Jefferson Franklin Colbert, known as J. Frank Colbert (May 28, 1882 – May 20, 1949), was a Democratic politician and

Georgist Georgism, also called in modern times Geoism, and known historically as the single tax movement, is an economic ideology holding that, although people should own the value they produce themselves, the economic rent derived from land—including ...

based in

Webster Parish, Louisiana Webster Parish ( French: ''Paroisse de Webster'') is a parish located in the northwestern section of the U.S. state of Louisiana. The seat of the parish is Minden. As of the 2010 census, the Webster Parish population was 41,207. In 2018, the ...

. He served in the

Louisiana House of Representatives The Louisiana House of Representatives (french: link=no, Chambre des Représentants de Louisiane) is the lower house in the Louisiana State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. This chamber is composed of 105 repr ...

from 1920 to 1925. he had previously and later again served on the Webster Parish Police Jury. During the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, he became involved in the Georgist movement and published an article about its single tax proposal. Colbert also served from 1944 to 1946 as the mayor of the small city of

Minden Minden () is a middle-sized town in the very north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, the greatest town between Bielefeld and Hanover. It is the capital of the district (''Kreis'') of Minden-Lübbecke, which is part of the region of Detm ...

, the

seat of government The seat of government is (as defined by ''Brewer's Politics'') "the building, complex of buildings or the city from which a government exercises its authority". In most countries, the nation’s capital is also seat of its government, thus that ...

of Webster Parish in northwestern

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

. He later worked in real estate.

Background

Colbert was born in Webster Parish in 1882 to John A. Colbert and his third wife, the former Sarah Eliza Taylor.''Respect for the Past; Confidence in the Future: Webster Parish Centennial, 1871-1971'', Webster Parish Police Jury, pp. 14-16

Political career

Henry Georg movement

Mayoral service

Colbert won the primary for the mayor's office by 26 votes, 731 votes (50.9 percent) to 705 (49.1 percent). Given Democratic dominance of the state, and disenfranchisement of most African Americans, who had supported Republicans, Colbert won the general election and served for two years. He did not seek a second two-year term as mayor in 1946.''The Minden Herald'', February 22, 1946, p. 1

Death

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Colbert, J. Frank 1882 births 1949 deaths 20th-century mayors of places in Louisiana Mayors of Minden, Louisiana Democratic Party members of the Louisiana House of Representatives Louisiana Tech University alumni Journalists from Louisiana Businesspeople from Louisiana American businesspeople in real estate Burials at Minden Cemetery 20th-century American legislators 20th-century American businesspeople