Edwin Edwards

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Edwin Washington Edwards (born August 7, 1927) served as the Democratic governor of Louisiana for four terms (1972 - 1980, 1984 - 1988, and 1992 - 1996), twice as many terms as any other Louisiana governor ever served. He was also Louisiana's first Catholic governor in the twentieth century and perhaps with the exception of Huey P. Long, was Louisiana's most popular governor. A colorful, powerful and legendary figure in Louisiana politics, Edwards was long dogged by charges of corruption. In 2001 he was sentenced to 10 years in prison on racketeering charges.

Edwards began serving his sentence in October of 2002 in Ft. Worth Texas, but was later transferred to an Oakdale, Louisiana, facility.

Early life and career

Edwin Edwards was born in rural Avoyelles Parish, near Marksville. His father, Clarence Edwards, was a half-Cajun Presbyterian sharecropper, while his mother, Agnes (Brouillette) Edwards, was a French-speaking Cajun Catholic.

The young Edwards had originally planned on a career as a preacher. As a young man, he did some preaching for the Church of the Nazarene. He served briefly in the Navy Air Corps near the end of World War Two. After his return, he graduated from Louisiana State University law school at age 21 and began practicing law in Crowley, Louisiana in 1949, moving there after his sister Audrey (who had moved there with her husband) told him there were few French-speaking attorneys in town.

Edwards’ career was thus helped by his being bilingual and articulate in both English and Cajun. He also learned to cultivate the goodwill of the media, both working reporters and editorial page editors. One of his favorites was Adras LaBorde, longtime managing editor of the Alexandria Daily Town Talk. LaBorde even influenced Edwards in regard to environmental policy.

He entered politics through election to the Crowley City Council in 1954. He was a member of the Democratic Party, which in that era had a monopoly on public offices in Louisiana. He remained on the Crowley council until his election to the Louisiana state Senate in 1964; in that race he defeated 20-year incumbent Bill Cleveland in a major political upset.

After serving in the state Senate as a floor leader for governor John McKeithen, Edwards was elected to the United States House of Representatives, where he served from 1965 to 1972. He won the congressional seat in a special election called when the incumbent, T.A. Thompson of Ville Platte, was killed in an automobile accident. Edwards was easily reelected to three full terms in the House in 1966, 1968, and 1970.

In 1968, he defeated Republican Vance William Plauche (born 1924) of Lake Charles, son of former one-term Democratic Congressman Vance Gabriel Plauche (1941-1943) with more than 80 percent of the general election vote. While in Congress, he served on the Public Works, Judiciary, and Internal Security committees. He also became known as one of the few Southern congressmen to support the extension of the Voting Rights Act.

Edwards married Elaine Schwartzenburg, whom he had met in high school in Marksville. The couple had four children: Anna, Victoria, Stephen, and David.

1971-72 campaign for governor

In the election of 1971-1972, Edwards won the governorship after finishing first in a field of seventeen candidates in the Democratic primary, including the final race of former governor Jimmie Davis and Gillis Long, a relative of Huey's. His greatest support came from southern Louisiana, particularly among its large numbers of Cajun, Creole, and African-American voters. In the first primary, Edwards led with 276,397 (23.8 percent). J. Bennett Johnston, a state senator from Shreveport, followed with 208,830 (17.8 percent). In third place was former Congressman Gillis William Long of Alexandria, with 164,276 (14 percent). Former Governor James Houston "Jimmie" Davis was fourth with 138,756 (11.8 percent). Far to the rear of the pack was Congressman Speedy O. Long of Jena in rural La Salle Parish with only 61,359 (5.2 percent).

Both Edwards and Johnston ran on reform-oriented platforms during the primary, but Edwards was far more adept at making political deals and building alliances for the runoff round of voting. Edwards defeated Johnston in the runoff primary, 584,262 (50.2 percent) to 579,774 (49.8 percent, which worked out to less than one vote per precinct. The victory showed that south Louisiana was eclipsing the north in both population and in the future political domination of the state. Edwards then defeated Republican gubernatorial nominee David C. Treen, of Metairie in Jefferson Parish, in the February 1972 general election.

Though Treen ran a vigorous campaign, Louisiana's Democratic tradition favored Edwards from the start. Edwards polled 641,146 (57.2 percent) to Treen's 480,424 (42.8 percent) Edwards also overcame the south Louisiana "jinx" that had doomed former New Orleans Mayor deLesseps Story "Chep" Morrison, Sr., in his three gubernatorial bids.

On election night, Edwards gave public credit to the black New Orleans political organization SOUL for his extremely narrow victory, stating that the 12,000 vote lead SOUL had brought him in New Orleans had put him over the top. In the Deep South, with segregation still a recent phenomenon, such public recognition of black political power by a governor was unprecedented.

First two terms as governor, 1972-1980

Both in his liberal political rhetoric and in his flamboyant public persona, Edwards cast himself as a Louisiana populist in the tradition of Huey P. Long and Earl K. Long. One of his first acts was to call for a constitutional convention to overhaul Louisiana's bulky charter. Government reorganization resulted, and for the first time Louisiana operated with a "cabinet style" executive department in lieu of the hundreds of boards and commissions that had existed for decades, each its own little fiefdom.

During his first two terms in office, Edwards developed a reputation for being one of the most colorful and flamboyant politicians in the history of a state known for its unorthodox political figures. Charismatic, well-dressed, and quick with clever one-liners and retorts, Edwards maintained wide popularity.

Policies and achievements

After enduring three grueling rounds of voting in the 1971-72 campaign, Edwards pushed a bill through the Legislature that limited state elections to two rounds by having Democratic, Republican, and independent candidates run together on the same ballot in an open primary. Ironically, though the jungle primary system was intended to benefit Edwards’ own political career, many observers cite it as being a major factor in the rise of the state’s Republican party and the creation of a genuinely competitive two-party system. For this, Edwards was christened "father of Louisiana's Republican Party."

In his first term as governor, Edwards initiated the creation of the first new constitution for Louisiana in 50 years. He intended to replace the Constitution of 1921, an unwieldy and outmoded document burdened with hundreds of amendments. A constitutional convention was held in 1973; the resulting document was put into effect in 1975. The 1973 Constitution remains in effect as of 2007. Edwards also undertook a major reorganization of the state government, abolishing over 80 state agencies and modeling the remaining structure after that of the federal government.

In his first year in office, Edwards appointed his wife Elaine S. Edwards, also a native of Avoyelles Parish, to complete the Senate term of the deceased Allen J. Ellender. Mrs. Edwards served from August-November 1972, and during that time, the small town of Crowley boasted the governor, a U.S. Senator, and a U.S. Representative (former Edwards aide John Breaux), who all lived within a few blocks of each other.

An outspoken supporter of civil rights, Edwards was the first Louisiana governor since Reconstruction to appoint blacks and women to high positions in his administration.

Edwards’ tenure in the 1970s coincided with a huge boom in the states’ oil and gas industry after the gas pricing crisis of 1973. Edwards was able to greatly expand the state’s oil revenues by basing severance taxes on a percentage of the price of each barrel rather than the former flat rate. This oil money fueled a massive increase in state spending (an 163% increase between 1972 and 1980), and Edwards was able to consistently balance the state budget due to the boom in oil revenue. Much of this increased spending went toward health and human services program and increased funding for vocational-technical schools and higher education.

Edwards easily won reelection in 1975, with 750,107 votes (62.3 percent). In second place was Democratic State Senator Robert G. "Bob" Jones of Lake Charles, son of former Governor Sam H. Jones, with 292,220 (24.3 percent). Secretary of State Wade O. Martin, Jr., ran third with 146,363 (12.2 percent). Thereafter, both Jones and Martin became Republicans.

Early scandals

Though arguably minor compared to the Edwards scandals of the 1980s and 1990s, the governor was embroiled in several ethics controversies during his first two terms in office. At the time, Edwards was remarkably candid about his questionable practices. When questioned about receiving illegal campaign contributions, he replied that “It was illegal for them to give, but not for me to receive.” He also insisted he saw no problem with investing in a proposed New Orleans office building called "One Edwards Square" (it was never actually named that) while still governor, and demonstrated his gambling prowess to the press on one of his frequent gambling trips to Las Vegas. Later, Edwards’ commissioner of administration Charles Roemer - father of future governor Buddy Roemer – was convicted of taking bribes and having connections with Mafia boss Carlos Marcello. Edwards managed to avoid direct implication in the Roemer case.

During the governor’s first term, a disaffected former Edwards associate named Clyde Vidrine made several high-profile accusations of corruption, including the sale of state agency posts. The accusations were investigated by a grand jury, but Edwards managed to successfully attack Vidrine’s credibility and the investigation stalled. Later, Vidrine published a tell-all book called Just Takin’ Orders, which included salacious details of Edwards’ frequent gambling trips and extramarital escapades. Vidrine was later murdered in broad daylight on the courthouse steps in Shreveport.

In 1976 scandal known as Koreagate, it came to light that Edwards and his wife Elaine had received questionable gifts in 1971, while Edwards was still a U.S. Congressman. South Korean rice broker Tongsun Park was under investigation for trying to bribe American legislators on behalf of the South Korean government, and for making millions of dollars in commissions on American purchases of South Korean rice. Edwards admitted that Park gave Elaine an envelope containing $10,000 in cash, but insisted that the gift was given out of friendship and that there was nothing improper about it. In the course of the controversy, Edwards stated that he thought it was “super moralistic” for the U.S. government to prohibit American businessmen to accept gifts from foreign officials in the course of their business dealings.

First political comeback: Edwards vs. Treen, 1983

Barred by the state constitution from seeking a third term immediately after his second, Edwards temporarily left politics in 1979 but made it clear he would run again in 1983. He began raising money and touring the state years before the 1983 election, maintaining what supporters called "the government in waiting."

In 1979, Republican reformer David Treen was narrowly elected governor. Edwards had supported Treen's opponent, Democratic Public Service Commissioner Louis Lambert of Ascension Parish. In 1983, Edwards defeated Treen's re-election attempt. The election offered a clear contrast between the flamboyant charismatic Edwards and the low-key, policy-oriented Treen. Treen focussed on Edward’s reputation for corruption and dishonesty, while Edwards sought to portray Treen as incompetent and unresponsive to the public. The two major candidates spent over $18 million dollars between them; the election became renowned as one of the most expensive campaigns ever conducted in a state Louisiana’s size. John Maginnis’s 1984 book, The Last Hayride, chronicles this colorful campaign.

Before election day, Edwards had joked with reporters: "The only way I can lose this election is if I'm caught in bed with either a dead girl or a live boy". Edwards zinged Treen many times, once describing Treen as "so slow it takes him an hour and a half to watch 60 Minutes." During a gubernatorial debate in 1983, Treen asked Edwards, "How come you talk out of both sides of your mouth?" Edwards instantly responded, "So people like you with only half a brain can understand me." Although Edwards won the 1983 election in a 62% landslide, effectively ending Treen's political career, former Governor Treen has since spoken out against his former opponent's incarceration.

After his 1983 victory, Edwards took some 600 supporters on an eight-day tour tour of France and Belgium, including dinner at Versailles and gambling in Monte Carlo. Each paid $10,000. Edwards expected a 70 percent profit on the contributors' tickets in order to retire a whopping $4.2 million campaign debt.

Third term as governor, 1984-1988

The third Edwards administration went badly by all accounts. The oil money that fueled the success of Edwards's first two terms was in short supply in the third term. His oil severance tax restructuring came back to hurt him as plummeting oil prices led to massive shortages in the state treasury. In 1984, Edwards attempted to deal with the erosion of state revenue by approving $730 million worth of new personal taxes. The Legislature passed these taxes into law, but the taxes were highly unpopular and damaged his level of public support. Much of Edwards’ support in the 1970s had been a result of his high levels of social spending during times of economic prosperity; with these economic conditions gone, his popularity waned.

The John Volz indictment and trials

In February 1985, soon after his third term began, Edwards was forced to stand trial on charges of mail fraud, obstruction of justice, and bribery, brought by U.S. Attorney John Volz. The charges were centered around an alleged scheme in which Edwards and his associates received almost two million dollars in exchange for granting preferential treatment to companies dealing with state hospitals. Edwards proclaimed his innocence and insisted that the charges were politically motivated by Volz and the Republican party. The first trial resulted in a mistrial in December 1985, while a second trial in 1986 resulted in an acquittal. Edwards later recited a rhyming invitation for Volz to kiss a certain part of the governor's anatomy.

Even after successfully beating the Volz indictment, Edwin Edwards’ popularity was in decline. Despite his acquittal, the trial brought many sordid details of Edwards’ conduct under public scrutiny. It was revealed that during frequent gambling trips to Las Vegas, Edwards lost hundreds of thousands of dollars under aliases such as T. Wong and E. Lee, later paying these gambling debts using suitcases stuffed with cash of unknown origin.

After the trial, Edwards’ support for the legalization of gambling as a solution to the state’s severe revenue shortages contributed to a further decline in his popularity. He had made unpopular budget cuts to education and other social programs earlier in his term. Beginning in January 1986, he argued that legalizing casino gambling in ten to fifteen locations and creating a state lottery would be a way to restore the cut programs, but the state legislature rejected his gambling proposals. Entering a tough re-election campaign in 1987, Edwards seemed vulnerable. Going into the election, his disapproval ratings ranged from 52 to 71 percent.

Defeat: Edwards vs. Roemer, 1987

Several notable candidates lined up to face Edwards in the 1987 gubernatorial election. Perhaps his strongest early challenger was Republican Congressman Robert L. "Bob" Livingston. Also in the race were W. J. "Billy" Tauzin, a Cajun congressman who was then a Democrat, Secretary of State James H. "Jim" Brown, and a congressman from north Louisiana, Charles E. "Buddy" Roemer, III, who climbed up from a series of very low early-campaign polls.

"Anyone But Edwards"

Edwin was the issue of the campaign. Because of his name recognition, his resilient supporters, and unmatched political skill, even a weakened Edwin Edwards could safely assume he would win a place in Louisiana's unique primary election system runoff. The question was whether his opponent in the runoff would be someone who could beat him.

There was a prevailing sense in the race that Edwards needed Livingston in the runoff. Livingston was a Republican in a state that had at that point elected only one Republican governor since Reconstruction. And Livingston was widely perceived as lacking in charisma and personality, which would work to Edwards's advantage. Any other opponent, a moderate Democrat without the ethical problems, would be dangerous. To that end, Edwards talked up Livingston. It didn't work. Perhaps the key moment in the 1987 race came at a forum between the candidates. As usual, the main topic of discussion was Edwin Edwards. His challengers were asked, in succession, if they would consider endorsing Edwards in the general election if they didn't make it to the runoff. The candidates hedged, particularly Secretary of State Brown. The last candidate to speak was Buddy Roemer: "No, we've got to slay the dragon. I would endorse anyone but Edwards." The next day, as political commentator John Maginnis put it, Jim Brown was explaining his statement while Buddy Roemer was ordering "Slay the Dragon" buttons. Boosted by his endorsement as the ‘good government candidate’ by nearly every newspaper in the state, Roemer stormed from last place in the polls and on election night, overtook Edwin Edwards and placed first in the primary election, with 33% of the vote compared with Edward’s 28%. This marked the first and last time Edwin Edwards ever finished other than first in an election.

In what seemed to be the end of Edwards' political career, the governor withdrew from the contest in his concession speech, automatically electing Buddy Roemer governor. In fact, he was cleverly setting a trap for Roemer. By withdrawing, Edwards denied Roemer the opportunity to build a governing coalition in the general election race, and denied him the decisive majority victory that he surely would have attained. In one stroke, Edwards made Buddy Roemer a minority governor. Also, Edwards virtually ceded control of the state to Roemer even before his inauguration. By doing so, he passed on the burden of the state's problems to the new governor, who was essentially under the gun even before assuming office. For four years, Roemer struggled to be a reform governor of Louisiana as so many had before him. And although virtually no one realized it at the time, Edwin Edwards quietly waited in the wings for his shot at redemption.

A second comeback: Edwards vs. Duke, 1991

As the 1991 governor's race drew near, many of Edwards' friends encouraged him to abandon his planned comeback, believing that he had no chance to win. After Edwards' loss in 1987, a journalist for the defunct Shreveport Journal wrote that the only way Edwin Edwards could ever be elected again was to run against Adolf Hitler. These words turned out to be prophetic. In the 1991 primary, Edwards discovered his runoff opponent to be none other than David Duke, the highly controversial former Ku Klux Klan leader. Edwards received 37 percent of the vote while Duke received 32 percent. Governor Roemer placed third, more than ninety thousand votes behind Duke.

The runoff between a Neo-Nazi former Klansman and a former governor who was widely considered corrupt gained national attention. Support for Edwards grew in between the primary and the runoff. Faced with the alternative of Duke, many who were otherwise lukewarm for Edwards found him looking ever better. Edwards found himself receiving endorsements from both Treen and Roemer; even Republican President Bush admitted that Edwards, the Democrat, was a better choice than Duke, a putative Republican. A very popular bumpersticker urging support for Edwards (although clearly not produced by his campaign) read "Vote For the Crook. It's Important." Another read, "Better a lizard than a wizard." Edwards said that this would be his final term as governor and that he cared about leaving a good legacy, which made many hope that the corruption of his previous administrations would not be repeated. Edwards won by a wide margin.

Fourth term as governor, 1992-1996

In his last term, Edwards promoted casino gambling in Louisiana, which had been a major part of his platform in the 1991 campaign. In June 1992, his heavy lobbying led the state legislature to pass a bill calling for a single large land-based casino in New Orleans, as well as the fifteen floating riverboat casinos that had been authorized but not built under the Roemer administration. He appointed a political ally, Paul Fontenot, to head the State Police; he would oversee the licensing and investigation of casino operators.

Despite the discovery that some licensees had ties to organized crime or otherwise had unsavory pasts, Edwards blocked the revocation of their licenses. Edwards was also able to appoint several members of the riverboat casino licensing board, and he used his influence with these members to illegally steer gaming licenses to his political allies in exchange for money. Edwards succeeded in delaying investigation and indictment until he left office, but the political backlash against gambling-related corruption was growing. Though he had originally planned to run for re-election in 1995, he announced in June 1994, shortly after marrying his second wife Candy Picou, that he would be retiring from politics at the end of his term. Edwards was succeeded as governor by State Senator Mike Foster, who ran as an opponent of gambling interests. Edwards retired to a newly purchased home in Baton Rouge, intent on returning to a private law practice and living out his remaining days in contentment with his young wife, the former Candace 'Candy' Picou (born 1964).

Indictment and Conviction

Edwards was indicted in 1998 by the federal government, with prosecution led by U.S. Attorney Eddie Jordan. The prosecution soon released transcripts of audio conversations, as well as excerpts of video surveillance that seemed to indicate dubious financial transactions. The Edwards investigation also tarnished the reputation of San Francisco 49ers owner Edward J. DeBartolo, who was reputed to have paid Edwards several hundred thousand dollars in exchange for Edwards's assistance in securing a casino license.

Edwards was found guilty on 17 of 26 counts, including racketeering, extortion, mail fraud, and wire fraud; his son Stephen was convicted on 18 counts. "I did not do anything wrong as a governor, even if you accept the verdict as it is, it doesn't indicate that," Edwards told the press after his conviction. On his way to prison he said, "I will be a model prisoner, as I have been a model citizen". From 2002 to 2004 Edwin Edwards was incarcerated at the Federal Medical Center in Fort Worth, Texas.

In 2004, Edwards filed for divorce from his second wife Candy, saying that Mrs. Edwards had "suffered enough" during his incarceration. In June 2005, the former Mrs. Edwards was arrested for threatening a police officer at a traffic stop in Port Barre, screaming "don't you know who I am?".

In 2005, Edwards was moved to the Federal Correctional Institution in Oakdale, Louisiana. According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, he is scheduled to be released in 2011. Efforts have been underway since his imprisonment to obtain a presidential pardon for Edwards, whose 80th birthday is August 7, 2007. He is writing his memoirs while in federal prison.

Edwards' record of longevity

Few governors have served four four-year terms. Edwards hence joins the late George C. Wallace, Sr. of Alabama, Jim Hunt of North Carolina, Terry Branstad of Iowa and James A. Rhodes of Ohio as 16-year governors. Vice President Nelson A. Rockefeller would also have been among the long-term incumbents too had he not resigned at the end of 1973, with a year left in his term as governor of New York.

When the Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame opened in Winnfield in 1993, Edwards was among the first inductees.

References

Bridges, Tyler. Bad bet on the bayou : the rise of gambling in Louisiana and the fall of Governor Edwin Edwards. Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2001.

Dawson, Joseph G. The Louisiana Governors: From Iberville to Edwards. Baton Rouge: LSU Press, 1990.

Hathorn, Billy. "The Republican Party in Louisiana, 1920-1980," Master's thesis (1980), Northwestern State University at Natchitoches.

Maginnis, John. The Last Hayride. Baton Rouge: Gris Gris Press, 1984.

Maginnis, John. Cross to Bear. Baton Rouge: Darkhorse Press, 1992.

Reeves, Miriam G. The Governors of Louisiana. Gretna: Pelican Press, 1998.