Henry Joseph Rodriguez, Jr. (September 27, 1935 – May 3, 2018), known as Junior Rodriguez, was an American politician from St. Bernard Parish in the Greater New Orleans section of the U.S. state of Louisiana. He was of Isleño descent and was 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.
During Katrina and it’s aftermaths During Katrina, he and his councilors requested boats and rescued hundreds of people who took refuge on rooftops when the flood occurred.Samuel G. Armistead. La Tradición Hispano - Canaria en Luisiana (Hispanic Tradition - Canary in Louisiana). Pages 176 - 177. Anrart Ediciones. Ed: First Edition, March 2007. 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
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
References