Legislative Election
In 1975, in the first-ever Louisiana nonpartisan blanket primary, Scott was elected to the District 26 House seat, which primarily covers the city of Alexandria and some surrounding points. He succeeded fellow Democrat Edward Gordon "Ned" Randolph, Jr., who gave up the position after a single term to contest a Louisiana Senate seat in the same election cycle. Scott defeated Lloyd George Teekell (March 12, 1922 -October 9, 1996), who had served in the state House from 1953–1960. Scott polled 3,908 votes (54.7 percent) to Teekell's 3,233 ballots (45.3 percent). Randolph, meanwhile, unseated four-term Democratic State Senator Cecil R. Blair (1916–2001) of Lecompte in south Rapides Parish.
Randolph, five years Scott's senior, is also a Bolton High school graduate and an attorney. Randolph and Scott quickly acquired reputations as "reformers" or "Young Turks" in the Louisiana legislature. They often disagreed with legislative leaders who wanted more spending than the state's receipts would permit. In 1976, Randolph and Scott headed the Greater Alexandria campaign for Democratic presidential nominee Jimmy Carter of Georgia, who won majorities in Rapides Parish (54 percent) and statewide (53 percent) as well.
Though a Carter supporter, Scott broke with the presidential candidate over the proposed Equal Rights Amendment. He cast a key vote in 1976 in the House Civil Law Committee against the ERA. He had been expected to vote to send ERA to the full House but reversed himself. His reason was concern that women would be subject to any future military conscription.
Read more about this topic: Jock Scott
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