Keith Hightower
| Keith Hightower | |
|---|---|
| Mayor of Shreveport, Louisiana | |
| In office 1998–2006 |
|
| Preceded by | Robert W. "Bo" Williams |
| Succeeded by | Cedric Glover |
| Member of the Shreveport City Council | |
| In office 1990–1998 |
|
| Preceded by | ? |
| Succeeded by | ? |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Keith Paul Hightower January 14, 1957 |
| Political party | Democratic |
Keith Paul Hightower (born January 14, 1957) is an American businessman and a member of the Democratic Party. He served as the mayor of Shreveport, Louisiana from 1998 to 2006.
Hightower graduated from Captain Shreve High School in 1975; one of his classmates was later State Senator Greg Barro, a Shreveport lawyer. Hightower then graduated in 1979 from Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, the seat of Lincoln Parish. He was one of the relatively few graduates in his college class from Shreveport who returned to live and work in their hometown. First, however, Hightower was employed by Acme Brick Co. in Baton Rouge; the firm transferred him to Shreveport. In 1990, Hightower was elected to the first of two terms on the Shreveport City Council. He left the brick company and there after made his living in automobile sales.
In 1998, Hightower unseated Republican Mayor Robert W. "Bo" Williams in the municipal jungle primary. Hightower led with 20,250 votes (42 percent) to Williams' 13,637 (28 percent). Three other candidates, two Democrats and another Republican, divided the remaining 30 percent of the ballots. Williams, who trailed by nearly 7,000 votes, declined to proceed to a general election, and Hightower hence won the position outright.
Hightower was reelected with 75 percent of the vote in 2002 over the conservative Republican Vernon D. Adams (born August 6, 1929). Hightower polled 31,054 votes to Adams' 10,611.
In the jungle primary held on September 30, 2006, voters sent a Republican attorney, Jerry Jones, and a black candidate, state Representative Cedric Glover, into the November 7 general election to choose Hightower's successor. Jones initially led the balloting with 39 percent, and Glover trailed with 32 percent, but Glover emerged the ultimate winner, 54-46 percent over Jones. Democrat Liz Swaine, a former broadcast journalist and Hightower's executive assistant, and Republican Vernon Adams and departing State Senator Max T. Malone were among nine contenders who were eliminated in the primary.
Hightower had considered seeking the open secretary of state's position in the September 30 balloting but never filed his candidacy papers. On November 29, 2006, Hightower returned to his old job as vice president of the Holmes Auto Group. The Hightowers have two daughters, both of whom attend the University of Mississippi at Oxford.
References [edit]
External links [edit]
- Keith Hightower Campaign (2002). "About Keith Hightower[dead link]". Retrieved Jan. 26, 2006.
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| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Robert W. "Bo" Williams |
Mayor of Shreveport, Louisiana 1998 – 2006 |
Succeeded by Cedric Glover |
| Preceded by ? |
Member of the Shreveport City Council 1990 – 1998 |
Succeeded by ? |
