Wade O. Martin, Jr.

Wade Omer Martin, Jr. (April 18, 1911 – August 6, 1990) was the Democratic Secretary of State of Louisiana under five governors, having served from 1944 to 1976. Though originally part of the Long faction, Martin quarreled with Governor Earl Kemp Long during Long's third term in office, and Long relieved Martin of nearly all of his powers as secretary of state. After he considered a gubernatorial bid on several occasions, Martin finally ran for governor in 1975, when, at sixty-six, he was overshadowed by the popular incumbent, Democrat Edwin Washington Edwards, who easily secured a second term. In retirement, the conservative Martin, thereafter firmly anti-Long, switched his party affiliation in 1979 to Republican to support David C. Treen for governor and Ronald W. Reagan for president.

Early years and education

Martin was born in Arnaudville in St. Landry Parish to Wade O. Martin, Sr., and the former Alice Mills. His grandfathers were Dr. G.W. Martin and Patrick Mills; his grandmothers were Ida Guilbeau Martin and Justine Fanguy Mills.

Martin received his bachelor's degree from what is now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette (then Southwestern Louisiana Institute) in 1932. In 1935, he received his law degree from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, his father's "alma mater". On October 25, 1938, Martin married the former Juliette Bonnette (July 28, 1916 -- August 24, 1999).

Martin, Sr., was an intimate of Governor and Senator Huey Pierce Long, Jr. In 1932, Martin, Sr., was elected to the then District 2 seat on the Louisiana Public Service Commission. He served for 24 years until his death in August 1956. After the assassination of Huey Long, Martin, Sr., had tried to run for governor in 1935 but was unable to mount a serious campaign.

Martin, Jr., was an assistant Attorney General of Louisiana from 1935-1940. He set up a law practice in Baton Rouge from 1940-1944. He ran for Secretary of State against incumbent James Gremillion, an appointee of anti-Long Governor Sam Houston Jones.

The Louisiana election of 1944

Martin, Sr., and Jr., coaxed Gremillion to withdraw from the race, in which Gremillion had run second to Wade, Jr. Gremillion's exit hence made Wade, Jr., the official Democratic nominee, equivalent at the time to election in overwhelmingly Democratic Louisiana. William J. "Bill" Dodd, a state legislator at the time of the 1944 election, wrote in his memoirs, "Peapatch Politics: The Earl Long Era in Louisiana Politics", "That a deal was made seemed evident -- when Gremillion wound up with a big job in Wade Jr.'s office."

The possibility had existed that there would have been no runoffs at all in 1944 if the Long candidate for governor, Lewis Lovering Morgan of Covington in St. Tammany Parish, had decided not to pursue a second primary against Jimmie Davis. Louisiana law then allowed runoffs for the lesser constitutional office only if there was also a runoff for governor. Somehow, the Martins convinced Gremillion that he would lose a runoff and that he should bow out and continue to work in the secretary of state's office, but under Wade, Jr.

Earl Long later learned that his presumed allies, the Martins, along with Register of State Lands Lucille May Grace Dent, and others, had coaxed Morgan, whom Dodd called an "aged and somewhat senile attorney," to remain in the running for governor. At first, Morgan said that he would not challenge Davis in a runoff. The Martins and Miss Grace did not expect Morgan to defeat Davis. What they were attempting, according to Dodd, was the defeat of Earl Long, who was a candidate for lieutenant governor in a looming runoff against J. Emile Verret of Iberia Parish. Earl Long had led in the primary and would have become the Democratic nominee for the second spot had Morgan chosen not to continue the challenge to Davis. And while Davis defeated Morgan in the runoff, the results were closer than many had expected.

Earl Long moves against Martin

After his 1956 inauguration, Long convinced the legislature, the majority of the members being Long allies at the time, to move against Martin, who was himself considered a "Longite" by unofficial affiliation. Martin's office was stripped of four essential duties:

(1) a separate commissioner of insurance (Martin was insurance commissioner AND secretary of state from 1944-1956.) would be established,

(2) a separate position of "custodian of voting machines," later called "elections commissioner," would be established, and the secretary of state would no longer sit on the board that handled the purchase of voting machines,

(3) the secretary of state would no longer handle voter registration, and

(4) the secretary could no longer contract for and purchase printing services.

What duties did Martin retain? There were few, and all of an administrative nature. According to Bill Dodd, "Wade, Jr., howled and screamed and accused Earl of being vindictive. But seasoned politicians and those who knew the facts of the 1944 campaign felt that little Wade got what politicians usually get when they do what Wade had done."

Martin was the author of the legislation providing for the numbering of candidates on election ballots to speed voting and to provide secrecy of the ballot for illiterates. He was a past president of the National Association of Secretaries of State and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

Over time, the secretary of state's office gradually regained its previous level of duties. The office was modernized and improved considerably during the long tenure of a Martin successor, W. Fox McKeithen, a Republican who served from 1988 (when he was a Democrat) to his death in 2005. However, there still remains a separate insurance commissioner's office. Martin had appointed only one Assistant Secretary of State his entire tenure of office from 1944-1975, that being Joseph Riley Nelson of Baton Rouge.

Toward the end of his tenure, Martin hired Sandra Thompson, who was later the director of the Atchafalaya Basin Project. She ran unsuccessfully for secretary of state in 1979.

Martin for governor?

Martin considered a gubernatorial run in 1948, but he then pulled back to seek reelection, when he realized that Earl Long was a strong contender that year.

In 1971, Republican leader David C. Treen tried to convince Martin, who was considered a conservative within the Democratic Party, to switch parties and run as the GOP candidate for governor in 1972. Martin again declined to run for governor and instead won an eighth consecutive term as secretary of state. Treen in fact made the first of his three gubernatorial races that year. The name "Wade O. Martin, Jr.," and "Louisiana secretary of state" had become synonyms in the Bayou State, or at the least there was a strong 32-year connection.

Martin finally ran for governor in 1975, after which time he had decided to retire as secretary of state. Edwin Edwards faced two Democrats that year, Martin and State Senator Robert G. "Bob" Jones of Lake Charles, son of former Governor Sam Jones. Edwards prevailed with ease: 750,107 votes (62.3 percent). Bob Jones ran second with 292,220 votes (24.3 percent). Martin ran a weak third with 146,363 ballots (12.2 percent). Both Jones and Martin got some unofficial Republican backing in the gubernatorial election, and Jones was considered a possible candidate for 1979. Thereafter, both Jones and Martin became Republicans, but neither sought office again.

Martin was thirty and married when the United States entered World War II, but he did not enlist. Dodd, a World War II veteran, said he believed that Martin's failure to serve may have been a reason that he did not attempt to run earlier for governor. Of course, non-military service did not necessarily hurt Earl Long, whom Dodd flatly claimed in his memoir "was a draft dodger" in World War I.

Martin's obituary and legacy

Martin was a Roman Catholic and, like his father, a member of the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic men's organization. He was also active in the Woodmen of the World and was a member of Kappa Sigma fraternity and the Kiwanis Club. He was on the board of the Council for the Development of French in Louisiana, or CODOFIL. He was a fundraiser for the American Heart Association, the American Cancer Society, and United Cerebral Palsy.

In retirement, Martin spent much time on his St. Martin Parish farm, where he raised sugar cane and other crops, including crawfish. He pioneered in the raising of fresh water shrimp in Louisiana. He also wrote books about government, practiced law, and was a consultant to the Louisiana Elections Integrity Commission.

Martin died in his Baton Rouge home. Services were held in St. Martin De Tours Catholic Church in St. Martinville. Burial was in St. Francis Regis Cemetery in Arnaudville. Survivors included four sons, Wade O. Martin, III (born 1944), of Baton Rouge, David Mills Martin (born 1950) of Jackson, Mississippi, Wallace T. Martin (born 1955) of Ridgecrest, California (Kern County), and Gregory Bonnette Martin of Baton Rouge; two daughters, Mrs. Merle M. Dooley of Covington and Mrs. Marcelle M. Sherrill of Paducah, Kentucky; a brother, Dr. Murphy Martin (born 1913); two sisters, Leona M. Guirard (1908-2000) and Jeanne M. Svendson (1915-2002), 15 grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. Martin was divorced from his wife Juliette. She was living for a time in Ridgecrest to be near son Wallace Martin, but had returned to Baton Rouge shortly before the time of her death.

The auditorium of the Louisiana State Archives building, a part of the secretary of state's office, is named in Martin's honor. Martin is also remembered for his trademark bow tie. Martin was posthumously inducted into the Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame in Winnfield in 2001.

References

* William J. "Bill" Dodd, "Peapatch Politics: The Earl Long Era in Louisiana Politics", Baton Rouge: Claitor's Publishing, 1991
* "Wade O. Martin, Sr.," "A Dictionary of Louisiana Biography" (1988), pp. 553-554
* "Shreveport Times", November 20, 1979
* Grover Rees, III, "Dave Treen of Louisiana", Baton Rouge: Moran Publishing, 1979
* http://ssdi.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/ssdi.cgi?lastname=Martin&firstname=Wade&start=41
* http://www.sos.louisiana.gov/ARCHIVES/archives/wademartin.htm, with photo
* "Who's Who in America", 1956
* Wade O. Martin, Jr., obituary, "Baton Rouge Morning Advocate", August 7, 1990
* http://www.cityofwinnfield.com/museum.html