Junior Rodriguez
Encyclopedia
St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana
St. Bernard Parish is a parish located southeast of New Orleans in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Chalmette, the largest city in the parish. As of 2000, its population was 67,229. It has been ranked the fastest-growing county in the United States from 2007 to 2008 by the U.S....
, in the Greater New Orleans area. He is of Isleño descent and is registered as an Independent
Independent (politician)
In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
. He served as Councilmember on the St. Bernard Parish Council from 1976 to 2004 and as President of the St. Bernard Parish Council, from 2004 to 2008. St. Bernard Parish is a Louisiana Parish (the equivalent of counties in other states) that is adjacent to New Orleans Lower Ninth Ward
Lower Ninth Ward
Lower Ninth Ward is a neighborhood of the city of New Orleans. As the name implies, it is part of the Ninth Ward of New Orleans. The Lower Ninth Ward is often thought of as the entire area within New Orleans downriver of the Industrial Canal; however, the City Planning Commission divides this...
neighborhood.
Rodriguez reached national fame in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
, as a regular guest to CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
news show Anderson Cooper 360°
Anderson Cooper 360°
Anderson Cooper 360° is a one-hour television news show on CNN, hosted by the American journalist Anderson Cooper. It is also broadcast around the world on CNN International....
. Hurricane Katrina and related levee failures resulted in almost all homes and businesses of St. Bernard Parish being catastrophically flooded. Most had to permanently evacuate their house, and as of early 2006 the majority of the returned population were in the Federal Emergency Management Agency
Federal Emergency Management Agency
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security, initially created by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1978 and implemented by two Executive Orders...
(FEMA) housing trailers.
Known for his matter of fact style and his sometimes colorful language, he used his presence on the show to criticize the Federal Emergency Management Agency
Federal Emergency Management Agency
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security, initially created by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1978 and implemented by two Executive Orders...
for the slow pace of the recovery in St. Bernard Parish and asked for a more effective response. Among other aspects, he claimed that FEMA's bureaucratic approach kept victims of the hurricane from getting proper assistance.
Other local politicians criticized the way the federal government handled the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. New Orleans Mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
Ray Nagin
Ray Nagin
Clarence Ray Nagin, Jr. is a former mayor of New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Nagin gained international note in 2005 in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, which devastated the New Orleans area....
and Parish Presidents Benny Rousselle
Benny Rousselle
Benedict G. Rousselle, known as Benny Rousselle , is a Realtor and a Democratic politician from Plaquemines Parish in Greater New Orleans, Louisiana....
from Plaquemines and Aaron Broussard
Aaron Broussard
Aaron F. Broussard was the president, a combined municipal-parish position, of Jefferson Parish, Louisiana from 2003 to 2010. A Democrat, Broussard is known nationally for appearances he made in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina....
from Jefferson are among the most notable ones.
Junior Rodriguez was one of the participants to Movie Director Spike Lee
Spike Lee
Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks, has produced over 35 films since 1983....
's documentary When The Levees Broke: A Requiem In Four Acts.
Election history
Police Juror, Ward K, 1987Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, October 24, 1987
| Candidate | Affiliation | Support | Outcome |
| Junior Rodriguez | Democratic | 1,169 (41%) | Runoff |
| Melvin Guerra | Democratic | 762 (27%) | Runoff |
| Others | n.a. | 928 (32%) | Defeated |
Second Ballot, November 21, 1987
| Candidate | Affiliation | Support | Outcome |
| Junior Rodriguez | Democratic | 1,505 (59%) | Elected |
| Melvin Guerra | Democratic | 1,060 (41%) | Defeated |
Councilman, District E, 1991
Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, October 19, 1991
| Candidate | Affiliation | Support | Outcome |
| Junior Rodriguez | Independent | 2,655 (50%) | Elected |
| Melvin Guerra | Democratic | 1,038 (20%) | Defeated |
| Others | n.a. | 1,603 (30%) | Defeated |
Councilman, District E, 1995
Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, October 21, 1995
| Candidate | Affiliation | Support | Outcome |
| Junior Rodriguez | Independent | 1,898 (41%) | Runoff |
| Douglas Dean | Republican | 1,474 (32%) | Runoff |
| Others | n.a. | 1,261 (27%) | Defeated |
Second Ballot, November 18, 1995
| Candidate | Affiliation | Support | Outcome |
| Junior Rodriguez | Independent | 2,625 (54%) | Elected |
| Douglas Dean | Republican | 2,280 (46%) | Defeated |
Councilman at Large, Eastern Division, 1999
Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, October 23, 1999
| Candidate | Affiliation | Support | Outcome |
| Craig Taffaro, Jr. | Republican | 7,926 (37%) | Runoff |
| Junior Rodriguez | Independent | 7,705 (36%) | Runoff |
| Roddy Rodriguez, Jr. | Democratic | 5,682 (27%) | Defeated |
Second Ballot, November 20, 1999
| Candidate | Affiliation | Support | Outcome |
| Junior Rodriguez | Independent | 10,358 (51%) | Elected |
| Craig Taffaro, Jr. | Republican | 9,801 (49%) | Defeated |
St. Bernard Parish President, 2003
Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, October 4, 2003
| Candidate | Affiliation | Support | Outcome |
| Junior Rodriguez | Independent | 8,701 (34%) | Runoff |
| Scott Wolfe | Republican | 8,650 (34%) | Runoff |
| Clay Cossé | Republican | 6,488 (25%) | Defeated |
| Kent Diaz | Independent | 1,689 (7%) | Defeated |
Second Ballot, November 15, 2003
| Candidate | Affiliation | Support | Outcome |
| Junior Rodriguez | Independent | 13,916 (56%) | Elected |
| Scott Wolfe | Republican | 10,851 (44%) | Defeated |
St. Bernard Parish President, 2007
Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, October 20, 2007
| Candidate | Affiliation | Support | Outcome |
| Craig Taffaro, Jr. | Republican | 5,710 (50%) | Runoff |
| Junior Rodriguez | Independent | 3,294 (29%) | Runoff |
| Donald Serpas | Independent | 1,158 (10%) | Defeated |
| Henry Joseph Rodriguez, III | Independent | 711 (6%) | Defeated |
| William "Bill" Villavaso | Independent | 610 (5%) | Defeated |
Second Ballot, November 17, 2007
| Candidate | Affiliation | Support | Outcome |
| Craig Taffaro, Jr. | Republican | 6,545 (59%) | Elected |
| Junior Rodriguez | Independent | 4,518 (41%) | Defeated |
Sources
- New Orleans Magazine : http://www.neworleansmagazine.com/
- Louisiana Secretary of State : http://www.sos.louisiana.gov/
- St. Bernard Parish: http://www.sbpg.net