutenant governor
in an effort to succeed the retiring Clarence C. "Taddy" Aycock
of Franklin
, the seat of St. Mary Parish
in south Louisiana. Aycock instead ran for governor. Kennon finished third with 162,944 votes. Other candidates in the field included two bankers who served in the legislature, State Senator
Jamar Adcock
of Monroe and State Representative
P.J. Mills
of Shreveport, who finished narrowly behind Kennon in fourth place. Mills later headed Blue Cross Blue Shield in his native Baton Rouge
. The party nomination and the general election
went to former New Orleans City Councilman James E. "Jimmy" Fitzmorris, Jr.
, a former Morrison protege. After he defeated Adcock in the party runoff election, Fitzmorris easily dispatched the Republican candidate, former State Representative Morley A. Hudson
of Shreveport. Closed primaries ended in Louisiana in 1975, but they returned in 2008 only for congressional races. In the lieutenant governor's race, Kennon had to compete with a second candidate from Webster Parish, outgoing State Representative
Parey P. Branton, Sr., of Shongaloo
. Branton was allied with gubernatorial candidate John G. Schwegmann
of Jefferson Parish in the New Orleans suburb
s. Ironically, Schwegmann later became one of Kennon's colleagues on the Public Service Commission. Statewide, Branton polled only 53,295 votes, fewer than third of the votes that Kennon amassed.
John S. Hunt, III
(1928–2001), a Monroe
attorney
and a nephew of former Governors Huey Pierce Long, Jr., and Earl Kemp Long. Hunt's mother, Lucille Long Hunt (1898–1985), was a sister of the two governors. Also in the race was a Long kinsman named "Huey P. Long" (1929–2004), then of Pineville
in Rapides Parish. Hunt alleged that Kennon had recruited Long as a candidate to siphon away some of Hunt's pro-Long support. In the primary, Kennon led with 122,573 votes (47.1 percent) to Hunt's 106,212 (40.8 percent). Long procured a critical 31,692 votes (12.2 percent). Kennon led in twenty-three parishes in the sprawling district, which then reached as far south as West Baton Rouge Parish. He won 58 percent in his native Webster Parish and also procured pluralities in Natchitoches, La Salle, De Soto, Avoyelles, St. Landry, and the Long traditional stronghold of Winn. Hunt led in ten parishes, including Caddo, Bossier, Lincoln, Ouachita, and Jackson.
Kennon easily defeated Hunt in the September 30 party runoff, 125,877 votes (58 percent) to 90,833 (42 percent). Kennon won twenty-nine parishes to Hunt's four. Hunt lost his native Lincoln Parish in the runoff by 176 votes and held his home base, Ouachita Parish, by a single vote, 15,502 to 15,501. Kennon was unopposed in the November 7 general election
, as no Republican
candidate qualified for the ballot.
On September 16, 1978, Kennon won his second term in the revised Fifth District PSC seat. In the jungle primary
, he polled 124,147 votes (71 percent) to 50,652 (29 percent) for intraparty rival Wayne Martin Pender (born 1940) of Monroe. Kennon won all eighteen parishes. Again, there was no Republican candidate for the seat, once held by Huey P. Long, Jr., himself.
Kennon joined the three-member PSC when he was thirty-four. The senior member and chairman, Ernest S. Clements
, a Long
protege, was seventy-five and nearing the end of a long public career. The two presented a contrast in age and faction
. Clements left the PSC at the end of 1974. With the five-member board, Kennon served with fellow Commissioners John F. Schwegmann
(son of John G. Schwegmann), Nat B. Knight, Thomas E. "Tommy" Powell of Eunice
in Evangeline Parish, and chairman Louis Lambert, Jr., of Baton Rouge, a former and future member of the Louisiana State Senate
. Kennon did not seek public office after his PSC term expired, but in 1994 he announced that he would run for governor in 1995. Instead he withdrew from gubernatorial consideration on August 2, 1994, and the seat eventually went to Republican Murphy J. "Mike" Foster, Jr.
, of St. Mary Parish, the grandson of a previous namesake governor. Kennon was succeeded on the PSC by fellow Democrat Donald Lynn "Don" Owen (born 1930), a former KSLA-TV
news anchorman from Shreveport. In 2004, Kennon crossed party lines to contribute to the successful Republican candidate for the United States Senate
, David Vitter
of suburban New Orleans.
in Bossier Parish. After Kennon and Virginia divorced, he married the former Jeanette Claire "Jenny" Woodard (born 1939), who was the widow
of professional basketball
player Jackie Moreland
. After seven years of marriage, Kennon divorced Jeanette. He wed the former Brenda Evans (born 1958). They have a daughter, Kari Melissa Kennon (born 1986).
The Kennons reside in a mansion
in the fashionable Ellerbe Road area of southeast Shreveport.
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....
real-estate developer 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 Public Service Commission
Louisiana Public Service Commission
Louisiana Public Service Commission is an independent regulatory agency which manages public utilities and motor carriers in Louisiana. The commission has five elected members chosen in single-member districts for staggered six-year terms...
, the regulatory body for oil
Oil
An oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and does not mix with water but may mix with other oils and organic solvents. This general definition includes vegetable oils, volatile essential oils, petrochemical oils, and synthetic oils....
, natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
, and utilities. He represented north 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...
on the commission for two six-year terms from January 1, 1973, until December 31, 1984. During his tenure, the panel was enlarged from three to five members under a provision of the Louisiana Constitution of 1974
Louisiana Constitution
The Constitution of the State of Louisiana is the cornerstone of Louisiana state law ensuring the rights of individuals, describing the distribution and power of state officials and local government, establishes the state and city civil service systems, creates and defines the operation of a state...
. Kennon first represented thirty-three parishes in District 3 and then eighteen parishes in the smaller District 5. Kennon was a nephew
Nephew
Nephew is a son of one's sibling or sibling-in-law, and niece is a daughter of one's sibling or a sibling-in-law. Sons and daughters of siblings-in-law are also informally referred to as nephews and nieces respectively, even though there is no blood relation...
of Governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
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....
, a conservative Democrat who served from 1952-1956.
Early years, education, business
Like his more famous uncle, Ed Kennon was born in MindenMinden, 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 in northwestern Louisiana. His father, Francis Edward Kennon, Sr. (1899–1945), was known as F. E. Kennon; his mother, Clara Wallace Kennon (1913–1997), was a native of 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...
. F.E. and his brother, Webb Kennon, operated the former Kennon's Grocery in downtown Minden, the first in Minden to have price tags on the merchandise. After Floyd's death, Clara continued to operate the store, for which she had long handled the financial obligations. She also did tax consulting for individual clients. Kennon's paternal grandfather, Floyd Kennon (1871–1966), started the store. Kennon has a younger brother, Michael Webster "Mike" Kennon (born 1942). After he graduated from Minden High School
Minden High School (Minden, Louisiana)
Minden High School is the public secondary educational institution in Minden, a small city of 13,000 and the seat of Webster Parish located twenty-eight miles east of Shreveport in northwestern Louisiana...
in 1956, Ed Kennon attended the Methodist-affiliated Centenary College
Centenary College of Louisiana
Centenary College of Louisiana is a primarily undergraduate, liberal arts and sciences college in Shreveport, Louisiana. The college is one of the founding members of the Associated Colleges of the South, a pedagogical organization consisting of sixteen Southern liberal arts colleges...
in Shreveport but did not graduate. Instead, he entered the concrete
Concrete
Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...
business in Minden with Frank B. Treat, Jr. (1923–1994) and built the Kennon Apartments there. Later he became a high-powered developer in Shreveport, the seat of Caddo Parish, and adjoining 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...
in Bossier Parish. He and his wife are directors of the Tri-State Bank
Bank
A bank is a financial institution that serves as a financial intermediary. The term "bank" may refer to one of several related types of entities:...
and Trust in Haughton
Haughton, Louisiana
Haughton is a town in Bossier Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 2,792 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Shreveport–Bossier City Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Haughton is located at ....
in Bossier Parish. Kennon purchased the bank from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is a United States government corporation created by the Glass–Steagall Act of 1933. It provides deposit insurance, which guarantees the safety of deposits in member banks, currently up to $250,000 per depositor per bank. , the FDIC insures deposits at...
. and owns the Tri-State Sand
Sand
Sand is a naturally occurring granular material composed of finely divided rock and mineral particles.The composition of sand is highly variable, depending on the local rock sources and conditions, but the most common constituent of sand in inland continental settings and non-tropical coastal...
and Gravel
Gravel
Gravel is composed of unconsolidated rock fragments that have a general particle size range and include size classes from granule- to boulder-sized fragments. Gravel can be sub-categorized into granule and cobble...
Company, the developer of Lakewood, a 600-home subdivision
Subdivision (land)
Subdivision is the act of dividing land into pieces that are easier to sell or otherwise develop, usually via a plat. The former single piece as a whole is then known in the United States as a subdivision...
in Bossier. He also is the developer of Forest Hills in Bossier Parish. City.
In the political arena
Late in 1963, after Kennon's uncle failed to gain a Democratic runoff slot in a gubernatorial comeback attempt, Ed Kennon, as chairman of the Webster Parish Morrison for Governor Committee, in a public speech in Minden endorsed former New Orleans Mayor deLesseps S. "Chep" Morrison, Sr., who was making a third bid for governor. (Robert Kennon sat out the runoff.) Despite Kennon's assistance, Morrison fared poorly in north Louisiana and lost the runoff to John J. McKeithenJohn McKeithen
John Julian McKeithen was the 49th Governor of Louisiana, serving from 1964 to 1972. A Democrat from the town of Columbia, he was the first governor of his state in the twentieth century to serve two consecutive terms...
, a folksy lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
from tiny Columbia
Columbia, Louisiana
Columbia is a town in and the parish seat of Caldwell Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 477 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Columbia is located at ....
, the seat of Caldwell Parish south of Monroe
Monroe, Louisiana
Monroe is a city in and the parish seat of Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 53,107, making it the eighth largest city in Louisiana. A July 1, 2007, United States Census Bureau estimate placed the population at 51,208, but 51,636...
. Ironically, gubernatorial candidate McKeithen then held the PSC seat to which Kennon would be elected eight years later.
On November 6, 1971, Kennon ran unsuccessfully in a 10-candidate Democratic field for lieutenant governor
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"...
in an effort to succeed the retiring Clarence C. "Taddy" Aycock
Clarence C. Aycock
Clarence C. "Taddy" Aycock , a conservative Democrat from Franklin in St. Mary Parish, was the only three-term lieutenant governor in modern Louisiana history. He served from 1960 to 1972. Aycock failed in his only bid for governor in the 1971 Democratic primary...
of Franklin
Franklin, Louisiana
Franklin is a city in and the parish seat of St. Mary Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 8,354 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Morgan City Micropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
, the seat 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:...
in south Louisiana. Aycock instead ran for governor. Kennon finished third with 162,944 votes. Other candidates in the field included two bankers who served in the legislature, 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...
Jamar Adcock
Jamar Adcock
Jamar William Adcock was a high-profile banker and a Democratic state senator from Monroe, Louisiana, who served from 1960 to 1972...
of Monroe and 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...
P.J. Mills
P.J. Mills
Percy Joseph Mills, Jr., known as P. J. Mills , is a retired businessman residing in New Orleans, Louisiana, who served from 1968-1972 as a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from Shreveport, the seat of Caddo Parish in the northwestern corner of the state.Known as one of the...
of Shreveport, who finished narrowly behind Kennon in fourth place. Mills later headed Blue Cross Blue Shield in his native 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...
. The party nomination and 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...
went to former New Orleans City Councilman James E. "Jimmy" Fitzmorris, Jr.
Jimmy Fitzmorris
James Edward "Jimmy" Fitzmorris, Jr. , is a New Orleans businessman and civic leader who was the Democratic Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana from 1972–1980...
, a former Morrison protege. After he defeated Adcock in the party runoff election, Fitzmorris easily dispatched the Republican candidate, former State Representative Morley A. Hudson
Morley A. Hudson
Morley Alvin Hudson , was a Shreveport businessman, engineer, civic leader, and a pioneer of the modern Republican Party in Louisiana.Hudson was born in San Antonio, Texas, the son of Oscar Hudson and the former Ruth Morley...
of Shreveport. Closed primaries ended in Louisiana in 1975, but they returned in 2008 only for congressional races. In the lieutenant governor's race, Kennon had to compete with a second candidate from Webster Parish, outgoing State Representative
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...
Parey P. Branton, Sr., of Shongaloo
Shongaloo, Louisiana
Shongaloo is a village in Webster Parish, Louisiana, United States.West of Shongaloo on Louisiana Highway 2 is Munn Hill, a homestead of Daniel and Rebecca Munn, established on July 26, 1900....
. Branton was allied with gubernatorial candidate 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...
of Jefferson Parish in the New Orleans suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
s. Ironically, Schwegmann later became one of Kennon's colleagues on the Public Service Commission. Statewide, Branton polled only 53,295 votes, fewer than third of the votes that Kennon amassed.
Election to the Public Service Commission
In the August 19, 1972, Democratic primary for the PSC, Kennon challenged incumbentIncumbent
The incumbent, in politics, is the existing holder of a political office. This term is usually used in reference to elections, in which races can often be defined as being between an incumbent and non-incumbent. For example, in the 2004 United States presidential election, George W...
John S. Hunt, III
John S. Hunt, III
John Smoker Hunt, III , was a nephew of Louisiana Governors Huey Pierce Long, Jr., and Earl Kemp Long who served on the elected Louisiana Public Service Commission from May 1964, to December 31, 1972. He was unseated in the September 30, 1972, Democratic runoff by Francis Edward Kennon, Jr...
(1928–2001), a Monroe
Monroe, Louisiana
Monroe is a city in and the parish seat of Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 53,107, making it the eighth largest city in Louisiana. A July 1, 2007, United States Census Bureau estimate placed the population at 51,208, but 51,636...
attorney
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
and a nephew of former Governors Huey Pierce Long, Jr., and Earl Kemp Long. Hunt's mother, Lucille Long Hunt (1898–1985), was a sister of the two governors. Also in the race was a Long kinsman named "Huey P. Long" (1929–2004), then of 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....
in Rapides Parish. Hunt alleged that Kennon had recruited Long as a candidate to siphon away some of Hunt's pro-Long support. In the primary, Kennon led with 122,573 votes (47.1 percent) to Hunt's 106,212 (40.8 percent). Long procured a critical 31,692 votes (12.2 percent). Kennon led in twenty-three parishes in the sprawling district, which then reached as far south as West Baton Rouge Parish. He won 58 percent in his native Webster Parish and also procured pluralities in Natchitoches, La Salle, De Soto, Avoyelles, St. Landry, and the Long traditional stronghold of Winn. Hunt led in ten parishes, including Caddo, Bossier, Lincoln, Ouachita, and Jackson.
Kennon easily defeated Hunt in the September 30 party runoff, 125,877 votes (58 percent) to 90,833 (42 percent). Kennon won twenty-nine parishes to Hunt's four. Hunt lost his native Lincoln Parish in the runoff by 176 votes and held his home base, Ouachita Parish, by a single vote, 15,502 to 15,501. Kennon was unopposed in the November 7 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...
, as no 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...
candidate qualified for the ballot.
On September 16, 1978, Kennon won his second term in the revised Fifth District PSC seat. In the 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...
, he polled 124,147 votes (71 percent) to 50,652 (29 percent) for intraparty rival Wayne Martin Pender (born 1940) of Monroe. Kennon won all eighteen parishes. Again, there was no Republican candidate for the seat, once held by Huey P. Long, Jr., himself.
Kennon joined the three-member PSC when he was thirty-four. The senior member and chairman, Ernest S. Clements
Ernest S. Clements
Ernest S. Clements was a seemingly unlikely member of the Long political faction in Louisiana in a career which spanned 38 years from the 1930s to the 1970s. The pious, introverted Clements did not fit the public image of the no-holds-barred, extroverted Long man. William J...
, a Long
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...
protege, was seventy-five and nearing the end of a long public career. The two presented a contrast in age and faction
Political faction
A political faction is a grouping of individuals, such as a political party, a trade union, or other group with a political purpose. A faction or political party may include fragmented sub-factions, “parties within a party," which may be referred to as power blocs, or voting blocs. The individuals...
. Clements left the PSC at the end of 1974. With the five-member board, Kennon served with fellow Commissioners 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...
(son of John G. Schwegmann), Nat B. Knight, Thomas E. "Tommy" Powell of Eunice
Eunice, Louisiana
Eunice is a city in Acadia, Evangeline and St. Landry parishes in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The population was 11,499 at the 2000 census.The St...
in Evangeline Parish, and chairman Louis Lambert, Jr., of Baton Rouge, a former and future member of the Louisiana State Senate
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...
. Kennon did not seek public office after his PSC term expired, but in 1994 he announced that he would run for governor in 1995. Instead he withdrew from gubernatorial consideration on August 2, 1994, and the seat eventually went to Republican Murphy J. "Mike" Foster, Jr.
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, the grandson of a previous namesake governor. Kennon was succeeded on the PSC by fellow Democrat Donald Lynn "Don" Owen (born 1930), a former KSLA-TV
KSLA-TV
KSLA, virtual channel 12, is the CBS-affiliated television station for Shreveport, Louisiana and the Ark-La-Tex region. Owned by Raycom Media, it broadcasts its digital signal on UHF channel 17. The sole transmitter is located in Mooringsport, Louisiana...
news anchorman from Shreveport. In 2004, Kennon crossed party lines to contribute to the successful Republican candidate for the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
, David Vitter
David Vitter
David Vitter is the junior United States Senator from Louisiana and a member of the Republican Party. Previously, he served in the United States House of Representatives, representing the suburban Louisiana's 1st congressional district. He served as a member of the Louisiana House of...
of suburban New Orleans.
Three Marriages
Kennon was first married to the former Mary Virginia Nehring (1942–2002), "Miss Minden" in 1960, by whom he had a son, John Edward Kennon (1967–2003). He adopted two children by Virginia's first marriage to Rodney McMichael: Rodney Kennon (married to the former Jymme Story) of Bossier City and Kelly Kennon Gillis (born 1964) of HaughtonHaughton, Louisiana
Haughton is a town in Bossier Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 2,792 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Shreveport–Bossier City Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Haughton is located at ....
in Bossier Parish. After Kennon and Virginia divorced, he married the former Jeanette Claire "Jenny" Woodard (born 1939), who was the widow
Widow
A widow is a woman whose spouse has died, while a widower is a man whose spouse has died. The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed widowhood or occasionally viduity. The adjective form is widowed...
of professional basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
player Jackie Moreland
Jackie Moreland
Jack Wade "Jackie" Moreland was an American basketball player for the Detroit Pistons and the former New Orleans Buccaneers.-Early Life & High School:...
. After seven years of marriage, Kennon divorced Jeanette. He wed the former Brenda Evans (born 1958). They have a daughter, Kari Melissa Kennon (born 1986).
The Kennons reside in a mansion
Mansion
A mansion is a very large dwelling house. U.S. real estate brokers define a mansion as a dwelling of over . A traditional European mansion was defined as a house which contained a ballroom and tens of bedrooms...
in the fashionable Ellerbe Road area of southeast Shreveport.