Baton Rouge is a far different place than it was in 1984—for many reasons, not the least of which is the ever-changing slate of power-brokers. In its May 1984 issue, Business Report explored Baton Rouge’s power elite in a story called “The Ruling Class.” In its quest to compile a list of those who make up the city’s ruling class, the magazine conducted interviews with a broad range of members of the business community. Some who made that list remain influential forces; others faced consequences for abusing their influence. Still, others simply faded into history. Here’s a look at those who wielded the power three decades ago.
Gov. Edwin Edwards
Kevin Reilly
Chairman, House Appropriations Committee
Chuck McCoy
Chairman, First Bancshares
Mary Evelyn Parker
Member, State Bond Commission
Victor Bussie
President, AFL-CIO in Louisiana
Bishop Stanley Ott
Catholic Diocese of Baton Rouge
Doug Manship
Editor and publisher, The Advocate
Mayor Pat Screen
Bert Turner
Turner Industries
John Parker and Frank Polozola
U.S. District judges
Joe Delpit
Speaker pro tem, House of Representatives
Ed Steimel
Louisiana Association of Business & Industry
T.J. Jemison
Pastor, Mt. Zion Baptist Church
Ossie Brown
District Attorney
Hans and Josef Sternberg
Goudchaux’s/Maison Blanche
Edmund Reggie
Tulane Board of Administrators
Donna Irvin
Personal assistant to Gov. Edwin Edwards
A.C. Lewis
Developer and builder
Bill Little
Baton Rouge Chamber of Commerce
—From the May 1984 issue of Business Report
+ ALSO FROM THAT ISSUE
‘LAST PIECE OF USABLE INTERSTATE’: On a 20-acre site on Bluebonnet north of Interstate 10 (across the street from the new Blue Cross headquarters), developer Jules LeBlanc will participate in the Baton Rouge Business Centre Partnership in a major mixed-use development, the first phase of which is expected to cost about $75 million. Estimates for the total project run about $150 million. At present, LeBlanc is looking at a 30-story tower “eclipsing anything downtown. This will be the major mixed-use development between Houston and New Orleans.”
ILLUSTRATION: iSTOCK 12769353
PRIORITY NO. 1: The Louisiana Association of Business and Industry says that the introduction of a repeal to the Right to Work Law is LABI’s No. 1 issue in its legislative program for the 1984 Legislature, and says that “Louisiana may close the door to economic growth” if the major labor-management issues “go the wrong way.”
