Sixty Rayburn
Encyclopedia
Benjamin Burras Rayburn, Sr., known as B. B. "Sixty" Rayburn (August 11, 1916 – March 5, 2008), was a veteran
politician
from Bogalusa
, an incorporated
city in Washington Parish in southeastern Louisiana
in the United States. He was a firm supporter of the region's public hospitals, highways, and its indigenous Southeastern Louisiana University
.
He served as a populist
Democrat
in both houses of the Louisiana State Legislature
from 1948 to 1996. Rayburn's political roots were imbedded in the administrations of Governor
Earl Kemp Long, but he was also friendly with later chief executives John J. McKeithen
and Edwin Washington Edwards. Even his loud and raspy voice was often compared to that of Earl Long. Rayburn survived generations of social and political change in his adopted home state, including the collapse of legal segregation
as well as the rise of women and Republicans
to positions of authority. A raconteur, Rayburn entertained many with his lively reminiscences of the historic Long era. Rayburn was allied with organized labor and claimed to vote on a bill according to how the legislation in question would impact the "little man." Because of his longevity and power, Rayburn was known for years as the unofficial "Dean of the Louisiana Senate".
Sam Rayburn
of the United States House of Representatives
) was born to Thomas Jefferson Rayburn and the former Grace Rawls, a farm
ing couple in Sumrall
in Lamar County
in southwestern Mississippi
. He graduated from Sumrall High School. Therefter, the family moved to nearby Bogalusa, where Rayburn completed the Sullivan Vocational Technical School, or "trade school", for which he later helped to secure a new campus
, which opened in 1971. The parents separated, and Rayburn came to Bogalusa with his mother, but the father arrived thereafter. Despite his limited formal education, in 1959, Rayburn was awarded an honorary doctorate from Loyola University of New Orleans in recognition of his knowledge and understanding of state government.
Rayburn married the former Hazel Blanchard (October 27, 1918 – October 15, 2001), and the couple had three children: Tommie Jean Rayburn, Betty Ann Rayburn Bedwell, and B.B. "Benny" Rayburn Jr.
(1944–2006), the sheriff
of Washington Parish 1982–1992. Rayburn said that he could not adjust after Hazel's death: "I can't even find my socks in the morning when I get dressed," he said in an interview with the Bogalusa Daily News. He admitted that Mrs. Rayburn did not like politics too much, but she was always helpful in taking messages and being there for him.
Rayburn earned his livelihood as a pipefitter
, having been employed for thirty years at Crown Zellerbach, a paper
mill, but in time he became a prosperous horse
rancher and farmer
. In 1944, he was elected to a single term on the Washington Parish Police Jury (equivalent to county commission in most other states). At twenty-eight, Rayburn was then the youngest police juror in the state. At the Louisiana Police Jury Convention he first met Earl Long, who shared Rayburn's interest in politics and livestock, particularly hog
s and cattle
.
Three theories have been advanced to how Rayburn acquired his popular sobriquet
, "Sixty": (1) he sat in Seat 60 in a rural
Mississippi school, (2) he never scored much beyond 60 percent on a school examination, or more likely (3) he was Number 60 on the ballot in his first race for office. Perhaps fittingly, Louisiana State Highway 60 (LA 60) lies through the southwest of Rayburn's hometown, Bogalusa.
. He left the lower chamber in 1951, when he won a special election to fill a vacancy in the Louisiana State Senate
created by the resignation of H. H. Richardson.
In time, Rayburn's District 12 (so numbered in 1972) included Washington Parish and portions of St. Helena, St. Tammany, and Tangipahoa parishes. There Rayburn remained until 1996, having been defeated in a tight election in 1995 by the Republican Phil Short
(born 1947, a realtor and a retired lieutenant colonel
in the United States Marine Corps
. Short, who grew up in Shreveport
, polled 21,222 votes (51 percent) to Rayburn's 20,676 (49 percent). The Republicans targeted Rayburn and eleven other Democratic senators that year.
In his last successful election in 1991, Rayburn (24,326 votes or 65 percent) easily defeated Republican Gerald "Jerry" Creel, Sr. (8,424 or 22 percent), and Independent Roy L. Crawford, (4,701 or 13 percent). In 1987, Rayburn had defeated Roy Crawford, then running as a Democrat, 31,903 (75 percent) to 10,377 (25 percent).
Short resigned the District 12 seat three years later in 1999 to accept a position with the Marines and subsequently left Louisiana. Ironically, both senators who preceded and succeeded Rayburn served only three years of their term, resigned, and necessitated special elections. Rayburn's district appeared to have turned solidly Republican in the election of February 6, 1999, when the sole Democratic candidate, Stanley Middleton, polled only 9 percent of the vote. Short was hence succeeded by Democrat-turned-Republican Jerry Thomas
, who won the seat outright in the first round of balloting with 51 percent of the vote. In the balloting for full term on October 23, 1999, Thomas defeated Middleton, his only opponent, 76-24 percent. Democrat, Ben Nevers
, won the seat with 43 percent of the primary ballots, because the second-place candidate, Republican Richard Tanner, who trailed with 21 percent, withdrew from the general election when the arithmetic of the race indicated a likely Democratic takeover because more than 70 percent of the primary ballots had gone to Democratic candidates. Nevers was unopposed in 2007; so the Rayburn seat returned to its traditional Democratic moorings.
. Ironically, it was Jesse Bankston
, later the longtime Democratic Party state chairman, who had signed the original commitment papers because he thought that he was acting in his friend Long's best interest. Rayburn, however, remained loyal to Long even as family members, concerned about the governor's drinking and public relationships with Bourbon Street
strippers, had Bankston, then the state director of hospitals, commit Long to Southeast Louisiana Hospital in Mandeville
. With Rayburn's help, Long famously worked from his hospital bed to fire Bankston and then get released.
Bankston (born 1907) still resides in Baton Rouge. On Rayburn's death, Bankston said that the veteran lawmaker had excelled in speechmaking but was also strong on Democratic issues involving education
and labor. The two had long since reconciled their differences over Long's hospitalization.
Former Senate secretary Mike Baer, himself a native of Rayburn's Bogalusa, declared the former lawmaker the "last of the Red Hot Poppas," a term that Earl Long had applied to himself in the 1950s to refer to politicians traveling from one community to another with sound trucks for stump speaking, rather than reliance on slick television
advertising
. Baer noted that Rayburn could stop a bill by making a familiar argument that the proposed law would "hurt the poor people. . . . Even the author of a bill withdrew it or voted against his own bill after Sixty spoke against it."
Rayburn said in a 2006 interview with the Bogalusa Daily News, that he supported unpopular tax hikes in 1948 which helped to defeat the Long statewide slate of candidates in 1952, but those levies still finance the state's charity hospital system. Rayburn worked to secure a charity hospital for Bogalusa. He pushed for the air conditioning
of Charity Hospital of New Orleans, known as "Big Charity". Rayburn himself once sought treatment at Big Charity when he contracted spinal meningitis. Rayburn said the system is essential in Louisiana because many of its residents cannot afford medical insurance. When Governor Charles E. "Buddy" Roemer, III
, tried to close the charity hospital in Amite in Tangipahoa Parish, Rayburn blocked him by merely returning the appropriation to the spending bill. In effect, he showed that the chairman of the Finance Committee could trump the governor.
As a House member, Rayburn began work in 1948 on the Washington-St. Tammany Charity Hospital in Bogalusa, which opened in January 1951, shortly before he entered the Senate.
Mike Baer described Rayburn as "the last of the great populists in this state, He carried on the Long legacy until he left (the Senate). He was truly for "the poor man" and championed universal tax-funded health care.
of 1974. He served at the convention with future Governor Roemer and future Secretary of State and Insurance Commissioner James H. "Jim" Brown as well as such lawmakers as state Representatives R. Harmon Drew of Webster Parish and Frank Fulco
of Caddo Parish.
Rayburn advocated pay-as-you-go for state projects and insisted that local government fund its own projects. "We've run a Cadillac on a Ford
budget for so long, the people are spoiled. Sooner or later, we’re going to run out of gas," Rayburn said to the recollection of Mike Baer.
Rayburn served on a number of committees: Conservation, Education, Transportation and Public Works
, Industrial Relations, Labor and Capital, Long-range Highway, Retirement, Interim Emergency Board, Bond Commission, and as Chairman of both the Senate Finance Committee and the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget.
Even with the election in 1979 of David C. Treen
as the state's first Republican governor since Reconstruction, Rayburn maintained his reputation as a populist Democrat and an ally of organized labor. He strongly supported the scandal plagued Democratic Governor Edwards in the 1970s, the 1980s, and the early 1990s.
In 1973, Rayburn was made an honorary member of the interest group, the Louisiana Veterinary Medical
Association, in recognition of his years of service to the cause of "the health of man and his domesticated animals" in Louisiana, and for his work in the establishment of Louisiana State University
School of Veterinary Medicine. He was the first lay person to have received this honor.
Rayburn, who owned racehorses, was president of the Louisiana Thoroughbred Breeders Association from 1966 to 1998. Association secretary-treasurer Tom Early declared the former senator responsible for every piece of legislation that benefited the horse-racing industry in Louisiana for decades: "He was our go-to guy in the legislature." One of Rayburn's legislative and constitutional convention colleagues, Donald G. Kelly
of Natchitoches
, shared his interest in racehorses. Rayburn was also a member of the Louisiana Cattleman's Association.
Rayburn switched sides on segregation and worked with African American
politicians in the 1970s. "I used to have some friends in the Ku Klux Klan
, I admit that. . . . But things have changed, and Rayburn rides with the waves," he said in a speech in 1977.
From 1960 to 1988, his House colleague from Washington Parish was Lawrence A. Sheridan
of Angie
, chairman of the House Retirement Committee. Sheridan was upset in 1987 by the Democrat and later Republican Jerry Thomas, a physician
from Franklinton
.
interests. He was found not guilty of the allegations, but he had already lost his bid for a twelfth full Senate term. "I’ve sold a lot of things in my life, but I’ve never sold a vote, and I want them to prove it," Rayburn told his jury.
Rayburn later returned to the state Capitol to lobby for legislation to protect thoroughbred
horse racing
and to maintain hog-dog competitions, which animal rights
groups oppose. In such contests, dogs are used to hunt wild hogs. Rayburn noted that it was Earl Long who took him on his first hog hunt in 1948, a sport for which Rayburn developed a passion. Of Long, Rayburn said, "He was just my type of person. He was down to earth. He liked hogs, cattle and people."
. In his last years, Rayburn tinkered with tractor
s, cut hay
, and hunted quail
. Friends and family said that he maintained those practices until weeks before his death. Rayburn was a member of the Masonic lodge
and a Shriner. Rayburn was preceded in death by his parents, wife, son, a grandson (died at two days in 2000), one sister, Polly R. Rizan, and three brothers, John Daniel Rayburn, Thomas D. "Doc" Rayburn, and Robert B. "Bob" Rayburn. All three brothers died separately in 1966. Survivors included his daughters, Tommie Jean and Betty Ann; son-in-law, William Bedwell; daughter-in-law, Cidette Lewis Rayburn (born 1946), the widow of former Sheriff Rayburn, all of Bogalusa, and five grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren.
Services were held on March 8 at his home congregation, Palestine Baptist
Church in Washington Parish. Interment was in the church cemetery, which is also adjacent to Rayburn’s farm.
Republican Governor Bobby Jindal
ordered flags on state buildings flown at half staff on March 7 to honor Rayburn.
, a Democrat from Destrehan
in St. Charles Parish, who began his legislative career during Rayburn's final term in the chamber, said that the Senate has "lost a dear friend and former colleague, (and) the people of Louisiana have lost a dedicated, compassionate public servant. Throughout his decades of service, Sixty prided himself as the voice of the little people, rightly reminding us at every opportunity that Louisiana belongs to everyone. . . . We will miss his wit, frankness and great oratorical style. We will not forget his love for Louisiana."
Former Governor Treen of Mandeville recalled Rayburn as a legislator who was always reliable: "I remember that he was very straightforward - dependable. You knew where he was, and where he was going."
Former Republican Governor Murphy J. "Mike" Foster, Jr., who served as a Democrat with Rayburn in the state Senate, called his former colleague: "bigger than life, a great orator, and a powerful member of the legislature."
Imprisoned former Governor Edwards released a statement: "His repeated re-election is proof of his service to his constituents. A giant has moved from the political scene, and he will be missed. I extend my sympathy to his family and friends and regret I will not be able to attend his services."
In 1993, Rayburn was among the first dozen inductees into the Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame
in Winnfield
, along with former Governors Edwin Edwards, Huey Pierce Long, Jr.
, and Earl Long; former U.S. Representative Hale Boggs
of New Orleans, and former New Orleans Mayor
Ernest "Dutch" Morial.
On August 31, 2006, the Washington Correctional Institute in Washington Parish was renamed the B.B. "Sixty" Rayburn Correctional Center. The facility, which was a capacity for some 1,132 inmates, employs 400 persons and has an annual budget of $23 million.
In 1978, Senate Concurrent Resolution 135 named the LSU Veterinary School as the Rayburn School of Veterinary Science.
Rayburn's memorabilia are in a substantial collection in the Rayburn Room of Center for Southeast Louisiana Studies of the Linus A. Sims Memorial Library at Southeastern Louisiana University
.
Veteran
A veteran is a person who has had long service or experience in a particular occupation or field; " A veteran of ..."...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
from Bogalusa
Bogalusa, Louisiana
Bogalusa is a city in Washington Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 13,365 at the 2000 census. It is the principal city of the Bogalusa Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Washington Parish and is also part of the larger New Orleans–Metairie–Bogalusa...
, an incorporated
Municipal corporation
A municipal corporation is the legal term for a local governing body, including cities, counties, towns, townships, charter townships, villages, and boroughs. Municipal incorporation occurs when such municipalities become self-governing entities under the laws of the state or province in which...
city in Washington Parish in southeastern 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...
in the United States. He was a firm supporter of the region's public hospitals, highways, and its indigenous Southeastern Louisiana University
Southeastern Louisiana University
Southeastern Louisiana University is a state-funded public university in Hammond, Louisiana, United States. It was founded in 1925 by Linus A. Sims, the principal of Hammond High School, as Hammond Junior College, located in a wing of the high school building. Sims succeeded in getting the campus...
.
He served as a populist
Populism
Populism can be defined as an ideology, political philosophy, or type of discourse. Generally, a common theme compares "the people" against "the elite", and urges social and political system changes. It can also be defined as a rhetorical style employed by members of various political or social...
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...
in both houses of the Louisiana State Legislature
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...
from 1948 to 1996. Rayburn's political roots were imbedded in the administrations 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...
Earl Kemp Long, but he was also friendly with later chief executives John J. McKeithen
John 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...
and Edwin Washington Edwards. Even his loud and raspy voice was often compared to that of Earl Long. Rayburn survived generations of social and political change in his adopted home state, including the collapse of legal segregation
Racial segregation
Racial segregation is the separation of humans into racial groups in daily life. It may apply to activities such as eating in a restaurant, drinking from a water fountain, using a public toilet, attending school, going to the movies, or in the rental or purchase of a home...
as well as the rise of women and Republicans
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...
to positions of authority. A raconteur, Rayburn entertained many with his lively reminiscences of the historic Long era. Rayburn was allied with organized labor and claimed to vote on a bill according to how the legislation in question would impact the "little man." Because of his longevity and power, Rayburn was known for years as the unofficial "Dean of the Louisiana Senate".
Early years and family
Rayburn (no relation to SpeakerSpeaker (politics)
The term speaker is a title often given to the presiding officer of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body. The speaker's official role is to moderate debate, make rulings on procedure, announce the results of votes, and the like. The speaker decides who may speak and has the...
Sam Rayburn
Sam Rayburn
Samuel Taliaferro Rayburn , often called "Mr. Sam," or "Mr. Democrat," was a Democratic lawmaker from Bonham, Texas, who served as the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives for seventeen years, the longest tenure in U.S. history.- Background :Rayburn was born in Roane County, Tennessee, and...
of the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
) was born to Thomas Jefferson Rayburn and the former Grace Rawls, a farm
Farm
A farm is an area of land, or, for aquaculture, lake, river or sea, including various structures, devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food , fibres and, increasingly, fuel. It is the basic production facility in food production. Farms may be owned and operated by a single...
ing couple in Sumrall
Sumrall, Mississippi
Sumrall is a town in Lamar County, Mississippi, United States. It is part of the Hattiesburg, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,005 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Sumrall is located at ....
in Lamar County
Lamar County, Mississippi
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 39,070 people, 14,396 households, and 10,725 families residing in the county. The population density was 79 people per square mile . There were 15,433 housing units at an average density of 31 per square mile...
in southwestern 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...
. He graduated from Sumrall High School. Therefter, the family moved to nearby Bogalusa, where Rayburn completed the Sullivan Vocational Technical School, or "trade school", for which he later helped to secure a new campus
Campus
A campus is traditionally the land on which a college or university and related institutional buildings are situated. Usually a campus includes libraries, lecture halls, residence halls and park-like settings...
, which opened in 1971. The parents separated, and Rayburn came to Bogalusa with his mother, but the father arrived thereafter. Despite his limited formal education, in 1959, Rayburn was awarded an honorary doctorate from Loyola University of New Orleans in recognition of his knowledge and understanding of state government.
Rayburn married the former Hazel Blanchard (October 27, 1918 – October 15, 2001), and the couple had three children: Tommie Jean Rayburn, Betty Ann Rayburn Bedwell, and B.B. "Benny" Rayburn Jr.
Benny Rayburn
Benjamin Burras Rayburn, Jr., known as Benny Rayburn , was the Democratic sheriff of Washington Parish, the easternmost of the Florida Parishes of southeastern Louisiana, who served from 1981-1992. He was the only son of legendary Louisiana State Senator B.B. "Sixty" Rayburn, Sr...
(1944–2006), the sheriff
Sheriff
A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
of Washington Parish 1982–1992. Rayburn said that he could not adjust after Hazel's death: "I can't even find my socks in the morning when I get dressed," he said in an interview with the Bogalusa Daily News. He admitted that Mrs. Rayburn did not like politics too much, but she was always helpful in taking messages and being there for him.
Rayburn earned his livelihood as a pipefitter
Pipefitter
A pipefitter is a tradesman who lays out, assembles, fabricates, maintains and repairs mechanical piping systems. Pipefitters usually go through a mix of apprentice and trade school training. Journeyman pipefitters/steamfitters deal with industrial process piping and heating/cooling systems...
, having been employed for thirty years at Crown Zellerbach, a paper
Paper
Paper is a thin material mainly used for writing upon, printing upon, drawing or for packaging. It is produced by pressing together moist fibers, typically cellulose pulp derived from wood, rags or grasses, and drying them into flexible sheets....
mill, but in time he became a prosperous horse
Horse
The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
rancher and farmer
Farmer
A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, who raises living organisms for food or raw materials, generally including livestock husbandry and growing crops, such as produce and grain...
. In 1944, he was elected to a single term on the Washington Parish Police Jury (equivalent to county commission in most other states). At twenty-eight, Rayburn was then the youngest police juror in the state. At the Louisiana Police Jury Convention he first met Earl Long, who shared Rayburn's interest in politics and livestock, particularly hog
Domestic pig
The domestic pig is a domesticated animal that traces its ancestry to the wild boar, and is considered a subspecies of the wild boar or a distinct species in its own right. It is likely the wild boar was domesticated as early as 13,000 BC in the Tigris River basin...
s and cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
.
Three theories have been advanced to how Rayburn acquired his popular sobriquet
Sobriquet
A sobriquet is a nickname, sometimes assumed, but often given by another. It is usually a familiar name, distinct from a pseudonym assumed as a disguise, but a nickname which is familiar enough such that it can be used in place of a real name without the need of explanation...
, "Sixty": (1) he sat in Seat 60 in a 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...
Mississippi school, (2) he never scored much beyond 60 percent on a school examination, or more likely (3) he was Number 60 on the ballot in his first race for office. Perhaps fittingly, Louisiana State Highway 60 (LA 60) lies through the southwest of Rayburn's hometown, Bogalusa.
Legislative elections
In 1948, while Long won his first full-term as governor, Rayburn was also 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...
. He left the lower chamber in 1951, when he won a special election to fill a vacancy in 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...
created by the resignation of H. H. Richardson.
In time, Rayburn's District 12 (so numbered in 1972) included Washington Parish and portions of St. Helena, St. Tammany, and Tangipahoa parishes. There Rayburn remained until 1996, having been defeated in a tight election in 1995 by the Republican Phil Short
Phil Short
Philip Granville Short, known as Phil Short , is a retired military officer formerly of Covington, Louisiana, USA, who served in the Louisiana State Senate from District 12 from 1996 to 1999...
(born 1947, a realtor and a retired lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
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...
. Short, who grew up in 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....
, polled 21,222 votes (51 percent) to Rayburn's 20,676 (49 percent). The Republicans targeted Rayburn and eleven other Democratic senators that year.
In his last successful election in 1991, Rayburn (24,326 votes or 65 percent) easily defeated Republican Gerald "Jerry" Creel, Sr. (8,424 or 22 percent), and Independent Roy L. Crawford, (4,701 or 13 percent). In 1987, Rayburn had defeated Roy Crawford, then running as a Democrat, 31,903 (75 percent) to 10,377 (25 percent).
Short resigned the District 12 seat three years later in 1999 to accept a position with the Marines and subsequently left Louisiana. Ironically, both senators who preceded and succeeded Rayburn served only three years of their term, resigned, and necessitated special elections. Rayburn's district appeared to have turned solidly Republican in the election of February 6, 1999, when the sole Democratic candidate, Stanley Middleton, polled only 9 percent of the vote. Short was hence succeeded by Democrat-turned-Republican Jerry Thomas
Jerry Thomas (Louisiana politician)
Jerry Aroe Thomas is a family practice physician in Franklinton, Louisiana, who served in both houses of the Louisiana State Legislature from 1988 to 2004. In 1979, at the age of twenty-six, Thomas was elected coroner of Washington Parish, the easternmost of the Florida Parishes in the...
, who won the seat outright in the first round of balloting with 51 percent of the vote. In the balloting for full term on October 23, 1999, Thomas defeated Middleton, his only opponent, 76-24 percent. Democrat, Ben Nevers
Ben Nevers
Ben Wayne Nevers is an electrical contractor from Bogalusa, Louisiana, who has been since 2004 a Democratic member of the Louisiana State Senate from District 12, which includes parts of Washington, St. Tammany, and Tangipahoa parishes...
, won the seat with 43 percent of the primary ballots, because the second-place candidate, Republican Richard Tanner, who trailed with 21 percent, withdrew from the general election when the arithmetic of the race indicated a likely Democratic takeover because more than 70 percent of the primary ballots had gone to Democratic candidates. Nevers was unopposed in 2007; so the Rayburn seat returned to its traditional Democratic moorings.
Rayburn and Earl Long
In 1959, Rayburn acted as a lieutenant for Earl Long and helped to get the governor sprung from a mental institution where he had been confined by his wife, Blanche R. LongBlanche Long
Blanche Beulah Revere Long was the first lady of Louisiana from 1939–1940, 1948–1952, and 1956-1960. She was also a "partner in power" to her husband, Governor Earl Kemp Long. From 1956-1963, she was the Democratic national committeewoman from Louisiana...
. Ironically, it was Jesse Bankston
Jesse Bankston
Jesse Homer Bankston, Sr. was a politician within the Democratic Party of Louisiana, a businessman, and, at his death at the age of 103, a member of the board of Louisiana Public Broadcasting...
, later the longtime Democratic Party state chairman, who had signed the original commitment papers because he thought that he was acting in his friend Long's best interest. Rayburn, however, remained loyal to Long even as family members, concerned about the governor's drinking and public relationships with Bourbon Street
Bourbon Street
Bourbon Street is a famous and historic street that spans the length of the French Quarter in New Orleans, Louisiana. When founded in 1718, the city was originally centered around the French Quarter...
strippers, had Bankston, then the state director of hospitals, commit Long to Southeast Louisiana Hospital in Mandeville
Mandeville, Louisiana
Mandeville is a city in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 12,421 in 2008. Mandeville is located on the North Shore of Lake Pontchartrain, south of Interstate 12. It is across the lake from the city of New Orleans and its southshore suburbs...
. With Rayburn's help, Long famously worked from his hospital bed to fire Bankston and then get released.
Bankston (born 1907) still resides in Baton Rouge. On Rayburn's death, Bankston said that the veteran lawmaker had excelled in speechmaking but was also strong on Democratic issues involving 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...
and labor. The two had long since reconciled their differences over Long's hospitalization.
Former Senate secretary Mike Baer, himself a native of Rayburn's Bogalusa, declared the former lawmaker the "last of the Red Hot Poppas," a term that Earl Long had applied to himself in the 1950s to refer to politicians traveling from one community to another with sound trucks for stump speaking, rather than reliance on slick television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
advertising
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
. Baer noted that Rayburn could stop a bill by making a familiar argument that the proposed law would "hurt the poor people. . . . Even the author of a bill withdrew it or voted against his own bill after Sixty spoke against it."
Defender of charity hospitals
Much of Rayburn's power came through his chairmanship of the Senate Finance Committee, where he stressed his desire to "protect the little man" and the poor from budget cuts in social services and the state's public hospitals known as "charity hospitals" and other social services.Rayburn said in a 2006 interview with the Bogalusa Daily News, that he supported unpopular tax hikes in 1948 which helped to defeat the Long statewide slate of candidates in 1952, but those levies still finance the state's charity hospital system. Rayburn worked to secure a charity hospital for Bogalusa. He pushed for the air conditioning
Air conditioning
An air conditioner is a home appliance, system, or mechanism designed to dehumidify and extract heat from an area. The cooling is done using a simple refrigeration cycle...
of Charity Hospital of New Orleans, known as "Big Charity". Rayburn himself once sought treatment at Big Charity when he contracted spinal meningitis. Rayburn said the system is essential in Louisiana because many of its residents cannot afford medical insurance. When Governor Charles E. "Buddy" Roemer, III
Buddy Roemer
Charles Elson "Buddy" Roemer III is an American politician who served as the 52nd Governor of Louisiana, from 1988 to 1992. He was elected as a Democrat but switched to the Republican Party on March 11, 1991...
, tried to close the charity hospital in Amite in Tangipahoa Parish, Rayburn blocked him by merely returning the appropriation to the spending bill. In effect, he showed that the chairman of the Finance Committee could trump the governor.
As a House member, Rayburn began work in 1948 on the Washington-St. Tammany Charity Hospital in Bogalusa, which opened in January 1951, shortly before he entered the Senate.
Mike Baer described Rayburn as "the last of the great populists in this state, He carried on the Long legacy until he left (the Senate). He was truly for "the poor man" and championed universal tax-funded health care.
Legislative duties
In 1973, Rayburn served as chairman of the Committee on Revenue, Finance and Taxation at the state Constitutional Convention, which produced the Louisiana ConstitutionLouisiana 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...
of 1974. He served at the convention with future Governor Roemer and future Secretary of State and Insurance Commissioner James H. "Jim" Brown as well as such lawmakers as state Representatives R. Harmon Drew of Webster Parish and Frank Fulco
Frank Fulco
Frank J. Fulco, Sr. , was a Democratic member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1956–1972 and a leader of the Italian-American community in his native Louisiana...
of Caddo Parish.
Rayburn advocated pay-as-you-go for state projects and insisted that local government fund its own projects. "We've run a Cadillac on a Ford
Henry Ford
Henry Ford was an American industrialist, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, and sponsor of the development of the assembly line technique of mass production. His introduction of the Model T automobile revolutionized transportation and American industry...
budget for so long, the people are spoiled. Sooner or later, we’re going to run out of gas," Rayburn said to the recollection of Mike Baer.
Rayburn served on a number of committees: Conservation, Education, Transportation and Public Works
Public works
Public works are a broad category of projects, financed and constructed by the government, for recreational, employment, and health and safety uses in the greater community...
, Industrial Relations, Labor and Capital, Long-range Highway, Retirement, Interim Emergency Board, Bond Commission, and as Chairman of both the Senate Finance Committee and the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget.
Even with the election in 1979 of David C. Treen
David C. Treen
David Conner "Dave" Treen, Sr. , was an American attorney and politician from Mandeville, St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana – the first Republican Governor of the U.S. state of Louisiana since Reconstruction. He was the first Republican in modern times to have served in the U.S...
as the state's first Republican governor since Reconstruction, Rayburn maintained his reputation as a populist Democrat and an ally of organized labor. He strongly supported the scandal plagued Democratic Governor Edwards in the 1970s, the 1980s, and the early 1990s.
In 1973, Rayburn was made an honorary member of the interest group, the Louisiana Veterinary Medical
Veterinary medicine
Veterinary Medicine is the branch of science that deals with the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease, disorder and injury in non-human animals...
Association, in recognition of his years of service to the cause of "the health of man and his domesticated animals" in Louisiana, and for his work in the establishment of 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...
School of Veterinary Medicine. He was the first lay person to have received this honor.
Rayburn, who owned racehorses, was president of the Louisiana Thoroughbred Breeders Association from 1966 to 1998. Association secretary-treasurer Tom Early declared the former senator responsible for every piece of legislation that benefited the horse-racing industry in Louisiana for decades: "He was our go-to guy in the legislature." One of Rayburn's legislative and constitutional convention colleagues, Donald G. Kelly
Donald G. Kelly
Donald Gene Kelly, usually known as Don Kelly , is a prominent trial lawyer and American Quarter Horse breeder in Natchitoches who served as a Democratic member of the Louisiana State Senate from 1976 to 1996. His tenure covered three of the four terms of Democratic Governor Edwin Washington...
of 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...
, shared his interest in racehorses. Rayburn was also a member of the Louisiana Cattleman's Association.
Rayburn switched sides on segregation and worked with African American
African 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...
politicians in the 1970s. "I used to have some friends in the Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
, I admit that. . . . But things have changed, and Rayburn rides with the waves," he said in a speech in 1977.
From 1960 to 1988, his House colleague from Washington Parish was Lawrence A. Sheridan
Lawrence A. Sheridan
Lawrence A. Sheridan, known as Buster Sheridan , was from 1960-1988 a Democratic member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from the village of Angie in Washington Parish, the most easterly of the Florida Parishes of southeastern Louisiana...
of Angie
Angie, Louisiana
Angie is a village in Washington Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 240 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Bogalusa Micropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Angie is located at ....
, chairman of the House Retirement Committee. Sheridan was upset in 1987 by the Democrat and later Republican Jerry Thomas, a physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
from Franklinton
Franklinton, Louisiana
Franklinton is a town in and the parish seat of Washington Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 3,657 at the 2000 census. It is an average of above sea level....
.
Allegations against Rayburn refuted
Rayburn's lengthy career ended amid allegations of scandal in the 1990s. He was accused of having taken bribes to protect video pokerVideo poker
Video poker is a casino game based on five-card draw poker. It is played on a computerized console similar in size to a slot machine.-History:...
interests. He was found not guilty of the allegations, but he had already lost his bid for a twelfth full Senate term. "I’ve sold a lot of things in my life, but I’ve never sold a vote, and I want them to prove it," Rayburn told his jury.
Rayburn later returned to the state Capitol to lobby for legislation to protect thoroughbred
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
horse racing
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
and to maintain hog-dog competitions, which animal rights
Animal rights
Animal rights, also known as animal liberation, is the idea that the most basic interests of non-human animals should be afforded the same consideration as the similar interests of human beings...
groups oppose. In such contests, dogs are used to hunt wild hogs. Rayburn noted that it was Earl Long who took him on his first hog hunt in 1948, a sport for which Rayburn developed a passion. Of Long, Rayburn said, "He was just my type of person. He was down to earth. He liked hogs, cattle and people."
Death at ninety-one
On March 5, 2008, Rayburn died at St. Tammany Parish Hospital north of New Orleans. He had been hospitalized in February and was diagnosed with lung cancerLung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
. In his last years, Rayburn tinkered with tractor
Tractor
A tractor is a vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery used in agriculture or construction...
s, cut hay
Hay
Hay is grass, legumes or other herbaceous plants that have been cut, dried, and stored for use as animal fodder, particularly for grazing livestock such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep. Hay is also fed to pets such as rabbits and guinea pigs...
, and hunted quail
Quail
Quail is a collective name for several genera of mid-sized birds generally considered in the order Galliformes. Old World quail are found in the family Phasianidae, while New World quail are found in the family Odontophoridae...
. Friends and family said that he maintained those practices until weeks before his death. Rayburn was a member of the Masonic lodge
Masonic Lodge
This article is about the Masonic term for a membership group. For buildings named Masonic Lodge, see Masonic Lodge A Masonic Lodge, often termed a Private Lodge or Constituent Lodge, is the basic organisation of Freemasonry...
and a Shriner. Rayburn was preceded in death by his parents, wife, son, a grandson (died at two days in 2000), one sister, Polly R. Rizan, and three brothers, John Daniel Rayburn, Thomas D. "Doc" Rayburn, and Robert B. "Bob" Rayburn. All three brothers died separately in 1966. Survivors included his daughters, Tommie Jean and Betty Ann; son-in-law, William Bedwell; daughter-in-law, Cidette Lewis Rayburn (born 1946), the widow of former Sheriff Rayburn, all of Bogalusa, and five grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren.
Services were held on March 8 at his home congregation, Palestine 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 in Washington Parish. Interment was in the church cemetery, which is also adjacent to Rayburn’s farm.
Republican Governor 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....
ordered flags on state buildings flown at half staff on March 7 to honor Rayburn.
Legacy
Louisiana State Senate President Joel ChaissonJoel Chaisson
Joel Thomas Chaisson, II , is an American Democratic politician who is the outgoing president of the Louisiana State Senate. He assumed the leadership position on January 14, 2008. A resident of Destrehan, Chaisson has represented Senate District 19 in St. Charles Parish since 2000...
, a Democrat from Destrehan
Destrehan, Louisiana
Destrehan is a census-designated place in St. Charles Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 11,260 at the 2000 census. It was named after Jean N...
in St. Charles Parish, who began his legislative career during Rayburn's final term in the chamber, said that the Senate has "lost a dear friend and former colleague, (and) the people of Louisiana have lost a dedicated, compassionate public servant. Throughout his decades of service, Sixty prided himself as the voice of the little people, rightly reminding us at every opportunity that Louisiana belongs to everyone. . . . We will miss his wit, frankness and great oratorical style. We will not forget his love for Louisiana."
Former Governor Treen of Mandeville recalled Rayburn as a legislator who was always reliable: "I remember that he was very straightforward - dependable. You knew where he was, and where he was going."
Former Republican Governor Murphy J. "Mike" Foster, Jr., who served as a Democrat with Rayburn in the state Senate, called his former colleague: "bigger than life, a great orator, and a powerful member of the legislature."
Imprisoned former Governor Edwards released a statement: "His repeated re-election is proof of his service to his constituents. A giant has moved from the political scene, and he will be missed. I extend my sympathy to his family and friends and regret I will not be able to attend his services."
In 1993, Rayburn was among the first dozen inductees into the Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame
Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame
The Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame in Winnfield, Louisiana, highlights the careers of more than a hundred of the state’s leading politicians and political journalists. Because three governors, Huey P. Long, Jr., Oscar K...
in Winnfield
Winnfield, Louisiana
Winnfield is a city in and the parish seat of Winn Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 5,749 at the 2000 census. It has long been associated with the Long faction of the Louisiana Democratic Party and was home to three governors of Louisiana.-Geography:Winnfield is located at ...
, along with former Governors Edwin Edwards, Huey Pierce Long, Jr.
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...
, and Earl Long; former U.S. Representative Hale Boggs
Hale Boggs
Thomas Hale Boggs Sr. , was an American Democratic politician and a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Orleans, Louisiana...
of New Orleans, and former New Orleans Mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
Ernest "Dutch" Morial.
On August 31, 2006, the Washington Correctional Institute in Washington Parish was renamed the B.B. "Sixty" Rayburn Correctional Center. The facility, which was a capacity for some 1,132 inmates, employs 400 persons and has an annual budget of $23 million.
In 1978, Senate Concurrent Resolution 135 named the LSU Veterinary School as the Rayburn School of Veterinary Science.
Rayburn's memorabilia are in a substantial collection in the Rayburn Room of Center for Southeast Louisiana Studies of the Linus A. Sims Memorial Library at Southeastern Louisiana University
Southeastern Louisiana University
Southeastern Louisiana University is a state-funded public university in Hammond, Louisiana, United States. It was founded in 1925 by Linus A. Sims, the principal of Hammond High School, as Hammond Junior College, located in a wing of the high school building. Sims succeeded in getting the campus...
.