Hollis Downs

Background

A native of Farmerville, the seat of government of Union Parish, Downs is the second of three children of Woodrow Alexander Downs and Juel Meredith Downs Chappell (1919–2014), a native of Grayson in Caldwell Parish and a daughter of James Monroe Downs and the former Pearl Jane Hearne. After Woodrow Downs's death, Juel married Dr. William Chappell, Jr., since deceased, from whom she acquired a step-daughter, Nancy Oviatt and her husband Steve of Catharpin, Virginia, and a step-son, William Chappell, III, of Pearisburg, Virginia. In her later years, Juel, who had worked for the office of state social services in Farmerville, moved to Ruston. She had instituted the first Girl Scouts of America chapter in Farmerville.

Downs has an older brother, Robert Warren Downs and wife, Susan Jo Downs, of Houston, Texas. Downs's sister, Jane Downs Watts of Ruston, the wife of Tucker Watts, was formerly married to Bruce N. Lynn, II (born 1950), the son of the Republican former State Representative Bruce Lynn of Caddo Parish in northwestern Louisiana. Coincidentally, Bruce Lynn's wife died on the same day as Hollis Downs's mother. Margaret Lynn and Juel Downs Chappell hence shared three grandchildren, one of whom was Ross Alexander Lynn (1979–2013), a photographer and mountain climber killed in a farming accident on the Lynn plantation in Caddo Parish at the age of thirty-three. He preceded them in death by just over a year.The Ross Alexander Lynn Foundation was established in his honor in Ruston.

Like his mother, Downs graduated from Louisiana Tech. In 1968, after leaving college, he served in the United States Army until 1974, when he joined the Louisiana National Guard for a final two-year stint. Downs is a financial planner in Ruston, where he resides with his wife, Catherine "Cathy" Downs. He is a member of the United Methodist Church.

Political life

Downs won a special election to the state House held in January 2003 created by the resignation of Democratic Representative Jay McCallum. He won the contest by 36 votes over fellow Republican Chuck Earle, 3,838 to 3,802.

Downs then won four-year terms in the elections of 2003 and 2007 without opposition. However, Downs did not seek a third full term in the primary election held on October 22, 2011.

In 2011, Downs sponsored House Bill 448 which would have charged college students for fifteen credit hours, up from the current twelve semester hours. According to the Legislative Fiscal Office, the change would raise about $74 million a year. Downs said that previous policy in which students pay only for twelve hours encourages them to enroll in additional courses that they frequently drop by the time of withdrawal day. Therefore, colleges must hire more faculty and staff than they would otherwise need. Downs said that the 15-hour requirement would encourage students to take more classes and to graduate earlier. The additional funds raised would compensate too, he said, for other budget cuts in higher education. However, the full House overwhelmingly rejected Downs' bill and a similar measure by Republican Representative Frank A. Hoffmann of West Monroe.

In his last legislative session, Downs broke with his party and joined a House minority in supporting an "anti-bullying" bill that would seek to halt physical abuses in public schools. Critics, including the Louisiana Family Forum, said that the legislation would be misconstrued and used to promote homosexual life-styles.

Downs will be succeeded in the House by fellow Republican Rob Shadoin, a Ruston attorney. In the general election held on November 19, 2011, Shadoin defeated another Republican, Jason Paul Bullock (born 1977), also of Ruston, 4,186 (54.4 percent) to 3,513 votes (45.6 percent).

In the primary held on October 22, Bullock had led the balloting with 45 percent, and Shadoin trailed with nearly 39 percent of the vote. A third Republican candidate, Jacob "Jake" Halley, held the remaining but critical 16 percent of the primary vote. No Democrat sought the seat.

Ruston insurance agent R. G. "Skip" Russell, a District 8 Republican member and past president of the Lincoln Parish Police Jury, the parish governing body, had also announced for the House seat Hollis vacated but never filed. Russell is a former aide to Democratic former U.S. Representative Jerry Huckaby.