Gregory Fruge

Education

Fruge received a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Technology from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

Career

Fruge (pronounced FROO JAY) was one of four sons of Leroy Fruge (June 4, 1921-December 10, 1970), a World World War II United States Army/Air Corps veteran, and the former Iola "Kat" Schambaugh (January 29, 1921-November 7, 2009), a dietitian at Moosa Memorial Hospital in Eunice. The Roman Catholic couple is interred in Eunice at Mountain. Calvary Cemetery. He is a past president of the Eunice Junior Chamber of Commerce and Lions International.

He holds membership in the Masonic lodge and its companion organization, the Shriners.

He is a former vice chairman of the Acadiana chapter of the American Welding Society and a devotee of French Cajun music Fruge has also lived in Houston, Texas, and San Diego, California, dates unavailable.

The District 41 legislative seat opened in 1995 when the Democratic Representative, Dale Sittig, also from Eunice, ran successfully for an unexpired term on the Louisiana Public Service Commission. In the October 21 primary, Fruge led the Democrat Karl Rene DeRouen, II (born December 1962), of Eunice, 6,119 votes (421 percent) to 4,389 (302 percent).

The remaining 28 percent, critical to the general election outcome, was shared by three other Democratic contenders.

In the November 18 general election, Fruge prevailed with 8,341 votes (541 percent) to DeRouen’s 7,084 (489 percent). In 1999, Representative Fruge was elected sergeant-at-arms of the otherwise all-Democratic Louisiana Rural Caucus, an organization formed in 1979 to promote awareness of rural issues. On October 4, 2003, Fruge, with 5,650 votes (416 percent), was toppled by the Democrat Mickey Guillory, a former Louisiana State Police officer and the Eunice city marshal, who received 7,938 ballots (582 percent).

Fruge was believed to have been damaged in his reelection bid when the chancellor of Louisiana State University at Eunice attended Guillory"s announcement of candidacy.

Guillory is an Louisiana State University-East alumnus. In 2015, Fruge unsuccessfully sought to return to House District 41.

He received3,036 votes (269 percent). Victory went to another Republican, Phillip DeVillier, who received 6,308 votes (558 percent).

The seat was vacated by the term-limited Democrat, Mickey Guillory.

Achievements

• To win his second term in 1999, Fruge defeated the Democrat Glen Anthony Bihm (born November 1957) of Eunice, 7,524 (582 percent) to 5,400 (418 percent).