Max T. Malone

Max Tatum Malone (born March 3, 1953) is the president of Malone Oil and Gas Exploration Company in Shreveport and a retiring Republican member of the Louisiana State Senate, in which he has served since 1996. Term-limited in the District 37 seat, which includes portions of Caddo and Bossier parishes in northwestern Louisiana, Malone could not seek a fourth term in the October 20, 2007, jungle primary. Among those who sought to succeed Malone were outgoing District 9 State Representative Billy Montgomery of Bossier City, who was term-limited himself as a state House member, and Montgomery's former House colleague, B.L. "Buddy" Shaw, a retired Shreveport educator and school board member. Shaw defeated Montgomery, 57-43 percent.

Malone's Senate record reflects a conservative bent: 90 to 100 percent support from the pro-business interest group, the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, 0 percent from Planned Parenthood of America, 100 percent from the Louisiana Family Forum, 77 percent from the Christian Coalition, and 22 percent from the Louisiana Environmental Action Network. Malone, however, has accumulated a 71 percent rating from the AFL-CIO and 60 percent from the Louisiana Association of Educators, the state's largest teachers' organization.

Malone has opposed the gaming industry. He rejected a proposed $50 million bailout Harrah's New Orleans casino. He also opposed permanent dockside gambling in exchange for an increased tax with the proceeds earmarked for teacher pay raises.

Malone's election history

In his initial election to the state Senate, Malone led in The Primary with 10,422 votes (36 percent). Two Democrats, State Representative Melissa Scott Flournoy and incumbent state Senator Greg Barro narrowly trailed with 9,470 (33 percent) and 9,166 (32 percent), respectively. In the general election, Malone defeated Flournoy -- Barro was eliminated -- by a comfortable margin. The outcome was 17,075 (59 percent) to 11,961 (41 percent) for Flournoy. There was speculation that Malone benefited from being on the Republican ballot with successful gubernatorial candidate Murphy J. "Mike" Foster, Jr.

Four years earlier, Flournoy had unseated incumbent Republican Representative Arthur W. "Art" Sour, Jr., to win a seat held for twenty years by the GOP. In 1991, Barro had defeated the Republican Ronald B. "Ron" Fayard by a margin of 59-41 percent, an exact reversal of the 1995 result.

In 1999, Malone was challenged by a somewhat more conservative Republican, Robert "Bob" Barton, and a Democrat, Donald M. "Don" Pierson, Jr. In the primary, Malone led with 8,830 votes (41 percent) to Pierson's 6,973 (32 percent), and Barton's 5,966 (27 percent). Malone went on to defeat Pierson in the general election by 249 votes: 7,297 (51 percent) to 7,048 (49 percent). In 2003, Malone again defeated Pierson but by a much larger margin in the two-man primary than he had in the 1999 general election matchup: 14,790 (60 percent) to 10,010 (40 percent).

In 2006, Malone was an unsuccessful Republican candidate for mayor of Shreveport. He entered the race late and was unable to procure sufficient campaign funding because many GOP donors had already decided months earlier to support former city attorney Jerry Jones. Malone not only failed to procure a general election berth but finished in sixth place among eleven candidates with only 602 votes (1 percent) in the September 30 primary. Jones, a conservative who had served in the administration of Republican Mayor Robert W. "Bo" Williams, entered the November 7 general election against then State Representative Cedric Glover. Glover defeated Jones to become the first African American Mayor in Shreveport history. The city became majority black with the 2000 census.

Prior to the city elections, Malone filed suit in a bid to force Democratic city council candidate Joe Shyne off the ballot because Shyne is a former felon. However, the courts ruled in Shyne's favor because Shyne had been pardoned by Governor Foster for a crime in which he had been convicted in a federal court.

Personal life

Malone graduated in 1971 from Homer High School in Homer, the seat of Claiborne Parish in north Louisiana. He first attended Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, the seat of Lincoln Parish. He transferred to Methodist-affiliated Centenary College of Louisiana in Shreveport, from which he obtained both a bachelor of science degree in geology and a bachelor of arts in religion. From 1981-1986, Malone was a geologist for PAR Oil Corporation. In 1987, he formed his own company. He is a member of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists and the Shreveport Geological Society. In community affair, he is a former assistant cubmaster for the Boy Scouts of America.

Malone is Methodist. He and his wife, the former Elizabeth Anne "Betsy" Anderson, reside in Shreveport.