Henry "Tank" Powell
| Henry Watson "Tank" Powell | |
 | |
Louisiana State Representatives
for District 73 (Tangipahoa Parish) | |
| In office 1996–2008 | |
| Preceded by | Dennis Paul Hebert |
|---|---|
| Succeeded by | Stephen Pugh |
| Born | July 18, 1945 Bogalusa, Washington Parish, Louisiana |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Kathy Nastais Powell |
| Children | Henry Powell, Jr. Angela (last name unavailable) |
| Residence | Ponchatoula Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana |
| Alma mater | Bogalusa High School Southeastern Louisiana University |
| Occupation | Insurance agent |
| Religion | Southern Baptist |
Henry Watson Powell, known as Henry "Tank" Powell (born July 18, 1945), is an insurance agent in Ponchatoula in Tangiipahoa Parish, Louisiana, who served as a Republican state representative for District 73 from 1996 until he was term-limited in 2008.[1] Powell and Leonard R. "Pop" Hataway, former Democratic sheriff of Grant Parish, were subsequently appointed in 2008 by incoming Governor Bobby Jindal to the five-member Louisiana Board of Pardons.[2] In 2012, Powell and Hataway were reappointed to the pardon board, a part-time position that pays $36,000 annually.[3]
Biography
A native of Bogalusa, the principal city of Washington Parish, Powell graduated in 1963 from Bogalusa High School, where he excelled as an All-American football player, and presumably acquired his unusual nickname. Powell graduated in 1968 from Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, also in Tangipahoa Parish. In 1982, he was named to the board of directors of First Savings and Loan Association of Southeastern Louisiana in Hammond.[4]
Powell has long been affiliated with Prudential Insurance, having been "Agent of the Year" and also "Man of the Year" designation from Tangipahoa Life Underwriters. He is a member of both the Hammond and Ponchatoula chambers of commerce as well as the Economic Development Foundation of Tangipahoa Parish. He is a member of the SLU Alumni Association. His wife is the former Nastais (born c. 1944).[5] Powell is a former member of the Southwood Academy School Board in Hammond. He is also active in the Masonic lodge in Ponchatoula. He is a Southern Baptist deacon.[6]
Powell initially ran for the state House in the nonpartisan blanket primary in 1995, when he faced two Democrats, incumbent Dennis Paul Hebert of Ponchatoula and W.E. Blackwell. Powell nearly won the position outright, having polled 6,605 (49.27 percent) to Hebert's 5,814 (43.37 percent), and Blackwell's remaining 988 votes (7.37 percent).[7] In the ensuing general election Powell narrowly topped Hebert, 7,803 (50.8 percent) to 7,563 (49.2 percent).[8]
In 1999, Hebert's son, Dennis "Bubba" Hebert, Jr., challenged Powell in the primary but lost, 4,258 votes (32 percent) to 9,037 (68 percent).[9] In the 2003 primary, Powell handily dispatched fellow Republican Charles J. "Chuck" Fulda, IV, 9,769 votes (75 percent) to 3,256 (25 percent).[10] In the 2007 primary, Powell was succeeded by fellow Republican Stephen Pugh, who had lost a bid for the seat in 1991 to Dennis Hebert. By 2007, the district had become so Republican that a lone Democratic House candidate received less than 12 percent of the vote.[11]
References
- ↑ HouseMembership_History_CURRENT.pdf (louisiana.gov), accessed April 21, 2021.
- ↑ Louisiana Board of Pardons. doc.louisiana.gov. Retrieved on October 25, 2009.
- ↑ "Jindal appoints former lawmakers to pardon board," WBRZ-TV (Baton Rouge), accessed February 4, 2012; material no longer on-line.
- ↑ Henry 'Tank' Powell: Local Insurance Man Named to Board of Directors of Local Savings and Loan Association. The Ponchatoula Times (June 24, 1982). Retrieved on October 25, 2009.
- ↑ "House District 73," Louisiana Encyclopedia (1999).
- ↑ The Ponchatoula Times - Google News Archive Search, The Ponchatoula Times, June 24, 1982.
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, November 16, 1991.
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, November 18, 1995.
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, October 23, 1999.
- ↑ ouisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, October 4, 2003.
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, October 20, 2007.
