Art Sour
| Arthur William "Art" Sour, Jr. | |
|---|---|
| Art Sour | |
| Louisiana State Representative from District 6 (Shreveport) | |
| In office 1972–1992 |
|
| Preceded by | Frank Fulco |
| Succeeded by | Melissa Flournoy |
| Personal details | |
| Born | November 6, 1924 Shreveport, Louisiana |
| Died | January 10, 2000 (aged 75) |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Mary Margaret Hodge Sour (1928-2009) |
| Children | Edwin W. Sour John Michael Sour |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
| The Republican Sour ran for the legislature in the general election held on March 3, 1964, was defeated, but returned to win the seat on February 1, 1972. He served until his defeat in the 1991 nonpartisan blanket primary. | |
Arthur William Sour, Jr., known as Art Sour (November 6, 1924–January 10, 2000), was a Shreveport businessman and a pioneer in developing a competitive Republican Party in Louisiana. A conservative, Sour served in the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1972-1992. He was born in Shreveport to Arthur W. Sour (1895–1972) and Adele Sour (1897–1977). He graduated from C.E. Byrd High School. He served in the United States Army during World War II and was wounded in action. He earned his livelihood in oil and real estate.
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[edit] Running for the Louisiana legislature
Sour first ran for the legislature in 1964 and again in 1968 but was defeated by Democrats in multi-district races. He was part of the Caddo Parish slate supporting Republican Charlton Havard Lyons, Sr., of Shreveport for governor in 1964. He ran in 1968 on a ticket headed locally by incumbent State Representative Taylor W. O'Hearn. O'Hearn and all the Republican candidates except one seeking reelection to the parish police jury [county commission in other states] were defeated that year.
[edit] Defeating Frank Fulco
When a single-member district plan took effect with the general election held on February 1, 1972, Sour, who was committed to the gubernatorial candidacy of fellow Republican David C. Treen of Jefferson Parish, upset Democrat Frank Fulco, a protege of the Longs and a former member of the Share the Wealth Club, to win the first of his five terms in the legislature. Sour, in District 6, defeated Fulco, 5,564 (53.2 percent) to 4,886 (46.8 percent). Shreveport political observers said that Fulco had ignored his fellow Roman Catholic Sour, already a two-time loser for the legislature, and concentrated instead on lining up commitments to become the next Speaker of the House, a position which ultimately went to Fulco's fellow Democrat, E.L. "Bubba" Henry of Jonesboro in Jackson Parish. Other Republicans elected with Sour were B.F. O'Neal, Jr., of Shreveport, Clark Gaudin of Baton Rouge, and Charles D. Lancaster, Jr., of Metairie in Jefferson Parish.
In 1975, when Sour was reelected, he had only four Republican colleagues, and one of those, A.J. McNamara of Jefferson Parish, was actually elected as a Democrat but switched affiliation in 1977.
In the October 24, 1987, jungle primary, Sour had a close call. He defeated Democrat Greg Barro, later a state senator, by only seventy-seven votes. Sour received 5,744 votes (50.3 percent) to Barro's 5,667 (49.7 percent). That election provided a warning to Sour, who was a leading conservative among Republicans in northwest Louisiana.
Like his Louisiana legislative colleague Louis E. "Woody" Jenkins, Sour was a member of the Council for National Policy, a conservative alternative to the Council on Foreign Relations. The CNP, which meets in Washington, was begun by either Texas billionaire Nelson Bunker Hunt or Virginia direct-mail operative Richard Viguerie as a potential balance to the CFR. CNP members included the conservative spokespersons Phyllis Schlafly and Paul Weyrich.
[edit] Melissa Flournoy retires Sour
In the October 19, 1991, jungle primary, when Edwin Washington Edwards was staging his fourth-term comeback as governor, Sour was upset by the Democrat Melissa Scott Flournoy (born 1961), 9,728 (58 percent) to 7,151 (42 percent). It was a high turnout election, and Sour got more raw votes that year than in any previous election. Yet he lost with the smaller percent. Flournoy did not seek a second term in the Louisiana House but instead ran for the state senate in 1995 and was defeated by the Republican Max T. Malone of Shreveport.
Services for Sour were held on January 12, 2000, at St. Joseph Catholic Church, where he was a member, with Father Peter Mangum officiating. Sour was married to the former Mary Margaret "Maggie" Hodge (April 11, 1928–December 19, 2009), the daughter of Edwin and Nelle Hodge of Hodge in Jackson Parish. Mrs. Sour graduated from Ruston High School and Louisiana Tech University in Ruston in Lincoln Parish. She was a member of Noel Memorial United Methodist Church in Shreveport. Sour had two sons, Edwin W. Sour (born 1950) and wife, Dora McMath Sour, and John Michael Sour (born 1953) and wife, Terri Brooks Sour; a daughter, Margaret Stacy Sour, all of Shreveport; four sisters, a brother, and three grandchildren.[1]
[edit] References
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Frank Fulco, Sr., (D), then at-large |
Louisiana State Representative from District 6 (Shreveport)
Arthur William Sour, Jr. (R) |
Succeeded by Melissa Flournoy (D) |
