Preceded by Cecil Picard Resigned 1999 Succeeded by Todd A. Dore Party Democratic Party | Preceded by Russell Gaspard Role Former Member of Congress Succeeded by Mickey Frith Name Sam Theriot | |
Spouse(s) (1) Divorced from Cynthia R. "Cindy" Theriot(2) Mary Powell Theriot Previous office Member of Congress (1979–1999) Education | ||
Samuel Houston Theriot, usually known as Sam H. Theriot (born August 1954), is a Democratic former member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from Abbeville in Vermilion Parish in southwestern Louisiana. He represented District 47 in the House from 1979 until 1996.
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Background
Theriot is one of three children of Roy R. Theriot, the mayor of Abbeville from 1956 to 1960, who then became the Louisiana state comptroller, a position that he filled until his death in 1973. His mother was the former Helen Roberts. He has two siblings, Barbara Ellen Horaist (born 1949) and Roy Theriot, Jr. (born 1952).
Theriot graduated in 1972 from Abbeville High School and in 1976 received a bachelor's degree from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. He subsequently returned to college and in 1986 for teacher certification and a master's degree in educational administration. He taught school for several years in Vermilion Parish. He served briefly on the Abbeville City Council in 1978. A Roman Catholic, Theriot is a member of the men's organization, the Knights of Columbus. In the legislature, Theriot was a strong advocate of parish fairs and festivals, an issue also important to his father. In 1998, the Louisiana Fair/Festival Association inducted him into its hall of fame. He received high rankings as a legislator from the teacher lobbying organizations.
Political career
In 1991, Representative Theriot co-sponsored with State Senator Allen Bares of Lafayette a measure which would have outlawed most abortions in Louisiana, including impregnations through incest. The legislature approved the bill, but it was vetoed by Governor Buddy Roemer on the grounds that it went beyond the scope of the 1973 United States Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade. Such feminist groups such as the National Organization for Women, subsequently headed by the Louisiana native Kim Gandy, successfully targeted Bares and a pro-life House member, Democrat Carl Newton Gunter, Jr., of Rapides Parish, for defeat. Theriot, however, survived the 1991 election without opposition In the 1987 primary he had defeated fellow Democrat Warren J. Simon by a two-to-one margin.
In 1995, Theriot did not seek reelection to the House in the nonpartisan blanket primary; instead he ran successfully for Vermilion Parish clerk of court. with 57 percent of the vote over two opponents, one being the Republican Todd A. Dore, a businessman who owns a title company and is engaged in the petroleum industry. In the 1999 primary, Theriot trailed with 23.8 percent of the ballots cast and decided not to contest the general election with Todd Dore, this time the leading candidate in the field, who finished with 43 percent of the vote. Theriot's former wife, Cynthia "Cindy" Theriot, a Democrat, also ran for clerk and polled 13.4 percent, more than half of his vote total.
Like Theriot, Dore served only one term as clerk, for he was narrowly unseated in the 2003 election.
Theriot resides on Ursline Street in Lafayette, Louisiana, with his second wife, Mary Powell Theriot. In 2009, Theriot received a Ph.D. in educational administration from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge; his thesis is entitled "A Mixed Methods Study of Factors Related to the Receipt and Retention of the TOPS Scholarships in Louisiana"; TOPS in this case is the Taylor Opportunity Program for Students, which offers state scholarships for in-state residents who attend a Louisiana public colleges. Theriot as of 2009 was a social studies teacher at North Vermilion High School in Maurice, Louisiana.
In 2017, Theriot is listed by the office of Louisiana Secretary of State Tom Schedler as a "No Party" voter.