Patrick T. Caffery
| Patrick Thomson "Pat" Caffery | |
|---|---|
| United States Representative from Louisiana's 3rd congressional district | |
| In office January 3, 1969 – January 3, 1973 |
|
| Preceded by | Edwin E. Willis |
| Succeeded by | David C. Treen |
| Louisiana State Representative from Iberia Parish | |
| In office 1964–1968 |
|
| Preceded by | Fred V. Decuir |
| Succeeded by | At-large delegation: J. Richard "Dickie" Breaux |
| Personal details | |
| Born | July 6, 1932 St. Mary Parish Louisiana, USA |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Alma mater | University of Louisiana at Lafayette |
| Occupation | Attorney |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Patrick Thomson Caffery, known as Pat Caffery (born July 6, 1932), is an attorney who formerly served as a U.S. representative from Louisiana's 3rd congressional district and as a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives.
The grandson of U.S. Senator Donelson Caffery,[1] Pat Caffery was born in St. Mary Parish and reared in the parish seat of Franklin, Louisiana. An Eagle Scout, he was selected in 1950 in a nationwide competition by the Boy Scouts of America to present a "State of the Nation" report in the White House to U.S. President Harry S. Truman. He graduated in 1955 from Southwestern Louisiana Institute (now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette), having been awarded a music scholarship and having been chosen as coronet soloist with the SLI Stage Band[citation needed].
In 1956, Caffery received a law degree from the Paul M. Hebert Law Center at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. He was the managing editor of the Louisiana Law Review. He practiced law in New Iberia in Iberia Parish, and was an assistant district attorney there. From 1964 to 1968, he was a member of the state House of Representatives.
Caffery defeated fellow Democrat Edwin E. Willis, a 20-year incumbent, and a committee chairman, in the primary election held in August 1968. Two years earlier, Willis had survived the challenge waged by the Republican oilman Hall M. Lyons of Lafayette, the younger son of GOP state chairman Charlton Lyons. Caffery ran without opposition in the general election in both 1968 and 1970.
Caffery did not seek a third term in 1972 and returned to his law practice in New Iberia. His seat then went Republican with the victory of future Governor David C. Treen, who had lost three House elections in the 1960s in Louisiana's 2nd congressional district. Treen became the first Republican to represent a Louisiana district in the U.S. House since Hamilton D. Coleman held the Second District seat from 1889 to 1891.[2]
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Notes [edit]
- ^ See also Jefferson Caffery.
- ^ Treen had run three unsuccessful but increasingly threatening races against Louisiana's 2nd congressional district representative, Democrat Hale Boggs, whose liberal voting record accompanied his rise in the Democratic leadership of the U.S. House of Representatives. In an example of the law of unintended consequences, the overwhelmingly Democratic Louisiana legislature then redrew the district lines, placing Treen's precinct into the neighboring 3rd district, represented by conservative Democrat Caffery; not long after the change, however, Caffery signaled his intention to retire from Congress. Treen had name recognition throughout the district. Although a Methodist, Treen was politically at home with the 3rd district's Roman Catholic electorate, whom he continued to represent until his inauguration as governor in 1980.
| Preceded by Fred V. Decuir |
Louisiana State Representative from Iberia Parish 1964–1968 |
Succeeded by At-large delegation: J. Richard "Dickie" Breaux, |
| United States House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Edwin E. Willis |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Louisiana's 3rd congressional district 1969–1973 |
Succeeded by David C. Treen |
|
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- 1932 births
- Living people
- People from St. Mary Parish, Louisiana
- Louisiana Democrats
- Louisiana lawyers
- Members of the Louisiana House of Representatives
- Members of the United States House of Representatives from Louisiana
- University of Louisiana at Lafayette alumni
- Louisiana State University Law Center alumni
- Eagle Scouts
- People from New Iberia, Louisiana
