Donald Ray Kennard

One of Central’s Most Respected, Longest Serving Elected Officials

CENTRAL — More than 2,000 friends from all walks of life came to Zoar Baptist Church Monday and Tuesday to pay their respects to former Rep. Donald Ray Kennard, who was buried Tuesday afternoon.

Scores of elected officials came, including Sen. David Vitter, former Gov. Kathleen Blanco, Congressman Rodney Alexander, Attorney Gen. Buddy Caldwell, Mayor-President Kip Holden, State Sen. Francis Thompson, former Rep. Tony Perkins, and many others who served with Rep. Kennard during his 32 years as a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives.  But mostly it was his friends from Central and others whom he had touched with his kindness, generosity, wit, and good humor over a lifetime.

His wife Mona and daughters Robin Kennard and Stacy Doucet stood in a receiving line for more than six hours as long lines of mourners stretched into the sanctuary from both front entrances.  The people patiently waited for a chance to embrace the family and offer their condolences.

“Mourners” may not be the proper word, because there was an unusual air of happiness as those in attendance reminisced about their friend Donald Ray.

Visitors exchanged hundreds of “Donald Ray” stories.  Each person seemed to have been touched in some positive way by Rep. Kennard and recalled the details vividly — from Gov. Blanco, who had been Donald Ray’s seat mate when she was in the House, to his classmates and teammates of long ago at Central High School.

Donald Ray Kennard grew up in Central and attended Central High School, where he was an outstanding athlete despite his size.  In his high school career, he earned 13 varsity letters, but he excelled in basketball and baseball.

Jerry Alford, who graduated with Kennard in the Class of 1954, said Donald Ray was voted Senior Class president, Most Popular, and Most Likely to Succeed.  “If you look at the Wildcat yearbook, you’ll see Donald Ray was everything but Homecoming Queen!” he laughed.  Alford was Vice President of the class.

After graduation, Kennard attended Southeastern Louisiana University on a basketball scholarship.  He earned a degree and was offered a teaching position at Istrouma High School where he taught and coached for several years.

He earned a Master’s degree from LSU and coached freshman basketball.  The Baton Rouge media reported that when the LSU head coach was out sick, a freshman coach named Donald Ray Kennard coached the varsity team against Alabama.

Kennard coached at LSU-NO (now UNO) and then returned to LSU in Baton Rouge as a Junior Division counselor.  Then he moved to the LSU Athletic Department as an academic counselor.  Over the years, he rose to Assistant Athletic Director.

He and Mona married in 1962 and lived almost their entire lives in Central.

Donald Ray’s father, Sterling Kennard, was well-known in Central, and served for many years as the elected justice of the peace.

From 1812 to 1971, state legislators were elected parishwide in East Baton Rouge Parish.  But in 1971, the federal courts ordered single member districts.  The newly-created House District 65 extended from Central to the Wooddale area in Baton Rouge, and in 1975, Kennard decided to challenge Rep. Arthur Abadie, who resided in Baton Rouge.

Donald Ray ran first in the primary, and Rep. Abadie withdrew before the runoff.  After that, Kennard never faced serious opposition and served 32 years in the House, representing East Baton Rouge Parish longer than anyone in history.

When Kennard was sworn in as a new state representative in May 1976, he found himself in the midst of one of the greatest controversies in state history — the battle over whether to adopt a state Right to Work law.  Labor unions were the strongest political force in the state at the time but were being challenged by an aggressive new business organization called the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry.  LABI was led by Ed Steimel.  The unions were led by AFL-CIO president Victor Bussie.  Steimel and LABI were given little chance of victory, but LABI had done better in the 1975 election than many people realized.  It was an epic showdown in the House Chamber — one that still raises emotions to this day.

Freshman Rep. Donald Ray Kennard had promised to support Right to Work during his campaign, but many pundits believed he would buckle under pressure from labor, which was strong in Central.

In the momentous days leading up to the vote, Donald Ray and his family were subjected to death threats.  He was informed by a friend high in one of the unions that a contract had been issued on his life.

But Donald Ray would not budge.  The good ole country boy from Central with the easy smile stood as firm as a rock.

He confided years later, “I did think about changing my vote because so many of my friends were against Right to Work, but when the threats started, I knew that it was bigger than me or even my family.  We could not allow threats and intimidation to rule our state.”

Donald Ray voted for Right to Work, and it narrowly passed.  A labor-backed governor, Edwin Edwards, signed it into law.

Union leaders threatened to defeat Donald Ray at the next election, but he never had serious opposition after his first race.

Over his years in the legislature, Kennard worked to create an image for Central at the State Capitol and with the state’s media.

He started his annual Legislative Luncheon.  At first, it was a way for his mother, Miss Camille, to feed a carload of state representatives from out of town who missed homecooking.  But, with each passing year, the event grew larger and larger.  Governors, senators, statewide officials, legislators, lobbyists, and media poured into Sterling and Camille Kennard’s yard.

The event got so big it had to be moved to Kristenwood.  The last Legislative Luncheon was held in May 2007, Donald Ray’s final year in the legislature.  For the event, Kristenwood was packed with a Who’s Who of Louisiana politics.  Gov. Kathleen Blanco flew in on a State Police helicopter.  It landed in the St. Alphonsus parking lot.

Over the years, Donald Ray became a symbol of the Central community, and many people at the State Capitol assumed that the people of Central were much like Donald Ray Kennard.

This view was enhanced by Rep. Kennard’s style of debate.  On a personal level, he loved to tell stories and use word pictures to lay out some elaborate scenario, which would suck the listener in.  Then the punch line would come, and the listener would find that he had once again “been had” by Donald Ray.  Unlike many people, his jokes were never cutting or mean-spirited.  He never ridiculed or embarrassed anyone, but he would definitely “pull your leg” right out of its socket!

Within his humor were innumerable gems of wisdom.   He didn’t spew forth the principles of his philosophy ratta-tat-tat like a machine gun, but rather built a case for his position slowly and imperceptibly among the jokes and riotous laughter.

When Donald Ray Kennard rose to speak in the House Chamber during his 32 years there, his debate style was much the same as his personal conversation.  If he went to the podium, you could bet he had something “up his sleeve.”  His talk would never be completely serious.  The House is not known for being particularly attentive to the person at the mike.  Yet, when Donald Ray walked to the front, everyone would always stop and listen to what he had to say.  Often his word pictures would carry you far away from the House Chamber and the current topic of debate.

Almost invariably he would take you back to Central, to some event in his high school athletic career or perhaps to coaching at Istrouma.  He would quote what some fellow athlete or coach said.  It would all seem so irrelevant, then BAM the punch line — and you realized you’d been had.  There would be riotous laughter, followed by the realization that he had just won the debate.   The bill would be passed or killed, depending on what side he had argued.

Seldom would he directly argue a point but rather would recount what someone in Central had told him about the topic.  He might quote J. A. Smith, Virgil Devall, or Gene Rogillio.  It would always be plain-spoken straight talk that framed the issue before the House in a common sense, Everyman way.

Very often, more liberal legislators voted with Donald Ray, even though they disagreed with him.  One said, “I hate it when Donald Ray gets up there with those down-home country stories from Central, but I know for a fact that most people in my district think the same way.  So I better vote with Donald Ray, in order to protect my hide!”

As the years rolled by, Donald Ray’s philosophy became pretty clear to anyone who carefully examined voting records — he was a reliable conservative who occasionally deviated in order to meet the needs of his district.  Overall, he had a 90 percent conservative voting record — one of the highest in the legislature.

As a member of the House Criminal Justice Committee, Donald Ray took a strong law and order stand.  “I wouldn’t be able to go home to Central at night if I didn’t!” he said.

But that committee also had jurisdiction over some of the most controversial issues of the time — capital punishment, gambling, and the right to life.

His anti-crime philosophy led him to support capital punishment consistently.  He fought the expansion of gambling — video poker, riverboats, and land-based casinos.  “Most people in Central are against gambling!” he said.  So those votes too, were easy for him to decide.

In 1990, the eyes of the nation were on the Louisiana Legislature as it considered the strongest pro-life legislation in the country.  The liberal media in the state condemned the legislation in top-of-the-front page news stories day after day.  The House Criminal Justice considered the legislation and was subject to intense lobbying and pressure from pro-abortion forces.     But, once again, the decision was easy for Donald Ray.

He said, “It’s simple.  I’m pro-life and my district is pro-life!”  He co-authored and spoke in favor of the pro-life legislation.

One thing was constant throughout his careers at LSU and in the legislature — he most enjoyed helping people.  Donald Ray had a deep interest in people, and he never seemed to forget a face or a name.  Of all things, he will probably be best remembered for his smiling face and his abiding love for the people of Central.

By Woody Jenkins, Editor, Central City News