Delhi Rep Francis Thompson - R
Longtime allies of Governor Edwin Edwards will pay their last respects Saturday as the Cajun Prince is set to lie in state at one of his favorite places on earth, the State Capitol.
Longtime Delhi Democratic lawmaker Francis Thompson was one of those allies. He entered the legislature during Edwards’ first term and said the two of them went hunting and fishing together every year for 40 years. He said Edwards won every competition.
“It was a big deal about who could kill the largest buck, and every year he would get the largest buck award because he would let the trooper he brought with him measure it,” said Thompson.
Despite the fact that Edwards’ tenure saw power shift from the more rural North Louisiana to the more urban south Edwards still found strong support in many rural areas. Thompson said the Governor understood the need for rural development and that major cities couldn’t prosper if the agricultural economy wasn’t built up.
“We could not produce cotton and corn and beans and other crops if we did not have an active rural area where we had water and sewage and roads and bridges,” said Thompson. “Just in my area, rural Louisiana, he cared so much about it and realized that the cities would not grow if the rural areas did not make it.”
The two did have a major disagreement over Edwards’ push to expand gambling in the state.
Thompson said Cajun Prince will ultimately be remembered as one of the state’s greatest governors despite his many scandals and stint in federal prison.
“Years will go by and people will definitely think that (the scandals) is not the important thing of Edwin Edwards, they are going to think about the great things he did for this state,” said Thompson who added the Governor had his detractors, but that can’t be helped. “You can’t go through 93 years of life and play the very important parts that he played without criticism from some group.”
A private funeral is scheduled for Sunday with plans to have it streamed live.
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