Frank A. Howard
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Frank Alden "Frankie" Howard (December 1, 1938July 26, 2020) was an American law enforcement officer and politician who served as a member of 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 2008 to 2020. Prior to his service in the state legislature, he served as the deputy sheriff in Vernon Parish, Louisiana, and later as sheriff from 1976 to 2000. Howard was born in
Hornbeck, Louisiana Hornbeck is a town in Vernon Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 480 at the 2010 census, up from 435 in 2000. It is part of the Fort Polk South Micropolitan Statistical Area. History As early as the 1830s people settled in the ...
, and received his education at the National Sheriffs' Institute at the
University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...
and
Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...
during the 1970s. He entered politics with his appointment as Town Marshal of Hornbeck to fill the vacancy created by his father's death and later his appointment as deputy sheriff. In 1976, he won election as the Vernon Parish, Louisiana which he would serve as until 2000. In 2007, he won election to the Louisiana House of Representatives and served until he was term limited in 2020.


Early life and education

Frank Alden Howard was born on December 1, 1938, in
Hornbeck, Louisiana Hornbeck is a town in Vernon Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 480 at the 2010 census, up from 435 in 2000. It is part of the Fort Polk South Micropolitan Statistical Area. History As early as the 1830s people settled in the ...
, to Robert Howard and Essie Brown. From November 1961 to November 1963, he served in the
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
and was assigned in the
49th Armored Division The 49th Armored Division —nicknamed the "Lone Star"— was an armored division of the Texas Army National Guard during the Cold War. Active from 1947, the division formed part of the Texas Army National Guard together with the 36th Infantr ...
. He graduated from
Hornbeck High School Hornbeck High School is a school located in Hornbeck, Louisiana, United States. The PK-12 school is a part of the Vernon Parish School District headquartered in Leesville and has been home to Hornbeck High School, the only public school in the c ...
and attended the National Sheriffs' Institute at the
University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...
, in 1978. He later took continuing education courses at
Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...
.


Career


Alderman

In 1966, Howard was elected as a member of the city council in Hornbeck, Louisiana.


Law enforcement


Elections

In June 1975, Howard resigned as deputy sheriff to run for sheriff of Vernon Parish and announced that he would run on July 27. Howard placed first in the
jungle primary A nonpartisan blanket primary is a primary election in which all candidates for the same elected office run against each other at once, regardless of the political party. Partisan elections are, on the other hand, segregated by political party. ...
, and ran unopposed in the general election after his competitor, Bert A. Adams withdrew from the election on November 10. He took office on July 1, 1976, and was a member of the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...
. In 1979, Howard placed first ahead of six candidates in the jungle primary and defeated Oscar Haymon in the general election. During the 1983 elections he ran for reelection unopposed. In 1987, he defeated Scotty McCloud, a former member of the Louisiana State Police who commanded Troop H. During the 1991 elections he ran for reelection unopposed. In 1995, he defeated Teresa Rushing Miller. In 1999, Howard announced that he would not seek reelection and would not run for a seat in the Louisiana Senate against incumbent Democratic Senator David Cain. He was succeeded by Sam Craft.


Tenure

In 1960, Howard was appointed to serve as the Town Marshal of Hornbeck to fill the vacancy created by his father's death. In 1961, Howard became the deputy sheriff in Vernon Parish, Louisiana, and served for 15 years. In 1976, Howard and nineteen other attorneys, law enforcement agents, mayors, and judges were appointed to the Red River Delta Law Enforcement Planning Council. From 1978 to 1979, Howard created a deficit in the police department of $70,536 after spending $811,559 against the existing $53,023 surplus and the $687,499 in funding. From 1979 to 1980, the deficit rose to $157,811 after $843,647 was spent against $815,623 in funding. Howard was criticized for his expense report being three months late and was advised to prepare formal budgets to prevent further deficits. In 1988, Joe Burris, the legislative auditor, criticized Howard for not complying with state laws for seizure and sale of movable property to collect delinquent taxes, but Howard claimed that there were no delinquent taxes. On September 24, 1978, a lawsuit was filed on behalf of Louisiana Fire Marshal Daniel L. Kelly requesting for the Vernon Parish jail to be closed for unsafe conditions and accusing Howard and the Vernon Parish Police Jury of failing to comply with orders issued on July 12, 1979. However, on October 3, Judge Ted Broyles, of the 30th Judicial District, dismissed the case and the Vernon Parish Policy Jury stated that the fire marshal had taken "a shot at the sheriff with a politically motivated suit". In June 1980, Dallas Gene Hayes was arrested at his place of work and was later fired the next day for the incident. On March 26, 1981, Hayes filed a civil rights lawsuit for $105,000 in damages against Howard and James Bosley claiming that Title 42 of the Civil Rights Act had been violated as he was arrested without an arrest warrant, not given his Miranda warning, and was forced to take a polygraph test. However, Howard and Bosely claimed that Hayes had come to the sheriff's office on his own, that he was given a voice-stress analyzer and not a polygraph, that he had been given an arrest and Miranda warning, and that Howard had not known of the incident. On October 14, U.S. District Judge
Nauman Scott Nauman Steele Scott (June 15, 1916 – September 19, 2001) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana. Education and career Born in New Roads, Louisiana, Scott received a Bachelor ...
dismissed the case against Howard, but not the case against Bosely. From 1996 to 1997, Howard served as the Second Vice President of the Louisiana Sheriff Association and later as the First Vice President from 1998 to 1999. From 1999 to 2000, he served as president of the association.


State legislature


Elections

In 2007, Howard ran for the 24th district 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 ...
as a Republican. He placed first in the primary ahead of Mary Ann Wiggins and defeated her in the general election. In 2015, he defeated Rodney Schamerhorn in the jungle primary. In 2019, Howard was unable to seek reelection due to term limits. Rodney Schamerhorn was elected to succeed him and took office on January 13, 2020.


Tenure

During the 2008–2010 session of the Louisiana House of Representatives, Howard served on the Transportation, Agriculture, and Criminal Justice committees. By 2016, he was the oldest sitting member of the House of Representatives. In 2008, Howard voted against legislation that would increase the salaries of members of the
Louisiana State Legislature The Louisiana State Legislature (french: Législature d'État de Louisiane) is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is a bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 represen ...
. The Criminal Justice committee voted 11 to four, with Howard voting against, in favor of legislation that would allow college students to have concealed carry weapons on campus. In 2012, the Louisiana House of Representatives voted 61 to 41, with Howard in favor, in favor of legislation that would create statewide school vouchers and increase the number of charter schools.


Personal life and death

In 1961, Howard married Betty Pauline Cavanaugh, with whom he had three children. Betty died in July 2015, and he remarried to Macel McInnis Anderson in 2017. Howard died from complications of
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
in Alexandria, Louisiana, on July 26, 2020, at the age of 81, during the COVID-19 pandemic in Louisiana. Upon Howard's death, Governor John Bel Edwards released a tribute to Howard and ordered flags to be flown at half-staff at the
Louisiana State Capitol The Louisiana State Capitol (french: Capitole de l'État de Louisiane) is the seat of government for the U.S. state of Louisiana and is located in downtown Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Baton Rouge. The capitol houses the chambers for the Louisiana Sta ...
and other state buildings.


Electoral history


See also

*
Reggie Bagala Reggie Paul Bagala (July 8, 1965 – April 9, 2020) was an American politician who served in the Louisiana House of Representatives as a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party for four months. Early life and education ...
, sitting member of 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 ...
who died from complications of COVID-19


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Howard, Frankie 1938 births 2020 deaths 21st-century American politicians Louisiana Republicans Members of the Louisiana House of Representatives Louisiana sheriffs People from Vernon Parish, Louisiana Military personnel from Louisiana University of California, Los Angeles alumni Louisiana State University alumni Louisiana Democrats Louisiana city council members 20th-century American politicians Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Louisiana