Governor David C. Treen Succeeded by J. Burton Angelle Party Democratic Party Preceded by J. Burton Angelle Role Politician | Succeeded by Harry L. Benoit Name Jesse Guidry Preceded by J. Burton Angelle Political party Democratic | |
Jesse J. Guidry (dates of birth and death missing; probably March 21, 1921 – September 2, 1987) was a Democratic politician from Cecilia in St. Martin Parish in South Louisiana, who served from 1973 to 1981 as a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives during the first two administrations of Governor Edwin Washington Edwards.
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Early life
Guidry was the son of Thomas D. Guidry, Sr. (1895-1965), and the former Therese Angelle (1893-1963). He had a sister, Elizabeth L. Castille (1930-2013) of Breaux Bridge in St. Martin Parish, and a brother, Thomas Guidry, Jr. (February 23, 1932 – July 5, 2015), an accountant from Cecilia.
Political career
Guidry won a special election in 1973 to succeed Representative J. Burton Angelle, who became the secretary of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries in the first two Edwards administrations. Coincidentally, eight years later, Guidry himself succeeded Angelle as LDWF secretary in the single term of Republican Governor David C. Treen. Guidry's House tenure had also spilled over into the first year of the Treen administration.
While he was LDWF secretary, Guidry was sued by Voison's Oyster House, Inc., of Houma in Terrebonne Parish on grounds that Guidry had denied the company oyster leases. The trial court ordered summary judgment on grounds that Guidry was exempt from suit in federal court under the Eleventh Amendment to the United States Constitution (1791), which requires that suits filed against states be heard in state courts. The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans affirmed the Eleventh Amendment in 1986 and ordered dismissal of Voison's suit, not on the merits, but on the lack of proper jurisdiction.
When Edwards returned to the governorship in 1984 after having unseated Treen, Angelle succeeded Guidry for a third term as the LDWF secretary. Like Guidry, Angelle had ties to Cecilia.
In 1988, the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries headquarters in the capital city of Baton Rouge was named in Guidry's honor.