Larry Dumas
{{Short description|American politician (born 1908)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2023}}
{{infobox officeholder
| name = Larry Dumas
| image = Larry Dumas.jpg
| office = Member of the Alabama Senate from the 13th district
| term_start = November 5, 1958
| term_end = November 8, 1966
| preceded = Albert Boutwell
| succeeded = District abolished
| office2 = Member of the Alabama House of Representatives from Jefferson County
| term_start2 = November 6, 1946
| term_end2 = November 2, 1954
| birth_name = Lawrence Dumas Jr.
| birth_date = {{birth date|1908|10|12}}
| birth_place = Talladega, Alabama
| death_date = {{death date and age|1993|06|11|1908|10|12}}
| death_place = Birmingham, Alabama
| party = Democratic
| spouse = {{marriage|Donald Berry|1940}}
| education = Davidson College (AD)
Harvard University (LLB)
}}
Lawrence "Larry" Dumas Jr. (October 12, 1908 – June 11, 1993) was an American politician who served in the Alabama Senate from Alabama's 13th Senate district, representing all of Jefferson County from 1958 to 1966. A member of the Democratic Party, he had previously represented Jefferson County in the Alabama House of Representatives from 1946 to 1954.
Early life and education
Larry Dumas was born Lawrence Dumas Jr. in Talladega, Alabama on October 12, 1908, to William Lawrence and Mary Dumas. He received an Associate's degree from Davidson College in Davidson, North Carolina, and received a Bachelor's degree in law from Harvard University. He practiced law in Birmingham, Alabama beginning 1936.{{cite book |last1=Brannon |first1=Peter A. |title=Alabama Official and Statistical Register, 1963 |date=1963 |publisher=Alabama Department of Archives and History |location=Montgomery, Alabama |page=376–377 |url=https://archive.org/details/alabama-official-statistical-register-1963 |access-date=19 June 2025}} He also received law degrees from George Washington University and Georgetown University.{{cite news |title=Lawrence Dumas, former state senator and civic leader, dies |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-birmingham-news-lawrence-dumas-form/176233191/ |access-date=8 July 2025 |work=The Birmingham News |date=13 June 1993}}
Career
Dumas co-founded the law firm Dumas, O'Niel & Hayes in 1947. In 1961, Dumas led a successful 96-hour filibuster, one of the longest in the state's history, to prevent the Senate from overriding a gubernatorial veto that would have split Jefferson County between four congressional districts, standing for 27 of the 96 hours.{{cite news |last1=Sparrow |first1=Hugh |title=Several battles won by 'chop-up' foes |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-birmingham-news-several-battles-won/176234464/ |access-date=8 July 2025 |work=The Birmingham News |date=2 September 1961}} He unsuccessfully led an effort in 1965 to prevent a three-way split of the county. Jefferson was split between the 4th, 5th and 6th congressional districts.
Dumas attempted several times throughout his tenure to reapportion the Alabama State Legislature. Under the 1901 Alabama Constitution, individual counties could not have more than one senator, no matter how populated. He made an unsuccessful effort in 1965 to require at least one senator per 100,000 people, which would have sextupled Jefferson County's representation in the Senate. His plan to require the Alabama Supreme Court to redistrict the state legislature every 10 years if the legislature fails to do so was also defeated.{{cite news |last1=Pearson |first1=Ted |last2=Sparrow |first2=Hugh W. |title=Sen. Turner reports court opinion sought |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-birmingham-news-sen-turner-reports/176254835/ |access-date=9 July 2025 |work=The Birmingham News |date=20 June 1962}}
In 1959, Dumas sponsored a bill that would allow public schools threatened by racial integration to withdraw from the school system and operate independently.{{cite news |title=School Mixing 'Side Step' Bill Voted Out Of Committee |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/birmingham-post-herald/176255754/ |access-date=9 July 2025 |work=Birmingham Post-Herald |agency=Associated Press |date=29 July 1959}}
Citing personal reasons, Dumas retired from elective office in 1966.{{cite news |title=Not a candidate, Sen. Dumas says |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-birmingham-news-not-a-candidate-sen/174670910/ |access-date=8 July 2025 |work=The Birmingham News |date=28 February 1966}} He retired from law practice in 1983.
Personal life and death
Dumas married Donald Berry in 1940, and had four children together. Dumas was a Methodist and a Freemason, teaching a Bible class at a Methodist church for many years. He received a William Booth Award from his work for the Salvation Army. Dumas died aged 84 on June 11, 1993.
Electoral history
{{Table alignment}}
| class="wikitable sortable defaultcenter"
|+ Alabama Senate election results, District 13 (1958–1962) |
| Election
! colspan=3 | Winner ! colspan=6 | Runners-up |
|---|
| 1962 gen
| {{Party shading/Democratic}} | Larry Dumas (D) | {{Party shading/Democratic}} | 60,968 | {{Party shading/Democratic}} | 100.00% | colspan=3 | — | colspan=3 | — |
| 1962 prim
| {{Party shading/Democratic}} | Larry Dumas (D) | {{Party shading/Democratic}} | 74,898 | {{Party shading/Democratic}} | 85.93% | {{Party shading/Independent Democrat}} | Rush Lester (D) | {{Party shading/Independent Democrat}} | 7,415 | {{Party shading/Independent Democrat}} | 8.51% | {{Party shading/Independent Democrat}} | Pete Darabaris (D) | {{Party shading/Independent Democrat}} | 4,845 | {{Party shading/Independent Democrat}} | 5.56% |
| 1958 gen
| {{Party shading/Democratic}} | Larry Dumas (D) | {{Party shading/Democratic}} | 37,202 | {{Party shading/Democratic}} | 86.23% | {{Party shading/Republican}} | John F. Dyer (R) | {{Party shading/Republican}} | 5,941 | {{Party shading/Republican}} | 13.77% | colspan=3 | — |
| 1958 prim
| {{Party shading/Democratic}} | Larry Dumas (D) | {{Party shading/Democratic}} | 47,128 | {{Party shading/Democratic}} | 56.58% | {{Party shading/Independent Democrat}} | John A. Jenkins (D) | {{Party shading/Independent Democrat}} | 36,172 | {{Party shading/Independent Democrat}} | 43.42% | colspan=3 | — |
{{Table alignment}}
| class="wikitable sortable defaultcenter"
|+ Alabama House of Representatives election results, Jefferson County (1946–1950) | |||||
| Election | Candidate
! colspan=2 | Party | Votes | Pct. | Place | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 gen | Larry Dumas | style="background-color:{{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}" | | 29,673 | 14.26% | Elected 6th of 7 |
| 1950 prim | Larry Dumas | style="background-color:{{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}" | | 38,415 | 10.51% | Nominated 1st of 23 |
| 1946 gen | Larry Dumas | style="background-color:{{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}" | | 29,379 | 13.41% | Elected 4th of 14 |
| 1946 runoff | Larry Dumas | style="background-color:{{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}" | | 28,609 | 8.65% | Nominated 1st of 14 |
| 1946 prim | Larry Dumas | style="background-color:{{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}" | | 12,404 | 4.01% | Advanced 7th of 36 |
References
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dumas, Larry}}
Category:Democratic Party members of the Alabama House of Representatives
Category:Democratic Party Alabama state senators
Category:Methodists from Alabama
Category:20th-century members of the Alabama Legislature
Category:Davidson College alumni
Category:George Washington University Law School alumni