Dan Richey - Election To The Louisiana House, 1975

Election To The Louisiana House, 1975

A month after he finished law school, Richey announced his candidacy for the state House of Representatives, District 21. Incumbent J.C. "Sonny" Gilbert of Sicily Island in Catahoula, who is also a former state senator, did not seek reelection and supported Richey. The all-Democratic field included Gilbert's predecessor, the late Representative David I. Patten, a construction company owner from Harrisonburg, the seat of Catahoula Parish, John Young of Jonesville (also Catahoula Parish), and Troyce Guice, a Ferriday businessman originally from St. Joseph in Tensas Parish who then resided in the neighborhood near the Richeys. According to Richey, Guice was the candidate of the Concordia Parish sheriff, and Patten was the choice of the Catahoula Parish sheriff. John Young was the preferred candidate of state Senator James H. "Jim" Brown, of Ferriday, a floor leader for Governor Edwin Washington Edwards and the father of Campbell Brown. Using the slogan "No Strings Attached", Richey ran first in the primary and, with Gilbert's support, defeated Patten in the general election, popularly called the runoff, by a margin of some 57-43 percent.