Allen Bradley (politician)

Background

Bradley is the son of Clifford Bradley, Sr., of DeRidder and the former Clotilde Hooks (1923-2012), a daughter of the late Ruth Holly and Dayton Hooks of Emerson in Columbia County in south Arkansas. His mother, who was active in the First Baptist Church of DeRidder, is interred at Beauregard Cemetery. Bradley has three sisters, Julia Anderson and husband Ken of Westlake in Calcasieu Parish; Mary Ruth Corley and husband Roy of Austin, Texas, and Patrice Cason and husband Joe of DeRidder. His only brother, Robert Allen Bradley, was born and died on January 23, 1942.

Bradley graduated in 1973 from Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond and in 1976 from Louisiana State University Law Center in Baton Rouge.

Bradley is married to the former Catherine Theresa "Cathy" Gregorio, originally from Bossier City, the daughter of a Roman Catholic couple, the late Agnes Sardisco Gregorio and Sam Anthony Gregorio (1924-2014), a native of Natchitoches Parish and the owner for forty years of Airline Food Market. He was a member and president of the Bossier Parish Police Jury, the Greater Bossier Economic Development Foundation, and the Bossier Optimist Club. He was a charter member of St. Jude Catholic Church and was active in the Knights of Columbus and the Immaculate Conception Society. He was a United States Army veteran of World War II.

The Bradleys have two sons, Brent Allen Bradley and Brian Anthony Bradley, and a daughter, Erin Elizabeth Bradley.

Career

Bradley practiced law in DeRidder, served on the city council from 1978 to 1981 and was chairman of his local hospital board of directors. He is Southern Baptist and has been affiliated with the American Red Cross, the Chamber of Commerce, the Masonic lodge, and Lions International.

He won the first of his two legislative terms in the nonpartisan blanket primary held on October 22, 1983, when he unseated fellow Democrat Eldridge L. Morris, also of DeRidder, 4,518 votes (54.2 percent) to 3,816 (45.8 percent). In that same election Democrat Edwin Edwards reclaimed the governorship from Republican David C. Treen. He was unopposed in his reelection bid in 1987.

Bradley served on the House Education and Agriculture committees and was in his second term the chairman of the House Committee on Civil Law and Procedure. He was also a member of the Louisiana Bond Commission.

In 1991, rather than seeking a third term in the House, Bradley ran unsuccessfully for the District 30 seat in Louisiana State Senate (Beauregard, Calcasieu, Sabine, and Vernon parishes) against his fellow state representative, Democrat and later Republican James David Cain of Dry Creek in Beauregard Parish. Cain received 17,527 votes (55.7 percent) to Bradley's 13,947 (44.3 percent). The seat opened with the retirement of Senator Bryan A. Poston of Hornbeck in Vernon Parish.

Reflecting on his legislative career, Bradley said that his education on:

how government really works [came] during those two [legislative] terms. I had the opportunity to work with some remarkable leaders and the very competent legislative staff. I think I was most surprised ... to find that lobbying firms provide needed research and background on proposed legislation. I had started my career in the legislature with a somewhat negative view of that profession. ...

Over the years watching the legislative process, I have come to the conclusion that legislation is often presented as a “silver bullet” that will solve a major issue. Of course, that does not work. There are other states that have addressed [issues from which we can learn] ...

It strikes me now, looking back on it, that the legislative process was much more congenial and collegial than it is today. There was not much Republican versus Democrat infighting and partisanship, it was really about issues at the time that I served. It seems that there was a more cooperative spirit at that time, but I will say that since I’m no longer closely involved in it, that perceived difference may be as much in the representation of today’s politics as in the actuality. ...

Bradley said that party labels in Louisiana "quite frankly, ... don't make as much sense as they do in other places. Most Democrats in Louisiana would qualify for Republicans almost anywhere else."

Immediately after leaving the legislature, he resided in Metairie in Jefferson Parish for two years. From 1994 until his retirement in April 2015, Bradley was affiliated with the firm AMERISAFE, a company involved in workers' compensation insurance and based in DeRidder. He began as the executive vice president of the company and was named chief operating officer in 2003.