Cleo Fields - Education & First Senate Term

Education & First Senate Term

Fields went on to attend Southern University, gaining both a bachelor's degree and a law degree. He was still in law school when he began his campaign for state senator, doing most of the organizational work himself, even writing his own jingles for radio commercials. Fields began by building a base with college students and worked tirelessly against a candidate many on the political scene considered unbeatable, long-time senator Richard Turnley. To the surprise of some experts, he unseated Turnley, who in the Commercial-Appeal referred to Fields as "a very ambitious young man and an astute campaigner." It was a close race, however, and even as the Fields camp received news of victory, local television stations were announcing Turnley's re-election. When Fields went to campaign headquarters to make his acceptance speech, he recollected in the Louisiana Political Review, "People were telling my mother, `You got to get Cleo out of here. He's lost his mind.'" At the age of 24 — the same year he received his law degree — Fields joined the state legislature, becoming the youngest person ever to hold such office. "When I was elected to the state senate, I was a little kid," he admitted in Salon. "I put on the best suit I had and my little polyester tie and I went to the state senate and took my seat. And this senator walked up to me and said, `Excuse me, son. Can you get me a cup of coffee?' I said, `I'm not a page. I'm a lawyer. But when you see a page, you tell him to get two cups of coffee.'" (Fields was not in fact a lawyer at the time; see Legal career below.)

According to Congressional Quarterly, Fields "was a leader against illicit drug use and was regarded favorably by environmentalists, but not so much so that he was perceived as an enemy of the state's powerful natural gas industry." The publication added that the young legislator primarily "showed a knack for positioning himself to win elections. He also demonstrated the drive and energy to make good on his opportunities." Fields was particularly effective at pushing for minority opportunity in the state, helping to create a large number of political jobs for blacks. One source told the Louisiana Political Review, "Cleo has placed more people up here than anyone." Much of his tenure in the state Senate was taken up with designing a congressional district that would give voice to the black population of his region. To this end, he chaired the redistricting committee, and helped shape the new district that would send him to the nation's capital.