Robert E. Barton

Robert Earl "Bob" Barton
Louisiana House of Representatives District 8 (Bossier Parish)
In office 1996–2000
Preceded by	Robert Adley
Succeeded by	Jane H. Smith
Personal details
Born	July 3, 1948 Place of birth missing
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Jane Susan Kohlhaas Barton
Residence	Benton, Bossier Parish, Louisiana, USA
Alma mater	Bay High School University of West Florida Florida State University
Occupation	Newspaper owner; Businessman
Religion	Roman Catholic
(1) Though he served only one term in the Louisiana House of Representatives, Barton was the first Republican to represent Bossier Parish in the state legislature in the 20th century. (2) In 1999, Barton ran a weak third in the District 37 state Senate race. The seat was retained in the general election by Republican Max T. Malone.

Robert Earl Barton, known as Bob Barton (born July 3, 1948), is the first Republican to have served in the Louisiana House of Representatives for Bossier Parish since Reconstruction.

Background

Barton graduated from Bay High School in Panama City, Florida. He received a bachelor's degree from the University of West Florida at Pensacola and a master's degree from Florida State University in the capital city of Tallahassee. He served in the United States Army from 1970 to 1973. He has been affiliated with the Chamber of Commerce and Lions International. He is Roman Catholic.^[1][2]

In 1986, while at the Ruston Daily Leader in Ruston in Lincoln Parish in North Louisiana, Barton purchased the weekly The Ouachita Citizen newspaper from Bert Hatten, a former mayor of West Monroe.^[3]

Barton also formerly owned and published the Bossier Press (since the Bossier Press-Tribune) in Bossier City.^[4] He is a past president of the Louisiana Press Association and held membership in the National Newspaper Association.

Barton and his wife, the former Jane Susan Kohlhaas, reside in Benton, the seat of government of Bossier Parish located north of Bossier City.^[5]

Political life

Barton held the District 8 seat from 1996 to 2000.^[6] The position opened when the 16-year incumbent, Robert Adley, ran for governor in the 1995 nonpartisan blanket primary. On October 21, 1995, Barton defeated the Democrat Bob G. Burford (1942–2009) in a low-turnout election, 5,416 votes (59.2 percent) to 3,740 (40.8 percent).^[7] Burford served as an academic chairperson at Bossier Parish Community College in Bossier City and as a two-term member of the Bossier Parish Police Jury prior to relocating in 1997 to Wilmington, North Carolina.^[8]

Barton did not seek reelection in the 1999 primary but instead unsuccessfully challenged Republican State Senator Max T. Malone of Shreveport. He finished in third place in a three-candidate field with 27.4 percent of the vote.^[9]

Fellow Republican Jane H. Smith, the former Bossier Parish school superintendent, won Barton's seat without opposition from either party in the 1999 primary.^[10] Smith has since been term-limited, and the House seat is held by the Republican lawyer Jeff R. Thompson of Bossier City. Adley is a term-limited member of the Louisiana State Senate from Bossier and Webster parishes, who is ineligible to run again in 2015.

During the late 1990s, Barton, like former opponent Bob Burford, was employed at Bossier Parish Community College in the role of assistant to the then chancellor, Tom Carleton.^[10]Barton was also a teacher from 1973 to 1978. He is Roman Catholic.^[11]

References

1. Information taken from former website enlou.com/officeholders, which provided short biographies of state legislators from Louisiana.
2. "Louisiana: Barton, Robert E. (Bob)", Who's Who in American Politics, 2003-2004, 19th ed., Vol. 1 (Alabama-Montana) (Marquis Who's Who: New Providence, New Jersey, 2003), p. 769
3. "About The Ouachita Citizen". hannapub.com. Retrieved May 22, 2014.
4. "History of Bossier Parish Newspapers". sites.google.com. Retrieved October 2, 2013.
5. "Robert Earl Barton". intelius.com. Retrieved May 25, 2014.
6. "Membership in the Louisiana House of Representatives, 1812-2016" (PDF). house.louisiana.gov. Retrieved May 22, 2014.
7. "Election returns, State Representative, October 21, 1995". Louisiana Secretary of State. Retrieved May 25, 2014.
8. Obituary of Bob G. Burford, Bossier Press-Tribune, June 25, 2009
9. "Results for Election Date: 10/23/1999". staticresults.sos.la.gov. Retrieved May 25, 2014.
10. "Stephaan Harris, "After 20 years of service in Bossier Parish, Jane Smith leaves to be a state representative", November 26, 1999". Shreveport Times. Retrieved July 18, 2009.
11. "Louisiana: Robert E. Barton", Who's Who in American Politics, 2007-2008 (Marquis Who's Who: New Providence, New Jersey, 2007), p. 657