George Dement

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In 1989, Dement was elected mayor as a Democrat, when the incumbent Donald Edward Jones, a former national president of the Junior Chamber International and a Bossier City businessman, did not seek reelection. Dement won second, third, and fourth terms in 1993, 1997, and in 2001. He retired on June 30, 2005, exactly sixteen years from his original inauguration into office. He was known for his leadership and accessibility to the public. He pushed for the Louisiana Boardwalk in downtown Bossier City and worked to revitalize key areas of the city. Dement worked to increase the size of both the police and fire departments, to place computers and cameras in police vehicles, and to establish four new fire stations. He established an improved relationship between the city and Barksdale Air Force Base. Retired Brig. Gen. Peyton Cole said that when he arrived at Barksdale in 1992, there was "some space" between the citizens of Bossier City and the resident airmen. Dement, however, worked to strengthen municipal ties to the air base.

According to the Bossier Press-Tribune, Dement "embraced riverboat gaming" which brought to Bossier City three casinos with the revenue to build the CenturyLink Center, Arthur Ray Teague Parkway, and the Benton Road Overpass. The leg work for some of the projects had begun in the Jones administration.

In 2005, U.S. Senator David Vitter, a Republican, paid tribute to Dement as "the people's mayor" on the occasion of Dement's retirement from office. Dement was succeeded by a former opponent, the Democrat-turned-Republican Lo Walker, who still holds the position, the first Republican in the seat. Prior to his own election to the office, Walker was the city's chief administrative officer and executive assistant to Mayor Dement.

In the nonpartisan blanket primary held on April 1, 1989, Dement led his three opponents with 4,845 votes (39.4 percent). The second-place candidate, fellow Democrat Wanda S. Bennett (born 1937), trailed with 3,405 votes (27.7 percent). Two other contenders, Democrat Lo Walker and Republican David H. Broussard followed with 2,072 votes (16.9 percent) and 1,978 votes (16.1 percent), respectively. In the second round of balloting four weeks later, Dement narrowly prevailed, 7,091 (51.8 percent) to Bennett's 6,596 (48.2 percent).

Dement was reelected in 1993 with 82 percent of the vote, in 1997 with 74.5 percent over two Republicans and a Democrat, and in 2001, with 57.2 percent over the Republican Jerry E. Harris and the Independent Billy Ross Robinson, a former city judge.

Dement is only the second mayor of Bossier City to have served four terms. Hoffman L. Fuller filled the position for sixteen terms from 1937 to 1953.

When Dement left office, the Mayor George Dement Endowed Fund for Bossier was established in his honor.

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