Gregory L. Fruge

Who is Gregory L. Fruge?

Gregory L. Fruge, Sr., is a businessman in Eunice, Louisiana, who served as a Republican member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from District 41 from 1996 to 2004.

In his bid for a third term, Fruge was unseated in the 2003 nonpartisan blanket primary by the Democrat Mickey James Guillory, then the Eunice city marshal. Guillory was unopposed for a second term in the 2007 primary.

Fruge received a Bachelor of Science in industrial technology from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Active in the community, he is a past president of the Eunice Jaycees and Lions Club. He holds membership in the Masonic lodge and its companion organization, the Shriners. He is Roman Catholic. He is a former vice chairman of the Acadiana chapter of the American Welding Society. Fruge is a devotee of French Cajun music. His wife is Shella Fruge; they have at least one son, Gregory Fruge, Jr., and four grandchildren.

The legislative seat opened in 1995 when the Democratic incumbent Representative, Dale Sittig, also from Eunice, a small city in St. Landry Parish, ran successfully for an unexpired term on the Louisiana Public Service Commission. In the October 21 primary, Fruge led the Democrat Karl R. Derouen, Jr., of Eunice, 6,119 votes to 4,389. The remaining 28 percent, critical to the general election outcome, was shared by three other Democratic contenders. In the November 16 general election, Fruge prevailed with 8,341 votes to Derouen’s 7.084.