Richard Neeson
| Richard Grady Neeson, Sr. | |
| In office March 1980 – 1992 | |
| Preceded by | Virginia Kilpatrick Shehee |
|---|---|
| Succeeded by | Ron Bean |
| Born | November 11, 1946 |
| Political party | Democrat |
| Spouse(s) | Sandra Scott Neeson |
| Children | Holly Elaine Neeson Cohen Amy Neeson |
| Residence | (1) Shreveport,Caddo Parish (2) Fort Worth, Tarrant County, Texas |
| Alma mater | C. E. Byrd High School |
Richard Grady Neeson, Sr. (born November 11, 1946), is a Democrat former member of the Louisiana State Senate, whose service extended for three terms from 1980 to 1992. His District 38 encompassed Caddo and DeSoto parishes in the northwestern part of the state.[1] A former resident of Shreveport, Neeson now resides in Fort Worth, Texas.[2][3]
Background
Neeson is one of three children of Henry Grady Neeson, Jr. (1927-2015), a Shreveport insurance agent and real estate businessman who was born in Benton, the seat of Bossier Parish, and the former Helon Anderson (1926-2021).[4] His siblings are Brenda N. Lyons and husband, William, and Damon W. Neeson and wife, Kim, all of Shreveport. He is married to the former Sandra "Sandy" Scott (born 1948). Their children are Holly Elaine Neeson Cohen and husband, Alan, of Austin, Texas; Amy S. Neeson Weatherly and husband, Brad, of Arlington, Texas; Richard G. "Richie" Neeson, Jr., and wife Ashley of Fort Worth, and Sarah C. Neeson Sazama and husband, T. J., of Denver, Colorado.[5][2]
Political life
In 1979, Neeson unseated one-term Democratic Senator Virginia Kilpatrick Shehee, a prominent civic leader and an officer of the Kilpatrick Funeral Home and Life Insurance companies, who died in 2015. Neeson was reelected in 1983, when he halted a challenge from Democrat former Senator C. Kay Carter, Jr., whom Shehee had succeeded in 1975, with a margin of twenty-three votes. In 1987, Neeson only narrowly defeated the Republican candidate, Ron Bean of Shreveport, 10,451 (50.2 percent) to 10,373 (49.8 percent).[6] Four years later in 1991, Bean, a Moderate Republican, won the seat when Neeson declined to seek a fourth term, having narrowly defeated fellow Republican Tommy Armstrong, who had served fifteen years on the Caddo Parish Commission and a year in the Louisiana House of Representatives. Bean served in the Senate from 1992 to 2004.
During his Senate tenure, Neeson chaired the Committee on Transportation, Highways and Public Works.[7]
In 1986, Neeson introduced legislation to raise the drinking age from eighteen to twenty-one[8] so as not to impair the receipt to the state of up to $30 million in annual federal highway assistance. Neeson's measure lost by a two-vote margin in the state House of Representatives,[9] but the drinking age was later raised in a special session.
References
- ↑ Membership in the Louisiana State Senate, 1880-2008. legis.state.la.us. Retrieved on September 6, 2009.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Grady Neeson obituary. The Shreveport Times (December 10, 2015). Retrieved on December 13, 2023.
- ↑ Richard Neeson. mylife.com. Retrieved on December 13, 2023.
- ↑ Helon Anderson Neeson. dignitymemorial.com (September 14, 2021). Retrieved on December 13, 2023.
- ↑ People Search & Background Check
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, Election returns, November 21, 1987.
- ↑ Opinion No. 89-679. webcache.googleusercontent.com. Retrieved on May 1, 2010.
- ↑ "Neeson introduces bill to raise drinking age, punish offenders", Minden Press-Herald, April 7, 1986, p. 1.
- ↑ "Louisiana lost $15 million in federal highway funds to keep drinking age at 18," Minden Press-Herald, July 1, 1986, p. 1.