Nationality American Profession Politician | Political party Democratic Name Junior Rodriguez | |
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Born September 27, 1935 ( 1935-09-27 ) | ||
Henry Joseph Rodriguez, Jr. Aka Junior Rodriguez (born September 27, 1935), is a local politician from St. Bernard Parish in the Greater New Orleanssection of the U.S. state of Louisiana. He is of Isleno descent and is registered as an Independent. 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 neighborhood.
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During the Katrina and his aftermaths
During Katrina, he and his councilors requested boats and rescued hundreds of people who took refuge on rooftops when the flood occurred. However, Rodriguez reached national fame in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, as a regular guest to CNN news show Anderson Cooper 360°. 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 (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 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 Ray Nagin and Parish Presidents Benny Rousselle from Plaquemines and Aaron Broussard from Jefferson are among the most notable ones.
Junior Rodriguez was one of the participants to Movie Director Spike Lee's documentary When The Levees Broke: A Requiem In Four Acts.
Election history
Police Juror, Ward K, 1987
Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, October 24, 1987
Second Ballot, November 21, 1987
Councilman, District E, 1991
Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, October 19, 1991
Councilman, District E, 1995
Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, October 21, 1995
Second Ballot, November 18, 1995
Councilman at Large, Eastern Division, 1999
Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, October 23, 1999
Second Ballot, November 20, 1999
St. Bernard Parish President, 2003
Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, October 4, 2003
Second Ballot, November 15, 2003
St. Bernard Parish President, 2007
Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, October 20, 2007
Second Ballot, November 17, 2007