Jean M. Doerge
Encyclopedia
Jean McGlothlin Doerge is a retired school teacher
and a Democratic
member of the Louisiana House of Representatives
from Minden
, who has represented District 10 (Webster Parish) since the death in 1998 of her husband, Everett Doerge
. In 2007, her colleagues named her to the House Appropriations
Committee, a key panel that approves state spending. Doerge is also a member of the Hurricane Katrina
Memorial Commission and the Legislative Democratic Caucus.
in Natchitoches Parish. Thereafter, she attended Northwestern State University
(then College) in Natchitoches
, where she met Everett, a native of Minden. They married in August 1957, and both graduated in 1958. Later, she received her master's degree
from Louisiana State University
in Baton Rouge and thirty additional hours of credits in education
from Louisiana Tech University
in Ruston
.
Doerge first taught at Minden High School
when it was ranked among the ten best schools in the state. For several years, the Doerges moved around, having been teachers for two years in Arp
in Smith County. Texas
. When Everett went to Northwestern as an assistant coach, Jean worked in an office in Natchitoches. Later, she resumed teaching in the town of Cotton Valley
in Webster Parish.
In March 1965, the Doerges adopted their daughter, Sherie, now a Minden High School teacher who is married to Kevin Lester. Sherie and Kevin have two sons. In 1966, Mrs. Doerge returned to Minden High School and worked in the business education
department until 1992, when both she and her husband retired.
incumbent
Eugene S. Eason
of Springhill
.
Doerge was a big reelection winner in 1995, when he defeated two Republican women. He died near the end of his second term. Jean, widowed at the age of sixty-one, ran in the special election to succeed him and was an easy winner. She polled 3,048 votes (67 percent) to defeat the Democrat-turned-Republican Mack Garrett, who obtained 1,481 ballots (33 percent). She was subsequently elected to full terms in both 1999 and 2003 without opposition. Doerge is the third woman to succeed her husband in the Webster Parish state House seat. Lizzie P. Thompson
and Mary Smith Gleason
were both named to the seat by Governor Earl Kemp Long in 1951 and 1959, respectively, when their husbands, C.W. Thompson
and E.D. Gleason
, died in office. Unlike Doerge, Thompson and Gleason did not seek to hold the seat for a term of their own.
community in south Webster Parish obtain water
service when their wells went dry. She also helped to secure a grant for the Cotton Valley water system.
She has worked to obtain services for Springhill. In 2002, she helped the Springhill Medical Center obtain placement in the Rural
Hospital Coalition, a move which enabled the facility to obtain additional funds. She pushed for the designation of a tourism
center in Springhill, with appropriate directional signs to the new facility. She also worked for a jogging
trail in Frank Anthony Park and for the funding to renovate the Spring Theater.
She pushed for funding to relocate the Northwest Technical College (formerly the Northwest Vocational Technical School) in Minden into a new building.
Doerge pulled strings to obtain special surgery
in St. Louis, Missouri
, for a cerebral palsy
patient, 5-year-old Jeremy Logan Curtis. Had she not acted, the child would have been a permanent invalid. The surgery was successful, and the child was thereafter able to walk and play and faces a bright future.
Doerge's alma mater, NSU, inducted her into the College of Business Hall of Distinction. Her name is engraved on a plaque located in the foyer of Russell Hall. The Louisiana Police Jury [equivalent of county commission in other states] Association presented her with the "Friends of the Parishes" award.
survivor. In an interview with Juanita Agan of the Minden Press-Herald
, the Methodist Doerge attributed her recovery to the will and love of God and His answer to her prayers for strength and endurance, the care of her physicians, the love of her family, and the concern of friends. Late in 2004, she was declared cancer-free.
candidate, Terrell Mendenhall of Cullen
, polled 915 ballots (8 percent). Broughton had committed to the victorious Republican gubernatorial candidate Bobby Jindal
, but Doerge had proclaimed her neutrality in the governor's race in which her former legislative colleague Foster Campbell
was also a candidate.
In his campaign, Broughton questioned why Louisiana Highway 371 remains a two-lane road. He had promised if elected to "bring transportation dollars home to our area." Broughton also proclaimed himself a pro-life candidate: "Life starts at conception, marriage is between a man and woman, and the Second Amendment
should be protected and held sacred."
, sought the position in the primary held on October 22, 2011. U.S. Senator David Vitter
's campaign organization, the Louisiana Committee for a Republican Majority, has urged primary voters to support either Broughton or Holland.Area Democrats, including Doerge, endorsed Reynolds, who like Doerge is a former educator.
Reynolds led the four-candidate field with 3,725 votes (39 percent), and de Pingre trailed with 2,498 votes (26.1 percent). The two now meet in the November 19 general election. Both candidates backed by Senator Vitter finished out of the running. Gerald Holland received 2,131 votes (22.3 percent), and Ronnie Broughton, Doerge's opponent from 2007, finished last with 1,205 votes (12.6 percent).
Teacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
and a 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 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...
from Minden
Minden, 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...
, who has represented District 10 (Webster Parish) since the death in 1998 of her husband, Everett Doerge
Everett Doerge
Everett Gail Doerge was an American state legislator who served as a Democratic member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from District 10 from January 1992 until his death in office....
. In 2007, her colleagues named her to the House Appropriations
Appropriation (law)
In law and government, appropriation is the act of setting apart something for its application to a particular usage, to the exclusion of all other uses....
Committee, a key panel that approves state spending. Doerge is also a member of the Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
Memorial Commission and the Legislative Democratic Caucus.
Early years, education, family
She was born to Thomas McGlothlin (1903–1966) and the former Cora Vercher (1904–1975) in tiny Galbraith in Natchitoches Parish in central Louisiana. She was the middle child in a family of seven daughters. She graduated from Cloutierville High SchoolHigh school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
in Natchitoches Parish. Thereafter, she attended 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...
(then College) 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...
, where she met Everett, a native of Minden. They married in August 1957, and both graduated in 1958. Later, she received her master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
from Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...
in Baton Rouge and thirty additional hours of credits in education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
from Louisiana Tech University
Louisiana Tech University
Louisiana Tech University, often referred to as Louisiana Tech, LA Tech, or Tech, is a coeducational public research university located in Ruston, Louisiana. Louisiana Tech is designated as a Tier 1 school in the national universities category by the 2012 U.S. News & World Report college rankings...
in Ruston
Ruston, Louisiana
Ruston is a city in and the parish seat of Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 20,546 at the 2000 census. Ruston is near the eastern border of the Ark-La-Tex and is the home of Louisiana Tech University. Its economy caters to its college population...
.
Doerge first taught at 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...
when it was ranked among the ten best schools in the state. For several years, the Doerges moved around, having been teachers for two years in Arp
Arp, Texas
Arp is a city in Smith County, Texas, United States. The population was 976 in 2009. It is part of the Tyler, Texas Metropolitan Statistical Area...
in Smith County. Texas
Smith County, Texas
As of the census of 2000, there were 174,706 people, 65,692 households, and 46,904 families residing in the county. The population density was 188 people per square mile . There were 71,701 housing units at an average density of 77 per square mile...
. When Everett went to Northwestern as an assistant coach, Jean worked in an office in Natchitoches. Later, she resumed teaching in the town of Cotton Valley
Cotton Valley, Louisiana
Cotton Valley is a town in central Webster Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 1,189 at the 2000 census. It is located some twenty miles northwest of the parish seat of Minden.-Overview:-Municipal matters:...
in Webster Parish.
In March 1965, the Doerges adopted their daughter, Sherie, now a Minden High School teacher who is married to Kevin Lester. Sherie and Kevin have two sons. In 1966, Mrs. Doerge returned to Minden High School and worked in the business education
Business education
Business education involves teaching students the fundamentals, theories, and processes of business. Education in this field occurs at several levels, including secondary education and higher education or university education. Approximately 38% of student enroll in one or more business courses...
department until 1992, when both she and her husband retired.
Campaigns and elections
Everett Doerge then ran for the Louisiana House, winning by only seventy-one votes over the RepublicanRepublican 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...
incumbent
Incumbent
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...
Eugene S. Eason
Eugene S. Eason
Fulton Eugene Eason was a businessman from Springhill, Louisiana, who ran as a Republican in four elections for the Louisiana House of Representatives in calendar year 1991...
of Springhill
Springhill, Louisiana
Springhill is a city in northern Webster Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 5,439 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Minden Micropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
.
Doerge was a big reelection winner in 1995, when he defeated two Republican women. He died near the end of his second term. Jean, widowed at the age of sixty-one, ran in the special election to succeed him and was an easy winner. She polled 3,048 votes (67 percent) to defeat the Democrat-turned-Republican Mack Garrett, who obtained 1,481 ballots (33 percent). She was subsequently elected to full terms in both 1999 and 2003 without opposition. Doerge is the third woman to succeed her husband in the Webster Parish state House seat. Lizzie P. Thompson
Lizzie P. Thompson
Lizzie Price Thompson completed the term of her husband, C.W. Thompson, in the Louisiana House of Representatives, having served as the Webster Parish lawmaker from 1951-1952. Thompson died in the seventh year of his legislative service, and Governor Earl K. Long appointed Mrs. Thompson to finish...
and Mary Smith Gleason
Mary Smith Gleason
Mary Smith Gleason was an interim Democratic member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from Webster Parish, who served from 1959–1960, after the death in office of her husband, E.D. Gleason.Mrs...
were both named to the seat by Governor Earl Kemp Long in 1951 and 1959, respectively, when their husbands, C.W. Thompson
C.W. Thompson
Clyde W. Thompson, known as C.W. Thompson , was a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives who served from 1944 until his death in office. He was briefly succeeded as representative by his widow, Lizzie P...
and E.D. Gleason
E.D. Gleason
Ernest Dewey Gleason, known as E. D. Gleason , was a Democratic member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from the Evergreen Community near Minden in Webster Parish in northwestern Louisiana. Gleason served from 1952 until his death at the end of his second term...
, died in office. Unlike Doerge, Thompson and Gleason did not seek to hold the seat for a term of their own.
Legislative accomplishments
In 2001, Mrs. Doerge worked to establish a special district to authorize the creation of a fire and emergency training service district, only the second created in Louisiana. She helped various residents in the DubberlyDubberly, Louisiana
Dubberly is a village in Webster Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 290 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Minden Micropolitan Statistical Area....
community in south Webster Parish obtain water
Water
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
service when their wells went dry. She also helped to secure a grant for the Cotton Valley water system.
She has worked to obtain services for Springhill. In 2002, she helped the Springhill Medical Center obtain placement in the Rural
Rural
Rural areas or the country or countryside are areas that are not urbanized, though when large areas are described, country towns and smaller cities will be included. They have a low population density, and typically much of the land is devoted to agriculture...
Hospital Coalition, a move which enabled the facility to obtain additional funds. She pushed for the designation of a tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
center in Springhill, with appropriate directional signs to the new facility. She also worked for a jogging
Jogging
Jogging is a form of trotting or running at a slow or leisurely pace. The main intention is to increase fitness with less stress on the body than from faster running.-Definition:...
trail in Frank Anthony Park and for the funding to renovate the Spring Theater.
She pushed for funding to relocate the Northwest Technical College (formerly the Northwest Vocational Technical School) in Minden into a new building.
Doerge pulled strings to obtain special surgery
Surgery
Surgery is an ancient medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, or to help improve bodily function or appearance.An act of performing surgery may be called a surgical...
in St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
, for a cerebral palsy
Cerebral palsy
Cerebral palsy is an umbrella term encompassing a group of non-progressive, non-contagious motor conditions that cause physical disability in human development, chiefly in the various areas of body movement....
patient, 5-year-old Jeremy Logan Curtis. Had she not acted, the child would have been a permanent invalid. The surgery was successful, and the child was thereafter able to walk and play and faces a bright future.
Doerge's alma mater, NSU, inducted her into the College of Business Hall of Distinction. Her name is engraved on a plaque located in the foyer of Russell Hall. The Louisiana Police Jury [equivalent of county commission in other states] Association presented her with the "Friends of the Parishes" award.
A cancer survivor
Doerge is also a breast cancerBreast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from ducts are known as ductal carcinomas; those originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas...
survivor. In an interview with Juanita Agan of the Minden Press-Herald
Minden Press-Herald
The Minden Press-Herald is a Monday-Friday daily newspaper published in Minden, the seat of Webster Parish in northwestern Louisiana, by Specht Newspapers, Inc...
, the Methodist Doerge attributed her recovery to the will and love of God and His answer to her prayers for strength and endurance, the care of her physicians, the love of her family, and the concern of friends. Late in 2004, she was declared cancer-free.
Reelection in 2007
Doerge easily retained her seat in the nonpartisan blanket primary held on October 20, 2007. She received 6,681 votes (57 percent) to 4,133 (35 percent) for the conservative Republican Ronnie Lavelle Broughton (born 1942) of Minden, the then president of the Webster Parish School Board. An African AmericanAfrican American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
candidate, Terrell Mendenhall of Cullen
Cullen, Louisiana
Cullen is a town just south of Springhill in northern Webster Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 1,296 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Minden Micropolitan Statistical Area....
, polled 915 ballots (8 percent). Broughton had committed to the victorious Republican gubernatorial candidate Bobby Jindal
Bobby Jindal
Piyush "Bobby" Jindal is the 55th and current Governor of Louisiana and formerly a member of the United States House of Representatives. He is a member of the Republican Party....
, but Doerge had proclaimed her neutrality in the governor's race in which her former legislative colleague Foster Campbell
Foster Campbell
Foster L. Campbell, Jr. , is a Democratic member of the Louisiana Public Service Commission, a former 26-year member of the Louisiana State Senate, and an unsuccessful candidate for governor in the October 20, 2007, jungle primary. Campbell polled 161,425 votes and won two parishes: Red River and...
was also a candidate.
In his campaign, Broughton questioned why Louisiana Highway 371 remains a two-lane road. He had promised if elected to "bring transportation dollars home to our area." Broughton also proclaimed himself a pro-life candidate: "Life starts at conception, marriage is between a man and woman, and the Second Amendment
Second Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution is the part of the United States Bill of Rights that protects the right of the people to keep and bear arms. It was adopted on December 15, 1791, along with the rest of the Bill of Rights.In 2008 and 2010, the Supreme Court issued two Second...
should be protected and held sacred."
Term-limited in 2011
Doerge was term-limited in 2011. Three Republicans, Ronnie Broughton in a second bid for the post, businessman and former banker Gerald Holland of Springhill, and Jeri de Pingre of Minden, as well as a Democrat, Gene Reynolds of DubberlyDubberly, Louisiana
Dubberly is a village in Webster Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 290 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Minden Micropolitan Statistical Area....
, sought the position in the primary held on October 22, 2011. U.S. Senator 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...
's campaign organization, the Louisiana Committee for a Republican Majority, has urged primary voters to support either Broughton or Holland.Area Democrats, including Doerge, endorsed Reynolds, who like Doerge is a former educator.
Reynolds led the four-candidate field with 3,725 votes (39 percent), and de Pingre trailed with 2,498 votes (26.1 percent). The two now meet in the November 19 general election. Both candidates backed by Senator Vitter finished out of the running. Gerald Holland received 2,131 votes (22.3 percent), and Ronnie Broughton, Doerge's opponent from 2007, finished last with 1,205 votes (12.6 percent).