SORRENTO — Former Public Service Commissioner Chairman Louis Lambert Jr., who came within 9,492 votes of being elected Louisiana governor after Edwin Edwards' first two terms in office, has died. He was 84.

Lambert developed a sense of politics early, working as a page at the Louisiana Legislature and later in Washington. He earned a bachelor's degree in political science at LSU and a law degree from Loyola in New Orleans. According to his obituary, while in law school he drove a school bus in the morning, taught school later in the day and attended classes at night.

He married Mary Gayle Smith in 1966, after meeting her while working as a lifeguard at the Gonzales swimming pool. They adopted three children through Catholic social services.

Lambert opened a law practice in 1968, won a state Senate seat in 1972 and two years later was elected to the state Public Service Commission, a powerful board that sets utility rates. In 1979, with Edwards term-limited, Lambert finished second to Republican Rep. David Treen in the primary. 

Lambert outspent Treen but five Democrats who had been in the contest endorsed Treen. Treen became the first Republican governor in Louisiana since Reconstruction.

Lambert continued his service on the PSC, later was elected to the state Senate and was also named to the LSU Board of Supervisors. As a lawmaker, he introduced legislation that created the River Parishes Community College. He also was a delegate to the 1973 constitutional convention.

He was inducted into the Louisiana Political Hall of Fame last year.

Funeral services are set for 11 a.m. at St. Anne Catholic Church in Sorrento.