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Murphy J. “Mike” Foster, who served a relatively calm eight years as governor between two of the most tumultuous administrations in state history, was born 94 years ago this month in Shreveport. His namesake grandfather had governed Louisiana from 1892 until 1900. 

His family moved to Centerville, where he attended public schools. He enrolled at Virginia Military Institute in 1948 before transferring to LSU, where he graduated with a degree in chemistry. 

Foster joined the Air Force and served in the Korean War. After returning home to Franklin, he began farming sugar cane and soon after formed Bayou Sale Contractors, primarily as a means to keep his farm crew together during the offseason.

“I wasn’t one of those gentlemen farmers,” he reportedly said, even though he was sometimes described as a “wealthy planter” in the press. “I fixed my own tractors.”

Despite his background, Foster didn’t initially show much interest in politics. But after his state senator, Tony Guarisco, wouldn’t return his phone calls, Foster got mad and challenged the incumbent in 1987 and went on to trounce him with 64 percent of the vote.

Foster was 64 in 1994 when he launched his campaign for governor in a stacked field that included former Gov. Buddy Roemer, Lt. Gov. Melinda Schwegmann, state Treasurer Mary Landrieu, Sen. Cleo Fields and former Rep. David Duke. He switched his registration from Democrat to Republican, and following the advice of his political consultant Roy Fletcher, staked out staunchly conservative positions on social issues.

Foster cut a deal with Duke that led Duke to get out of the race and endorse Foster. The relationship led to arguably the only scandal of Foster’s political career, when it was revealed that Foster had a secret deal with Duke and purchased a list of Duke’s contributors and supporters. Foster paid a $20,000 fine for not reporting the payment to Duke, making him the first governor to be fined by the Board of Ethics.

Fletcher put Foster atop a tractor in one ad, and behind a welding mask in another, creating a working-class image for a candidate that financed his campaign with $2 million of his own money. 

Foster ran first in the primary with 26 percent of the vote and trounced Fields in the runoff with almost 64 percent. He won reelection in the first round with 62 percent of the vote over then-Congressman Bill Jefferson.

Foster oversaw creation of the TOPS scholarship program and the Louisiana Community and Technical College System. The growing national economy boosted state coffers, allowing lawmakers to increase teacher pay, reduce state debt and boost funding for higher education. 

Foster helped create a deal to keep the Saints in New Orleans, approved using state money to expand the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, and was instrumental in getting the Charlotte Hornets (now the New Orleans Pelicans) to move to Louisiana. He also signed off on the Stelly Plan, a fiscal overhaul that made the state’s tax system less regressive but was unwound under his successors. 

His Commissioner of Administration Mark Drennen oversaw the consolidation of state workers downtown, issuing bonds to build at least 10 buildings in downtown Baton Rouge. Meant to save the state money over the long term, the project also spurred the revitalization of the city’s core. 

Foster’s outside interests spurred criticism of the sometimes-absentee governor. He learned to fly helicopters and took law classes at Southern University, graduating in 2004, the year he left office. 

Foster was a relatively hands-off governor, trusting his appointees to manage affairs in their areas. They included former Gov. Bobby Jindal, who Foster tapped to lead the state health department at age 24. 

After leaving the Governor’s Mansion, he and his wife, Alice, retired to Oaklawn Manor on the Bayou Teche. He died in 2020.

Editor’s note: The information for this piece came from The Advocate, The New York Times and the Secretary of State’s office. 

This piece first ran in the July 18, 2024 edition of LaPolitics Weekly. Wish you could have read it then? Subscribe today!

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