James Whitfield Williamson
Encyclopedia
James Whitfield Williamson (June 12, 1925—November 15, 2008) was a businessman and politician
from north Caddo Parish in northwestern Louisiana
, the scion of a prominent political family. He was the mayor
of the town
of Vivian
from 1972 to 1986, a Vivian Town Council
member from 1958 to 1972, and a one-term member of the Caddo Parish Commission from 1988 to 1992, all elected positions also previously held by his father, Earl Guyton Williamson, Sr.
(1903–1992).
in Caddo Parish to Earl Williamson and the former Mamie Greer (1904–1948), both Mississippi
natives. He graduated from Northwestern State University
in Natchitoches
, having majored in speech
and attended on a tennis
scholarship
. An avid sportsman, Williamson in 1987, at the age of sixty-two, won a silver medal
in tennis at the Louisiana State Senior's Tournament. During World War II
, he was a scout and sniper in the United States Marine Corps
, Second Battalion in the South Pacific
. He participated in the invasions of the island
s of Guam
and Iwo Jima
and secured a Battlefield Commendation.
With his brother, Earl Jr. (born 1923), Williamson owned an automobile
dealership in Vivian. He was a former member of the board of Citizen's Bank and Trust Company and a past president of the Vivian Lions Club. He was the commander of the local American Legion
and a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars
, the Kiwanis Club, and the Monterey Country Club
. He was a deacon
of the First Baptist
Church of Vivian, where he also taught the men's Bible
class over an extended period of time.
. During his mayoral tenure, Williamson served as vice-president of the Louisiana Municipal Association. In 1986, Williamson was unseated for a fourth full term by the Republican
construction businessman, Richard John "Rick" McMillan. II (born 1951). McMillan was reelected in 1990 with 58 percent of the vote and was unopposed in 1994. Midway in his third term, McMillan resigned and was succeeded by fellow Republican Raymond L. Lee (born September 30, 1935), who polled 62 percent of the ballots in a special election held on April 5, 1997. Lee later moved to Blanchard
. When Lee resigned after a year in the position, the town council called Willamson out of retirement to serve as interim mayor for a number of months. Like his father, who was tied politically to the Earl Long
faction in Louisiana politics, Williamson was a Democrat
. Two other brothers who went into politics, Don W. Williamson
and Tedford Williamson
, however, are Republicans.
A year after Williamson lost his 1986 race for mayor, he ran for the Caddo Parish Commission (created in 1984) for the District 1 seat vacated by his fellow Democrat Roy M. Hopkins
, who was elected to succeed the Republican Bruce Lynn
in the Louisiana House. Williamson prevailed in a runoff with fellow Democrat Charles H. Caldwell, 1,535 votes (53.9 percent) to 1,314 (46.1 percent). In the primary on October 24, Williamson and Caldwell had nearly tied, and the Republican, Robert Chamberlain, was eliminated from contention. Williamson was unseated as commissioner after a single term in the general election held on November 16, 1991 by his fellow Democrat John D. "Johnny" Reid (born 1951) of Vivian. Williamson polled 3,018 votes (46.3 percent) to Reid's 3,500 ballots (53.7) in the same election in which Edwin Washington Edwards defeated David Duke
for governor.
. He was survived by his wife of fifty-nine years, the former Helen Hale (born 1929). The couple had no children. Other survivors included five brothers, Earl, Jr., and wife Alice of Vivian; former Louisiana State Senator
Don W. Williamson and his wife, Rachel, of Shreveport; David Williamson and wife Darlene of Orange, Florida
; Clayton Williamson and wife Elizabeth of Montgomery
, Texas
, and Ted Williamson and wife Connie of Round Rock
, Texas; a sister, Jean Williamson Bright and husband, Delbert Bright, of Longview
, Texas.
Services were held on November 18, 2008, at the First Baptist Church of Vivian. Interment was at Vivian Cemetery. Former Mayor Rick McMillan, Williamson's former political rival, was among the pallbearer
s.
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
from north Caddo Parish in northwestern 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...
, the scion of a prominent political family. He was the mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of the town
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
of Vivian
Vivian, Louisiana
Vivian, is a town in Caddo Parish, Louisiana, United States and is home to the Red Bud Festival. The population was 4,031 at the 2000 census...
from 1972 to 1986, a Vivian Town Council
Town council
A town council is a democratically elected form of government for small municipalities or civil parishes. A council may serve as both the representative and executive branch....
member from 1958 to 1972, and a one-term member of the Caddo Parish Commission from 1988 to 1992, all elected positions also previously held by his father, Earl Guyton Williamson, Sr.
Earl Williamson
Earl Guyton Williamson, Sr. was a prominent businessman and politician in northern Caddo Parish, Louisiana, from the 1930s until the 1970s...
(1903–1992).
Early years, family, military, business
Williamson was born in BelcherBelcher, Louisiana
Belcher is a village in Caddo Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 272 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Shreveport–Bossier City Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Belcher is located at ....
in Caddo Parish to Earl Williamson and the former Mamie Greer (1904–1948), both Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
natives. He graduated from Northwestern State University
Northwestern State University
Northwestern State University, known as NSU, is a four-year public university primarily situated in Natchitoches, Louisiana, with a nursing campus in Shreveport and general campuses in Leesville/Fort Polk and Alexandria. It is a part of the University of Louisiana System.NSU was founded in 1884 as...
in Natchitoches
Natchitoches, Louisiana
Natchitoches is a city in and the parish seat of Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana, United States. Established in 1714 by Louis Juchereau de St. Denis as part of French Louisiana, the community was named after the Natchitoches Indian tribe. The City of Natchitoches was first incorporated on February...
, having majored in speech
Speech
Speech is the human faculty of speaking.It may also refer to:* Public speaking, the process of speaking to a group of people* Manner of articulation, how the body parts involved in making speech are manipulated...
and attended on a tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
scholarship
Scholarship
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
. An avid sportsman, Williamson in 1987, at the age of sixty-two, won a silver medal
Silver medal
A silver medal is a medal awarded to the second place finisher of contests such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, and contests with similar formats....
in tennis at the Louisiana State Senior's Tournament. 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 was a scout and sniper in the United States Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
, Second Battalion in the South Pacific
South West Pacific theatre of World War II
The South West Pacific Theatre, technically the South West Pacific Area, between 1942 and 1945, was one of two designated area commands and war theatres enumerated by the Combined Chiefs of Staff of World War II in the Pacific region....
. He participated in the invasions of the island
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
s of Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
and Iwo Jima
Iwo Jima
Iwo Jima, officially , is an island of the Japanese Volcano Islands chain, which lie south of the Ogasawara Islands and together with them form the Ogasawara Archipelago. The island is located south of mainland Tokyo and administered as part of Ogasawara, one of eight villages of Tokyo...
and secured a Battlefield Commendation.
With his brother, Earl Jr. (born 1923), Williamson owned an automobile
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
dealership in Vivian. He was a former member of the board of Citizen's Bank and Trust Company and a past president of the Vivian Lions Club. He was the commander of the local American Legion
American Legion
The American Legion is a mutual-aid organization of veterans of the United States armed forces chartered by the United States Congress. It was founded to benefit those veterans who served during a wartime period as defined by Congress...
and a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars
Veterans of Foreign Wars
The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States is a congressionally chartered war veterans organization in the United States. Headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, VFW currently has 1.5 million members belonging to 7,644 posts, and is the largest American organization of combat...
, the Kiwanis Club, and the Monterey Country Club
Country club
A country club is a private club, often with a closed membership, that typically offers a variety of recreational sports facilities and is located in city outskirts or rural areas. Activities may include, for example, any of golf, tennis, swimming or polo...
. He was a deacon
Deacon
Deacon is a ministry in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions...
of the First Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
Church of Vivian, where he also taught the men's Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
class over an extended period of time.
Political campaigns
In 1972, Williamson succeeded Jimmy Wilson as mayor after Wilson was elected to the Louisiana House of RepresentativesLouisiana 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...
. During his mayoral tenure, Williamson served as vice-president of the Louisiana Municipal Association. In 1986, Williamson was unseated for a fourth full term by the 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...
construction businessman, Richard John "Rick" McMillan. II (born 1951). McMillan was reelected in 1990 with 58 percent of the vote and was unopposed in 1994. Midway in his third term, McMillan resigned and was succeeded by fellow Republican Raymond L. Lee (born September 30, 1935), who polled 62 percent of the ballots in a special election held on April 5, 1997. Lee later moved to Blanchard
Blanchard, Louisiana
Blanchard is a town in Caddo Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 2,050 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Shreveport–Bossier City Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Blanchard is located at ....
. When Lee resigned after a year in the position, the town council called Willamson out of retirement to serve as interim mayor for a number of months. Like his father, who was tied politically to the Earl Long
Earl Long
Earl Kemp Long was an American politician and the 45th Governor of Louisiana for three non-consecutive terms. Long termed himself the "last of the red hot poppas" of politics, referring to his stump-speaking skills...
faction in Louisiana politics, Williamson was a Democrat
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...
. Two other brothers who went into politics, Don W. Williamson
Don W. Williamson
Donald Wayne Williamson, usually known as Don Williamson , is a semiretired American businessman in Shreveport, the seat of Caddo Parish and the largest city in north Louisiana, who served in both houses of the Louisiana State Legislature between 1968 and 1980...
and Tedford Williamson
Tedford Williamson
Tedford Fielden Williamson, known as Ted Williamson , is a Texas businessman who is the scion of a politically-connected family from North Louisiana and himself a former member of the Round Rock, Texas, City Council. Round Rock is located along Interstate 35 in Williamson County north of the state...
, however, are Republicans.
A year after Williamson lost his 1986 race for mayor, he ran for the Caddo Parish Commission (created in 1984) for the District 1 seat vacated by his fellow Democrat Roy M. Hopkins
Roy M. Hopkins
Roy McArthur Hopkins, known as Hoppy Hopkins , was a Democratic member of the Louisiana House of Representatives, having represented District 1 in northern Caddo Parish and two precincts in northern Bossier Parish from 1988 until his Thanksgiving Day death after a long illness of bone cancer...
, who was elected to succeed the Republican Bruce Lynn
Bruce Lynn
Bruce Newton Lynn, I, is a retired north Caddo Parish businessman and banker who was a Republican member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1976–1988. He is a native and resident of the village of Gilliam , where three generations of his family have operated the J.W...
in the Louisiana House. Williamson prevailed in a runoff with fellow Democrat Charles H. Caldwell, 1,535 votes (53.9 percent) to 1,314 (46.1 percent). In the primary on October 24, Williamson and Caldwell had nearly tied, and the Republican, Robert Chamberlain, was eliminated from contention. Williamson was unseated as commissioner after a single term in the general election held on November 16, 1991 by his fellow Democrat John D. "Johnny" Reid (born 1951) of Vivian. Williamson polled 3,018 votes (46.3 percent) to Reid's 3,500 ballots (53.7) in the same election in which Edwin Washington Edwards defeated 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...
for governor.
Death
Williamson died at the age of eighty-three at the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center ShreveportLouisiana State University Health Sciences Center Shreveport
Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center Shreveport is the academic center for medicine and medical research in North Louisiana. It is located in Shreveport and is part of the Louisiana State University System. The medical school opened in 1969. One of its founders was Dr. Joe E...
. He was survived by his wife of fifty-nine years, the former Helen Hale (born 1929). The couple had no children. Other survivors included five brothers, Earl, Jr., and wife Alice of Vivian; former Louisiana 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...
Don W. Williamson and his wife, Rachel, of Shreveport; David Williamson and wife Darlene of Orange, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
; Clayton Williamson and wife Elizabeth of Montgomery
Montgomery, Texas
Montgomery is a city located in Montgomery County, Texas. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 489. It is the birthplace of the Lone Star Flag of Texas.-History:...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, and Ted Williamson and wife Connie of Round Rock
Round Rock, Texas
Round Rock is a city in Travis and Williamson counties in the U.S. state of Texas. It is part of the metropolitan area. The 2010 census places the population at 99,887....
, Texas; a sister, Jean Williamson Bright and husband, Delbert Bright, of Longview
Longview, Texas
Longview is a city in Gregg and Harrison Counties in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 80,455. Most of the city is located in Gregg County, of which it is the county seat; only a small part extends into the western part of neighboring Harrison County. It is...
, Texas.
Services were held on November 18, 2008, at the First Baptist Church of Vivian. Interment was at Vivian Cemetery. Former Mayor Rick McMillan, Williamson's former political rival, was among the pallbearer
Pallbearer
A pall-bearer is one of several funeral participants who helps carry the casket of a deceased person from a religious or memorial service or viewing either directly to a cemetery or mausoleum, or to and from the hearse which carries the coffin....
s.