David I. Patten

David Ivy Patten
Louisiana State Representative for Catahoula Parish and later Catahoula/Concordia parishes
In office 1964–1972
Preceded by	William S. Peck, Jr.
Succeeded by	J. C. "Sonny" Gilbert
Born	December 11, 1923
Died	June 24, 1998 (aged 74)
Resting place	Oak Grove Cemetery in Catahoula Parish
Political party	Democrat
Spouse(s)	(1) Ethel Inez Ewing Patten (divorced) (2) Carolyn McCauley Patten (surviving widow)
Children	From first marriage: David Mancil Patten Wayne Patten Diane Morace Sandy Cooper (1955-2012) Parents: Ivy Edward and Mattie Harrell Patten
Occupation	Businessman
Religion	Pentecostal
Notes: Patten was the last member of the Louisiana legislator to represent only Catahoula Parish; in his second term, he was placed in a combined district which included both Catahoula and Concordia parishes Patten was unseated in the 1971 Democratic primary election by outgoing state Senator J. C. "Sonny" Gilbert of Sicily Island, who later became a Republican after having left the legislature.

David Ivy Patten (December 11, 1923 – June 24, 1998) was a building general contractor and a Democratic state representative from 1964 to 1972 for Catahoula Parish in the northeastern portion of Louisiana.

Political career

In his first legislative term, Patten succeeded William S. Peck, Jr., of Sicily Island and represented only Catahoula Parish. He was reelected to a second term in 1968 from a revised district which combined Catahoula and neighboring Concordia parishes. The incumbent from Concordia Parish, Fred Schiele, did not seek a second term but later served as the sheriff of his parish.

Patten's interest focused on rural development. In 1972, in the newly numbered District 21, Patten was unseated by outgoing state Senator "Sonny" Gilbert, a brother-in-law of William Peck, who ran that year for the House, rather than the Senate. Patten attempted a comeback in the Catahoula-Concordia district on November 1, 1975, in the first-ever nonpartisan blanket primary held in Louisiana and had the support of the Catahoula Parish sheriff. Gilbert did not seek reelection to the House. Patten lost in the official general election, 57-43 percent, to Democrat Dan Richey, then of Ferriday in Concordia Parish and since a resident of Baton Rouge. Another candidate was the Democrat Troyce Guice, then of Ferriday, who had run unsuccessfully for the United States Senate in 1966 and again in 1996. Both Gilbert and Richey switched their affiliation to Republican after their legislative tenure.

Patten ran unsuccessfully for Louisiana's 5th congressional district seat in the United States House of Representatives. In the Democratic primaries of both 1970 and 1972, he was soundly defeated by the incumbent, Otto Passman of Monroe, known as a critic of foreign aid who lost his seat in 1976 to fellow Democrat Jerry Huckaby.

Patten ran again for the state Senate in the 1979 primary but failed to secure a general election berth. The winner once again was Dan Richey, who defeated the Democratic National Committeewoman Mary Lou Winters of Columbia in Caldwell Parish, in the general election. Eliminated in the primary was state Representative Lanny Johnson of St. Joseph in Tensas Parish. On October 19, 1991, Patten ran again for the state Senate from District 32. He received 8,684 votes (20.4 percent) and lost to fellow Democrat Steve D. Thompson.

Personal life

Patten was one of ten children born to Ivy Edward Patten (1896–1961) and the former Mattie Harrell (1900–1979). From his first marriage to the former Ethel Inzez Ewing (1923-2000), he had four children. After their divorce, he married the former Carolyn McCaule (born 1945). He was a member of Meyers Bend Pentecostal Church in Jonesville in Catahoula Parish.

He died at the age of seventy-seven. Then state Senator Noble Ellington of Winnsboro, drafted in 1999 Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 17, in honor of Representative Patten. Services were held at the Sandy Lake Pentecostal Church in Jonesville. Patten is interred at Oak Grove Cemetery near Rhinehart, an unincorporated community in Catahoula Parish.