A. G. Crowe

Almond Gaston Crowe, Jr., known as A. G. Crowe (born May 8, 1948), is a Republican departing member of the Louisiana State Senate from District 1 in St. Tammany Parish.

Political history

Crowe was born in New Orleans, and resides in Pearl River, Louisiana. His Senate District 1 includeds parts of Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, and St. Tammany parishes. He was elected in 2007, defeating the then-Democrat Kenneth L. Odinet.^[1]

From 2000 (elected 1999) to 2008, Crowe represented District 76 in the Louisiana House of Representatives. He ran unsuccessfully for Senate District 12 in 1998.^[2] Crowe was previously an elected member of the St. Tammany Parish School Board.^[3]

Education and business career

Crowe graduated from the former Francis T. Nicholls High School at 3820 Saint Claude Avenue in New Orleans, since named for the African-American abolitionist Frederick Douglass and now a charter school known as KIPP Renaissance High School. Crowe obtained his Bachelor of Business Administration from Southeastern Louisiana University. He has worked in sales, marketing and management for CaseCraft Manufacturing, Gillette-Paper Mate, and Pentel. In 1982 he founded his own company, St. Tammany Office Products (STOP), which in 1991 became the Northshore vendor for Xerox. In 2002 Crowe founded The File Depot which has since moved beyond Saint Tammany Parish with sites in five states with more openings planned throughout the US via franchising.

Legislative activities

Crowe was elected to the House in 1999 in a narrow victory over former Representative Suzanne Mayfield Krieger. The one-term incumbent, Tom Thornhill, a trial attorney from Slidell, did not seek a second term in 1999. Krieger, who had run for lieutenant governor in 1995, unsuccessfully sought a comeback in 1999 against Crowe.

In the Senate, Crowe was the vice chair of the Standing Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection, and International Affairs. He serves or has served on other standing and ad hoc committees, several of which are involved with Katrina relief. Crowe was networked into a variety of community organizations and belongs to Ducks Unlimited, Louisiana Wildlife Association, and National Rifle Association. He is a self-professed conservative. He has won numerous accolades as a legislator including being chosen the 2002 "Legislator of the Year" by the Alliance for Good Government, a bipartisan Louisiana organization which presses for honesty and integrity in public office.^[4]

In 2008, Crowe spoke at dedication ceremonies for the new Fremaux interchange on Interstate 10. He hailed both former Senator Gerry E. Hinton and former State Representative Edward C. Scogin, both of Slidell, for their "foresight" in making sure that the infrastructure in St. Tammany Parish kept up with the population, which could reach nearly 300,000 in the 2010 census.^[5]

Crowe won his second term in the state Senate in the primary held on October 22, 2011, by defeating the term-limited State Representative Nita Hutter, a Republican from St. Bernard Parish. Crowe polled 15,717 votes (69.1 percent) to Hutter's 7,025 ballots (30.9 percent). ^[6]

In 2014, Crowe was presented the "Gladiator Sword" by the Louisiana Family Forum for what the organization considers his perfect conservative voting record in the state Senate.^[7]

Crowe did not seek a third term in the Senate in 2015; he will be succeeded in January 2016 by fellow Republican Sharon Hewitt of Slidell, who defeated another Republican and former state House member, Pete Schneider of Lacombe. Hewitt received 15,144 votes (58.7 percent) to Schneider's 10,645 (41.3 percent).^[8]

Personal life

Crowe is married to the former Linda McCoin, a kindergarten teacher from Bogalusa in Washington Parish. The couple has two children and, as of 2013, six grandchildren. He taught Sunday school for many years with churches affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. Crowe is a member of Rotary International.^[9]

References