Mike Foster (American politician)
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Mike Foster | |
---|---|
Louisiana Senate from the 21st district | |
In office January 1988 – January 1996 | |
Preceded by | Anthony Guarisco Jr. |
Succeeded by | John Siracusa |
Personal details | |
Born | Murphy James Foster Jr. July 11, 1930 United States Air Force Reserve |
Battles/wars | Korean War |
Murphy James Foster Jr. (July 11, 1930 – October 4, 2020) was an American businessman and politician who served as the 53rd governor of Louisiana from 1996 to 2004.
Early life and career
Murphy James Foster Jr. was born in
Foster attended
Election as governor, 1995
Foster entered the
He carried the endorsement of the columnist and former Republican presidential candidate
Foster edged out two more well-known candidates for a seat in the runoff with then-
Reminiscent of his grandfather's inauguration virtually a century earlier, Mike Foster's inauguration ceremony on January 8, 1996, occurred at the Old State Capitol. Always a man of few words, Foster remarked briefly about the historicity of the occasion and made cordial statements about outgoing four-term Governor Edwin Edwards, who was present.[citation needed]
Foster defeated black Democratic candidates in both of his campaigns for governor—
Foster as governor
Foster was widely seen as having favored business to a greater degree than had previous governors. He retained the secretary of economic development, former legislator
As his executive counsel, Foster appointed the Democrat Cheney Joseph Jr. (1942–2015), a member of the LSU Law School faculty and a former
Foster worked to re-organize the state's community college system by creating the Louisiana Community and Technical College System, and expanded the Tuition Opportunity Program for Students (TOPS).[6] Foster instituted mandatory standardized testing for grade advancement in a move described by his administration as an effort to make public schools more accountable. He made increasing teacher salaries a major priority, at one point promising to stop cashing his paychecks until teachers' salaries reached the Southern average. Andy Kopplin served as Governor Foster's chief of staff.[citation needed]
In 1997, Foster named former state budget director Ralph Perlman as secretary of the Louisiana Gaming Control Board, a position that Perlman held for five years while in his eighties.[7]
Despite having run on an anti-gambling platform, in office Foster became a quiet supporter of the gambling industry. His advocacy of a bailout bill for the
Atchafalaya Basin Program
In November 1996 the
Foster and David Duke
In his 1995 campaign, Foster paid more than $150,000 for former Ku Klux Klansman David Duke's mailing list of supporters. After failing to report the purchase as a campaign expenditure, Foster became the first Louisiana governor to admit and pay a fine for a violation of the state's ethics code. Foster insisted that he did not need to report the expenditure because he paid Duke with his personal funds and did not utilize the list in his campaign. Duke also endorsed Foster in the 1995 campaign.[10]
Post governorship
In retirement, Foster lived with his wife Alice C. Foster (born 1940), to whom he was married for over 50 years, on the family estate near Franklin.[11]
In 2003, Foster was inducted into the Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame in Winnfield.[12] In 2013, the state agreed to fund $2 million to renovate part of Franklin City Hall to provide housing for Foster's papers.[13]
On September 28, 2020, news reports confirmed Foster entered hospice care.[14]
After spending a week in hospice care, Mike Foster died on October 4, 2020, at the age of 90.[15][16]
Electoral history
State Senator, 21st Senatorial District, 1987
Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, October 24, 1987
Candidate | Affiliation | Support | Outcome |
Mike Foster | Democratic | 24,183 (64%) | Elected |
Anthony Guarisco Jr. | Democratic | 13,599 (36%) | Defeated |
State Senator, 21st Senatorial District, 1991
Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, October 19, 1991
Candidate | Affiliation | Support | Outcome |
Mike Foster | Democratic | 30,836 (85%) | Elected |
Eddie Albares | Independent | 5,232 (15%) | Defeated |
Governor of Louisiana, 1995
Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, October 21, 1995
Candidate | Affiliation | Support | Outcome |
Mike Foster | Republican | 385,267 (26%) | Runoff |
Cleo Fields | Democratic | 280,921 (19%) | Runoff |
Mary Landrieu | Democratic | 271,938 (18%) | Defeated |
Buddy Roemer | Republican | 263,330 (18%) | Defeated |
Others | n.a. | 274,440 (19%) | Defeated |
Second Ballot, November 18, 1995
Candidate | Affiliation | Support | Outcome |
Mike Foster | Republican | 984,499 (64%) | Elected |
Cleo Fields | Democratic | 565,861 (36%) | Defeated |
Governor of Louisiana, 1999
Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, October 23, 1999
Candidate | Affiliation | Support | Outcome |
Mike Foster | Republican | 805,203 (62%) | Elected |
Bill Jefferson
|
Democratic | 382,445 (30%) | Defeated |
Others | n.a. | 107,557 (8%) | Defeated |
Sources
- State of Louisiana – Biography
- DuBos, Clancy. "Foster on Fire." Gambit Weekly. October 3, 1995.
- Kurtz, David. "Mike's Millions: He may be a working man, but Mike Foster certainly doesn't have to." New Orleans Magazine, May 1996.
- Reeves, Miriam. The Governors of Louisiana. Gretna: Pelican Publishing, 1998.
- Warner, Chris. "Mike Foster's Legacy: What Will it Be?" State Business Louisiana. Winter 2002.
- Governor Murphy J. "Mike" Foster Jr.
Videos
(1) Foster's Inauguration as Louisiana's 53rd Governor on January 8, 1996, at the Old State Capitol Grounds [2]
(2) Second Inauguration on the State Capitol Grounds on January 10, 2000 [3]
(3) State of the State Address on April 29, 1996 [4]
(4) Joint Session of the Louisiana State Legislature from May 30, 1996 [5]
(5) Opening Address to the Louisiana State Legislature on March 31, 1997 [6]
(6) Special Session of the Louisiana State Legislature from March 23, 1998 [7]
(7) Opening Address to Fiscal Session of the Louisiana State Legislature from April 27, 1998 [8]
(8) Opening Address to the Louisiana State Legislature from March 29, 1999 [9]
(9) Gubernatorial Debate Forum from October 8, 1999 [10]
(10) Opening Address to the Louisiana State Legislature from March 19, 2000 [11]
(11) Fiscal Session from April 24, 2000 [12]
(12) Special Session from March 11, 2001 [13]
(13) Opening Address to the Louisiana State Legislature from March 26, 2001 [14]
(14) Press conference on the September 11th terrorist attacks on September 12, 2001 [15]
(15) Opening Address to the Louisiana State Legislature from April 29, 2002 [16]
(16) Final State of the State Address from March 31, 2003 [17]
References
- ^ Foster, Murphy (January 4, 1898). "Democracy's Campaign". The Daily Picayune. p. 7. Retrieved January 5, 2022.
- ^ Halter, Jon C. (September 2002). "Speakers Recall Lessons Learned From Scouting". Scouting. Boy Scouts of America. Retrieved April 23, 2008.
- ^ Kingsley, Karen. "Oaklawn Manor Plantation". 64 Parishes. Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities. Retrieved January 5, 2022.
- ^ "Pat Buchanan endorses Louisiana's Mike Foster", Minden Press-Herald, October 11, 1995, p. 1.
- The Shreveport Times. December 18, 2015. Retrieved December 23, 2015.
- ^ "Guest Speaker: Councilman Tom Capella". Bent Tree Estates Civic Association. March 19, 2009. Archived from the original on September 22, 2015. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
- ^ "Ralph Perlman". lapoliticalmuseum.com. Retrieved May 31, 2013.
- ^ [1] -Master plan
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 21, 2011. Retrieved July 21, 2011.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)-Sherbuurne Complex map - ^ La. Campaign Finance Opinion No. 99-360
- ^ Auzenne, Josh. "Former Gov. Mike Foster and Alice Foster". WAFB. Retrieved September 8, 2018.
- ^ "Winnfield, La – Old L&A Depot, LA Political Museum". Archived from the original on July 3, 2009.
- ^ Sam Hanna Jr., "Fitting Tribute to Mike Foster", Minden Press-Herald, November 6, 2013, p. 4
- ^ WAFB Staff (September 28, 2020). "Former Gov. Mike Foster in hospice care". WAFB.
- ^ Jeremy Alford [@LaPoliticsNow] (October 4, 2020). "NEWS: After spending the week in hospice, former Gov. Mike Foster passed away earlier today. His wife, Alice, said, "Our family and I are saddened to announce that after 90 remarkable years, my dear husband has passed. Our family will miss him dearly."" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ Gremillion, Nick (October 4, 2020). "Former Louisiana Gov. Mike Foster laid to rest Wednesday". WAFB.