Jack Louis Breaux, Sr., (November 6, 1926 -- January 26, 1980), was the Republican mayor of Zachary, Louisiana, in East Baton Rouge Parish for nearly fourteen years -- from his first election in 1966 until his death of a brain tumor. He was also the first member of his party since Reconstruction to head the municipal government of a Louisiana city. Breaux (no relation to Democratic U.S. Congressman and Senator John Breaux) was elected as a parttime mayor in the spring of 1966. In 1978, the Zachary charter was altered to provide for a full-time mayor, and Breaux (pronounced BRO) was again chosen to lead his community.

Breaux was born in Carencro (Lafayette Parish), where his father, Lawrence L. Breaux, had been mayor. He graduated from Carencro High School and thereafter served in the U.S. Navy in World War II. After the war, he attended the University of Louisiana at Lafayette (then the University of Southwestern Louisiana) from 1947-1950. He moved to Zachary in 1951. He was an industrial and labor relations supervisor at Copolymer Rubber and Chemical Corp., until his retirement to become Zachary's full-time mayor in 1978.

Louisiana's "most progressive" city

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When Breaux became mayor, Zachary had a population of about 4,000; the 2000 census showed the count at just under 12,000.

Under the Breaux administration, Zachary was named the "most progressive" city in Louisiana. Mayor Breaux initiated the expansion and improvement of many city projects and programs, including the widening of state Highway 64. As mayor, Breaux led the drive for annexation of several outlying areas of the city. In his last race for mayor, he cited his achievements as improvements in roads, water, and the city drainage system.

On Breaux's watch, Zachary became the first Louisiana city to elect delegates to draft a home-rule charter, which provided for the full-time mayor and went into effect in the fall of 1978. The charter formally organized the departments of city government and clearly delineated the powers of the mayor and the city council.

Breaux was a member of the Capital District Law Enforcement Planning Council,, the Capital Economic Development District Council, Inc., Zachary Chamber of Commerce, Zachary Rotary Club, Capital Region Planning Commission, Recreation and Parks Commission, Louisiana Municipal Association (including a term as vice president), and the Republican State Central Committee.

Running for sheriff and EBR mayor-president

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Breaux also unsuccessfully sought election as a Republican for sheriff of East Baton Rouge Parish in 1975 and for the Baton Rouge mayor-president position, a combined municipal-parish office in 1976. In the sheriff's race, Breaux, who was opposing Democrat J. Al Amiss (pronounced AIM ISS), ran third with 19.6 percent and narrowly missed a general election berth with the sheriff. The next year, he unsuccessfully opposed incumbent Democrat Mayor-President Woodrow Wilson "Woody" Dumas.

Breaux's legacy to Zachary and Louisiana

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Tom Ed McHugh, who chaired the charter commission, said that Breaux saw the change in government as "another opportunity to serve the community." He said that Breaux's death was a great loss to the Republican Party: "I think it's a very tragic thing; we hate to lose our oldest Republican mayor in terms of servce. He was a great asset to the community, not only as a mayor, but as an individual."

Former state Republican chairman James H. Boyce said that Breaux "got his job done" and had a good relationship with the community. "The fact that a Republican could go into a community like Zachary and be reelected and get his program adopted is a great tribute to him," Boyce added.

Baker Mayor Mike Cross, a Democrat, lamented that "Zachary is going to be the one to lose" because Breaux "did a tremendous amount to put Zachary on the map."

In November 1966, Arthur Thomas "Tom" Colten, also a member of the Republican State Executive Committee, was elected mayor of Minden in Webster Parish. Colten hence joined Breaux as the first two Republican mayors in the state.

Breaux's obituary

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Breaux underwent neurosurgery in November 1978, just after becoming the full-time mayor. He was readmitted to the hospital in August 1979. His illness led him to take a leave of absence from mayoral duties. He died in Our Lady of the Lake Medical Center in Baton Rouge.

Services were held on January 28, 1980, at Breaux's church, Plains Presbyterian in Zachary. Burial was in the Azalea Rest Cemetery.

Survivors included his wife, Betty Ellis Breaux (born 1929), a Zachary teacher; his mother, Mrs. Lawrence L. Breaux of Lafayette; two sons, Dr. Jack L. Breaux, Jr., and wife Carolyn Derbes Breaux, of New Orleans, later of Baton Rouge, and Frank William Breaux, then of Guadalajara, Mexico; a brother, William Breaux of Lafayette, and a granddaughter, Jennifer Ann Breaux of New Orleans.

References

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Billy Hathorn, "The Republican Party in Louisiana, 1920-1980," Master's thesis (1980), Northwestern State University at Natchitoches

Baton Rouge Sunday Advocate, January 27, 1980, page 1 and obituary section

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