Loy F. Weaver

Loy Frank Weaver (born June 29, 1942)^[1] is a retired banker from Homer, the seat of Claiborne Parish in north Louisiana, who served as a Democrat in the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1976-1984.^[2] In 1978, he waged a losing race for Louisiana's 4th congressional district seat in the United States House of Representatives, the ultimate winner that year having been Weaver’s legislative colleague, wealthy businessman Claude "Buddy" Leach, Jr., of Leesville, the seat of Vernon Parish.

Early years

A Homer native, Weaver graduated in 1960 from Homer High School. In 1964, he received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Louisiana Tech University in Ruston. From 1964 to 1973, he was an agent of both the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Administration, and was cited for outstanding performance and personal bravery on five occasions by FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover.^[3] At the Drug Enforcement Administration, Weaver was in regular consultation with five state governors.^[3]

From 1974 to 1981, he was the principal owner and president of the Shreveport-based security company, Southern Research, Inc., which with a multi-million payroll employed some four hundred persons.^[3]

Political matters

Weaver won election to the legislature when the incumbent, Louise B. Johnson of Bernice in Union Parish, ran unsuccessfully for the Louisiana State Senate. He served on the House Appropriations Committee, Joint Legislative Budget Committee, and the House committees on retirement, transportation and development, and administration of criminal justice.^[3]

In the congressional race created by the retirement of the Democrat Joe Waggonner, Weaver finished in fourth place, with 17,396 votes (13.4 percent).^[4] His background in federal service and law enforcement secured him the endorsement of both the Shreveport Times, the largest newspaper in north Louisiana.^[5] and former Caddo Parish Sheriff James M. Goslin.^[6] In his declaration of candidacy, Weaver promised "reasonable, rational, and common sense approach to national defense and the energy problem."^[7]

Ultimately, Leach won the seat in the general election by narrowly defeating the Republican former State Representative Jimmy Wilson of Vivian in north Caddo Parish. Leach served only a single term, for he was unseated by future Governor Charles E. "Buddy" Roemer in the 1980 general election.

In his second term in the House, Weaver was a floor leader for Republican Governor David C. Treen.^[8]In that capacity he led the unsuccessful fight for Treen's proposed Coastal Wetlands Environmental Levy, an unpopular tax proposal on petroleum and natural gas. He also failed in an attempt to have prison labor used in the building and renovation of penitentiaries. In June 1983, Weaver announced that he would seek a third term but would instead return to private life.^[9]

Though his elective experience was as a Democrat, in his later years Weaver was also donated to some GOP candidates and party organizations. In 1986, he supported the Republican U.S. Senate candidate, then U.S. Representative Henson Moore of Baton Rouge.^[10] In 1996, he contributed to State Representative Chuck McMains’s unsuccessful Republican primary campaign for the U.S. Senate. In 2000, Weaver donated to the National Republican Congressional Committee; in 2004, however, he supported Chris John in his unsuccessful Democratic U.S. Senate race against Republican David Vitter.^[11] After the election, Weaver donated $1,000 to the Vitter campaign. In 1999, Weaver had donated to former Governor David C. Treen in Treen’s attempt to return to the U.S. House, a race which Treen narrowly lost to Vitter.^[12]

In 2008, Weaver was again a Democratic contributor in two high-profile races on behalf of then U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu, who defeated state Treasurer John Neely Kennedy, and Paul Carmouche, the Caddo Parish district attorney who narrowly lost the Fourth District U.S. House seat to Republican John C. Fleming of Minden.^[13]

Banking career

From 1981 to 1995, Weaver was the president and chief executive officer of Homer National Bank in his hometown. This experience led to his position later as area president of First Guaranty Bank.^[3]

As the nature of banking changed over the decades, Weaver served from 1996 to 1998 as president of Bank One in Homer. From 1999 to 2001, he was president of Woodlands Bancorp, Inc., and First Woodlands Bank.^[14] Weaver's last banking position from 2001 to 2008 was as the North Louisiana president and overall executive vice president of First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc., based in Hammond in Tangipahoa Parish. Among his First Guaranty board members was the late F. Jay Taylor of Ruston, former president of Weaver's alma mater, Louisiana Tech.^[14] On his retirement, Weaver was honored as an "exceptional gentleman" by the Louisiana House for his legislative service, civic activities, and his successful business career.^[3]

In retirement, Weaver serves as a director of the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry and is affiliated with the Council for a Better Louisiana, the Louisiana State Exhibit Museum, the Louisiana Crime Control Commission, the Homer Lion's Club, and the Chamber of Commerce in both Homer and nearby Haynesville in northern Claiborne Parish.^[3]

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