The failure of the Roemer Revolution haunted many of these guys to the end. So many believers; so few votes. Now, twenty years later, with a house and senate full of Republicans and a Republican governor, no real reform is even attempted. At least the Class of 1988 tried. These rookies today won’t even step to the plate.
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Attorney and former state Sen. Allen Bares died late Thursday afternoon after being hospitalized for a stroke he suffered Wednesday night.
He was 71.
A native of Vermilion Parish, Bares grew up in the LeBlanc community. He was a 1960 graduate of LSU Law School and a veteran of the Loui-siana Nation-al Guard. He and his wife, the former Betty Baquet, had eight children.
“His primary commitment was to his family, his eight wonderful children and his grandchildren,” said state Sen. Mike Michot, a family friend. “He leaves a very solid, strong legacy.”
Bares was first elected to the House of Represen-tatives in 1971 and then elected to the Senate in 1979. In 1988, he was elected as president of the Senate but lost a re-election attempt in 1991 to Max Jordan.
Bares was with the firm Oliver & Way in Lafayette and was well known at the Capitol, working as a lobbyist after leaving the Senate.
But it was Bares’ community activism where he made his real mark. Since 1961, he’s been involved with the Kiwanis Club and remained active with the Boy Scouts, noted Kenny Oliver, a friend and colleague.
“He just felt strongly about character and about helping others,” said Oliver of Oliver & Way.
