Frank Fulco

Infobox_State Representative
name= Frank J. Fulco, Sr.
caption= Frank J. Fulco, Sr.
office= Louisiana State Representative from Caddo Parish (at-large)
term_start=1956
term_end=1972
preceded=At-large delegation; James Creswell "Jim" Gardner, I
succeeded=Arthur W. "Art" Sour, Jr.
office2=Caddo Parish Police Jury (later Caddo Parish Commission)
term_start2=1936
term_end2=1940
birth_date= birth date |1908|08|26
birth_place= Paincourtville in Assumption Parish, Louisiana
death_date= death date and age|1999|08|20|1908|8|26
spouse= Josie Tritico Fulco (1914-2001, married 1934-2001)
children= Sons Frank Fulco, II, of Shreveport and Michael J. Fulco of Monroe
party= Democratic
religion= Roman Catholic
occupation= Newspaper publisher

Frank J. Fulco, Sr. (August 26, 1908 - August 20, 1999), [ [http://ssdi.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/ssdi.cgi?lastname=Fulco&lc=CADDO&lct=SHREVEPORT&stat=a&start=21 Social Security Death Index Search Results ] ] was a Democratic member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1956-1972 and a leader of the Italian-American community in his native Louisiana. He was a part of the Long faction and had once been a member of Long's popular Share the Wealth Club.

Fulco was a former member of the influential Democratic State Executive Committee. "He had been in politics nearly all his life. He did it to help people. He was one of the honest ones, and we're thankful for that," said Frank Fulco, II (born 1937), of Shreveport. [Sammy G. Allen, "Former legislator Frank Fulco, Sr., dies", "Shreveport Times", August 22, 1999]

Early years, education, occupation

Fulco was born in tiny Paincourtville in Assumption Parish in south Louisiana to Rosario Fulco and the former Concetta Russo, both natives of Cefalu, Italy. He was the twelfth of thirteen children. The Fulcos moved to Shreveport in 1909. Frank was educated in the Shreveport public schools and graduated from C.E. Byrd High School in 1928. He attended Tulane University in New Orleans, where he was a member of the boxing team. In 1934, Fulco married the former Josie Tritico (1914-2001) [ [http://ssdi.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/ssdi.cgi?lastname=Fulco&lc=CADDO&lct=SHREVEPORT&stat=a&start=21 Social Security Death Index Search Results ] ] of Lake Charles, the seat of Calcasieu Parish in southwestern Louisiana. The marriage lasted until Fulco's death. [Frank Fulco, Sr., obituary, "Shreveport Times", August 22, 1999]

Fulco was a co-founder of Standard Printing Company and was active after 1929 in the Shreveport business community. He published community newspapers throughout the state, including the "Broadmoor News", which served a prominent Shreveport neighborhood. [Frank Fulco, Sr., obituary, "Shreveport Times" August 22, 1999]

Italian-American causes

Fulco was long active in fraternal and civic organizations, particularly the Progressive Men's Club. He traveled across Louisiana to promote good citizenship among young men of Italian decent. It was on a trip to Lake Charles that Fulco met Josie. The government of Italy recognized Fulco's efforts with a "Certificate of Appreciation" presented in the chamber of the Louisiana House of Representative in Baton Rouge. In Shreveport, Fulco was the first inductee into the Italian-American Hall of Fame. [Frank Fulco, Sr., obituary, "Shreveport Times" August 22, 1999] Son Frank, II, said that his father "did a lot for the Italian people. He lived his whole life doing favors for people." [Sammy G. Allen, "Former legislator Frank Fulco, Sr., dies", "Shreveport Times", August 22, 1999]

Political career

In 1936, Fulco was elected for a single four-year term to the Caddo Parish Police Jury, since the Caddo Parish Commission, the governing board of the parish. Fulco, at twenty-seven, was the youngest member of the body. One of his colleagues, Earl Williamson, Sr., of Vivian in north Caddo Parish, would serve on the board for some forty years. Williamson, like Fulco, was part of the Long faction. [Veta Samuels, "The History of the Caddo Parish Commission", [e-mail]]

Fulco's legislative tenure coincided with the administrations of Governors Earl Kemp Long, James Houston "Jimmie" Davis, and John J. McKeithen. Elected in 1956 and 1960, Fulco won his third term as part of a Caddo Parish five-member at-large delegation in the general election held on March 3, 1964. Fulco finished fourth among the five winners. Two Republicans, Morley A. Hudson and Taylor W. O'Hearn led the tabulations, followed by Democrats Algie D. Brown, Fulco, and future State Senator and U.S. Senator J. Bennett Johnston, Jr.. Fulco jokingly declared that "the elephant trampled us" but predicted that he could work well with both Hudson and O'Hearn despite their different parties. The Hudson and O'Hearn victories were attributed that year in part to the coattails of GOP gubernatorial nominee Charlton Lyons of Shreveport. ["Louisiana Election Statistics, March 3, 1964", Baton Rouge: Secretary of State; "Shreveport Journal", March 4, 1964, p. 1]

Fulco regarded himself as a special legislative ally of fire fighters, educators and police officers. During his tenure, he authored or co-authored bills which were instrumental in establishing Louisiana State University in Shreveport, historically black Southern University at Shreveport, and the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center Shreveport. He pushed for the creation of LSU for many years before it was finally authorized by the legislature in 1966 and opened in 1967. LSUS Chancellor Vincent Marasla termed Fulco "an outstanding community servant who loved Shreveport and the people of Shreveport." [Sammy G. Allen, "Former legislator Frank Fulco, Sr., dies", "Shreveport Times", August 22, 1999]

Losing to Art Sour

Fulco was defeated for a fifth term in 1972 in the newly-drawn single-member District 6 seat by the strongly conservative Republican Arthur W. Sour, Jr., of Shreveport. Sour received 5,564 votes (53.2 percent) to Fulco's 4,886 (46.8 percent). ["Louisiana Election Statistics, February 1, 1972", Baton Rouge: Secretary of State] Fulco and Sour were both Catholics and both Byrd High School graduates.

In the campaign, Fulco seemed to ignore Sour's candidacy because the Republican had lost House races in 1964 and 1968. Reports surfaced that Fulco was instead attempting to line up commitments to become the new House Speaker, but he instead lost his seat in an unusually strong Republican year in Caddo Parish. Sour (1924-2000) benefited from the popularity of GOP gubernatorial nominee David C. Treen, who carried Shreveport in his first race for governor. The speakership in turn went to Fulco's fellow Democrat E.L. "Bubba" Henry of Jonesboro, the seat of Jackson Parish in north Louisiana. The position had opened after the Democratic primary runoff in which incumbent John S. Garrett of Haynesville in Claiborne Parish was unseated by the businesswoman Louise B. Johnson of Bernice in Union Parish. ["Shreveport Times", February 3, 1972]

Constitutional convention

After his legislative defeat, Fulco rebounded to win a position as delegate to the Louisiana Constitutional Convention held in 1973. [Frank Fulco, Sr., obituary, "Shreveport Times" August 22, 1999]

The delegates wrote the Louisiana Constitution, which voters approved in 1974. Fulco's colleagues included future U.S. Representative and Governor Charles E. "Buddy" Roemer, III, then of Bossier City, future U.S. District Judge Tom Stagg of Shreveport, and Robert G. Pugh, a Shreveport lawyer who advised three governors and wrote much of the section on local and state government in the Constitution. Another delegate was House Speaker E.L. Henry, the man whose position Fulco had informally sought early in the previous year.

Obituary

Fulco died a week before his 91st birthday in a Shreveport hospital. He went into cardiac arrest while he was undergoing kidney dialysis. "He had diabetes, suffered several heart attacks. And two weeks ago, we put him in the hospital. His kidneys were failing," said Frank Fulco, Jr. [Sammy G. Allen, "Former legislator Frank Fulco, Sr., dies", "Shreveport Times", August 22, 1999]

Services were held on August 23, 1999, at the St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church in Shreveport, with Father Pike Thomas officiating. Interment was in Forest Park Cemetery. Honorary pallbearers included two former legislative colleagues, Algie Brown of Shreveport (Fulco's fellow 1928 Byrd classmate) and L.D. "Buddy" Napper of Ruston, LSUS Chancellor Vincent Marsala, and then Caddo Parish Sheriff Don Hathaway. [Frank Fulco, Sr., obituary, "Shreveport Times" August 22, 1999]

In addition to his wife and son Frank, Fulco was survived by son Michael J. Fulco (born 1953) [ [http://preview.ussearch.com/preview/newsearch;jsessionid=093B7AD9DCAFC3BF3340BB0D6773C48A?searchFName=Michael&searchMName=&searchLName=Fulco&searchCity=Monroe&searchState=LA&searchApproxAge=65&adID=10002101&searchtab=people&x=21&y=10 People Search & Background Check ] ] and his wife, Trilby, of Monroe, the seat of Ouachita Parish; six grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren [Frank Fulco, Sr., obituary, "Shreveport Times" August 22, 1999] , and one brother, Charles R. Fulco (1922-2003) of Shreveport. [ [http://ssdi.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/ssdi.cgi?lastname=Fulco&lc=CADDO&lct=SHREVEPORT&stat=a&start=21 Social Security Death Index Search Results ] ] .

References