Charles de Gravelles - Later Political Activities

Later Political Activities

In the 1970s, deGravelles worked with President Gerald R. Ford, Jr., but they grew particularly close to Ford’s intraparty rival, Ronald Reagan. It was deGravelles who had invited Reagan to campaign for Lyons in Louisiana. Reagan spoke on Lyons’ behalf in Lafayette, Lake Charles, and Baton Rouge. While Lyons polled only 37.5 percent of the general election ballots against the Democrat John J. McKeithen, Republicans considered his candidacy a strong declaration that the state GOP was determined to become politically viable.

During the 1980s, deGravelles contributed to the national and state parties as well as the U.S. Senate nominee, outgoing U.S. Representative Henson Moore, a narrow loser to the Democrat John B. Breaux, originally from Crowley in Acadia Parish in south Louisiana. In 2005, deGravelles received the annual Reagan Republican Gold Medal.

In 1993, deGravelles worked unsuccessfully to recall from office then Democratic Mayor Kenneth F. "Kenny" Bowen of Lafayette on grounds that Bowen was too much of a "micromanager" and too “unstable” to run the city efficiently and fairly. Though sufficient signatures were obtained to have the recall election, the judge disqualified many of the names, and Bowen completed his third and final term in office. Bowen had been a Republican in the 1960s and had worked with the deGravelleses. He cast his 1964 GOP convention vote, along with Virginia deGravelles, for Goldwater.