Billy Nungesser
Encyclopedia
William Harold "Billy" Nungesser (born 1959) is the President of Plaquemines Parish in suburban New Orleans, Louisiana
. A Republican
, Nungesser was re-elected in the 2010 general election, defeating two other candidates with more than 71% of the vote. His second term began on January 1, 2011. He made countless media appearances in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill
, including almost nightly guest appearances on CNN alongside Anderson Cooper
. Nungesser was recognized as the Face of the Oil Spill by major media outlets such as the Times Picayune, New York Times, Associated Press, CNN, Reuters, and ABC News.
Plaquemines Parish consists of the final stretch of the Mississippi River
before it connects with the Gulf of Mexico
. Hurricane Katrina
first made landfall in the southern end of Plaquemines, in the town of Empire, Louisiana
.
His father, William "Billy" Nungesser, was also a prominent figure in Louisiana politics, serving as Chief of Staff during David C. Treen
's term as governor and later as the state chairman of the Louisiana Republican Party.
. He served on the PABI board during the first years.
and Maurepaus Study Commission. In 1985, Nungesser served on the Orleans Levee Board
.
In 2006, Nungesser narrowly won the position of parish president by defeating the Democrat
Amos Cormier, Jr. Nungesser polled 4,096 votes (51.1 percent) to Cormier's 3,920 ballots (48.9 percent). The incumbent
parish president, Democrat Benny Rousselle
, also a former state representative, was term-limited.
In February 2009, Governor Bobby Jindal
appointed Nungesser to the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority
. The CPRA consists of twenty members who develop a master plan on coastal protection for the state.
In 2010, Nungesser won re-election to parish president in a landslide, having defeated former parish presidents Amos Cormier and Benny Rousselle. Nungesser polled 5,632 votes (71 percent) to Cormier's 1,772 (22 percent) and Rousselle's 499 (6 percent).
In 2011, Nungesser waged a determined but unsuccessful race to unseat Lieutenant Governor
Jay Dardenne
, a fellow Republican from Baton Rouge
, who had been initially elected for a one-year unexpired term in 2010. Darden received 504,228 votes (53.1 percent) to Nungesser's 444,750 (46.9 percent). Nungesser defeated Dardenne in seventeen parishes, all in south Louisiana, including Orleans, Iberia
, Jefferson
, Lafayette
, and St. Bernard
, as well as his own Plaquemines Parish.
The old tower was knocked to the ground during the hurricane.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA) originally obligated $400,000 to rebuild the Port Eads Marina after Katrina. President Nungesser personally went to Washington, D.C.
, and appealed the amount. FEMA then authorized $12 million for the project.
He was heavily involved in the response to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill
.
made landfall, President Nungesser took a proactive approach to protect the parish. He flew in a helicopter counting the number of vessels and barges that potentially would be a safety issue to people, property, and the levee system during a hurricane. His team called the owners of about 150 vessels and told them to move the vessels or the parish would sink them. 70 of the 150 were sunk, some by the parish, some by the owners. There's no way to measure how much damage was prevented by this act, it's believed to have been beneficial and the same actions may be taken in future storms.
Hurricane Ike
passed hundreds of miles south of Plaquemines, but its tide surge did affect the parish. The water began rising against the levees on the east bank of Plaquemines near the Caernarvon
freshwater diversion in Braithwaite. The structure allows fresh water from the Mississippi River to flow into the marsh on the east side of the river. Parish officials noticed the water in the river was not rising at the same rate. After consulting the Army Corps, they made the quick decision to open the floodgates, letting the rising water flow into the Mississippi, relieving pressure on the levees.
, challenging a fellow Republican, incumbent Jay Dardenne
of Baton Rouge
.
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
. A Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
, Nungesser was re-elected in the 2010 general election, defeating two other candidates with more than 71% of the vote. His second term began on January 1, 2011. He made countless media appearances in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill
Deepwater Horizon oil spill
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill is an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico which flowed unabated for three months in 2010, and continues to leak fresh oil. It is the largest accidental marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry...
, including almost nightly guest appearances on CNN alongside Anderson Cooper
Anderson Cooper
Anderson Hays Cooper is an American journalist, author, and television personality. He is the primary anchor of the CNN news show Anderson Cooper 360°. The program is normally broadcast live from a New York City studio; however, Cooper often broadcasts live on location for breaking news stories...
. Nungesser was recognized as the Face of the Oil Spill by major media outlets such as the Times Picayune, New York Times, Associated Press, CNN, Reuters, and ABC News.
Plaquemines Parish consists of the final stretch of the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
before it connects with the Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
. 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...
first made landfall in the southern end of Plaquemines, in the town of Empire, Louisiana
Empire, Louisiana
Empire is a census-designated place in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 2,211 at the 2000 census.-Hurricane Katrina:...
.
His father, William "Billy" Nungesser, was also a prominent figure in Louisiana politics, serving as Chief of Staff during David C. Treen
David C. Treen
David Conner "Dave" Treen, Sr. , was an American attorney and politician from Mandeville, St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana – the first Republican Governor of the U.S. state of Louisiana since Reconstruction. He was the first Republican in modern times to have served in the U.S...
's term as governor and later as the state chairman of the Louisiana Republican Party.
Private sector
While working in the offshore catering business, Nungesser found an alternative use for metal ship containers. In 1991, he established General Marine Leasing Company. The first of its kind business modified and outfitted containers as improved, portable living quarters for offshore workers. The company was successful, growing to employ 200 people and reaching $20 million in sales. In 2004, he was the chairman for the Plaquemines Parish United Way. In 2004 and 2005, he worked with key local business leaders to form the Plaquemines Association of Business and Industry or PABI, separate from the statewide Louisiana Association of Business and IndustryLouisiana Association of Business and Industry
The Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, known by the acronym LABI, is the largest and most successful business lobbying group in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It was founded in Baton Rouge in 1976, when Louisiana adopted a new right-to-work law during the administration of Democratic...
. He served on the PABI board during the first years.
Political career
In 1983, Governor Treen appointed Nungesser to the Lake PontchartrainLake Pontchartrain
Lake Pontchartrain is a brackish estuary located in southeastern Louisiana. It is the second-largest inland saltwater body of water in the United States, after the Great Salt Lake in Utah, and the largest lake in Louisiana. As an estuary, Pontchartrain is not a true lake.It covers an area of with...
and Maurepaus Study Commission. In 1985, Nungesser served on the Orleans Levee Board
Orleans Levee Board
From 1890 through 2006, the Orleans Levee Board was the body in charge of supervising the levee and floodwall system in Orleans Parish, Louisiana, which is intended to protect the city of New Orleans from flooding. The role included requirements definition prior to construction, operation, and...
.
In 2006, Nungesser narrowly won the position of parish president by defeating the Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
Amos Cormier, Jr. Nungesser polled 4,096 votes (51.1 percent) to Cormier's 3,920 ballots (48.9 percent). The incumbent
Incumbent
The incumbent, in politics, is the existing holder of a political office. This term is usually used in reference to elections, in which races can often be defined as being between an incumbent and non-incumbent. For example, in the 2004 United States presidential election, George W...
parish president, Democrat 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....
, also a former state representative, was term-limited.
In February 2009, Governor Bobby Jindal
Bobby Jindal
Piyush "Bobby" Jindal is the 55th and current Governor of Louisiana and formerly a member of the United States House of Representatives. He is a member of the Republican Party....
appointed Nungesser to the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority
Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority
The Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority is a governmental authority created by the Louisiana Legislature in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The creation of such a state or quasi-state local sponsor was ordered by Congress in Public Law 109-148...
. The CPRA consists of twenty members who develop a master plan on coastal protection for the state.
In 2010, Nungesser won re-election to parish president in a landslide, having defeated former parish presidents Amos Cormier and Benny Rousselle. Nungesser polled 5,632 votes (71 percent) to Cormier's 1,772 (22 percent) and Rousselle's 499 (6 percent).
In 2011, Nungesser waged a determined but unsuccessful race to unseat Lieutenant Governor
Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana
The Office of Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana is the second highest state office in Louisiana. The current Lieutenant Governor is Jay Dardenne, a Republican...
Jay Dardenne
Jay Dardenne
John Leigh "Jay" Dardenne, Jr. , has been Louisiana's Republican lieutenant governor since November 22, 2010. He won a special election to the position held in conjunction with the regular November 2 general election. At the time, Dardenne was Louisiana secretary of state...
, a fellow Republican from Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and is the second-largest city in the state.Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, medical, and research center of the American South...
, who had been initially elected for a one-year unexpired term in 2010. Darden received 504,228 votes (53.1 percent) to Nungesser's 444,750 (46.9 percent). Nungesser defeated Dardenne in seventeen parishes, all in south Louisiana, including Orleans, Iberia
Iberia Parish, Louisiana
Iberia Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is New Iberia. As of 2000, the population was 73,266.Iberia Parish is part of the New Iberia Micropolitan Statistical Area as well as the Lafayette–Acadiana Combined Statistical Area.Iberia, along with...
, Jefferson
Jefferson Parish, Louisiana
Jefferson Parish is a parish in Louisiana, United States that includes most of the suburbs of New Orleans. The seat of parish government is Gretna....
, Lafayette
Lafayette, Louisiana
Lafayette is a city in and the parish seat of Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, United States, on the Vermilion River. The population was 120,623 at the 2010 census...
, and St. Bernard
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....
, as well as his own Plaquemines Parish.
(2007-2010)
Much of his work in the first two years has been on hurricane recovery. The eye of Katrina passed over Buras-Triumph, and now the town of Buras has a new water tower.The old tower was knocked to the ground during the hurricane.
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) originally obligated $400,000 to rebuild the Port Eads Marina after Katrina. President Nungesser personally went to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, and appealed the amount. FEMA then authorized $12 million for the project.
He was heavily involved in the response to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill
Deepwater Horizon oil spill
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill is an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico which flowed unabated for three months in 2010, and continues to leak fresh oil. It is the largest accidental marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry...
.
2008 hurricanes
Before Hurricane GustavHurricane Gustav
The name Gustav has been used for five tropical cyclones in the Atlantic Ocean:* 1984's Tropical Storm Gustav - Spent most of its existence as a tropical depression hovering over Bermuda, no major damage was reported....
made landfall, President Nungesser took a proactive approach to protect the parish. He flew in a helicopter counting the number of vessels and barges that potentially would be a safety issue to people, property, and the levee system during a hurricane. His team called the owners of about 150 vessels and told them to move the vessels or the parish would sink them. 70 of the 150 were sunk, some by the parish, some by the owners. There's no way to measure how much damage was prevented by this act, it's believed to have been beneficial and the same actions may be taken in future storms.
Hurricane Ike
Hurricane Ike
Hurricane Ike was the second-costliest hurricane ever to make landfall in the United States, the costliest hurricane ever to impact Cuba and the second most active hurricane to reach the Canadian mainland in the Great Lakes Region after Hurricane Hazel in 1954...
passed hundreds of miles south of Plaquemines, but its tide surge did affect the parish. The water began rising against the levees on the east bank of Plaquemines near the Caernarvon
Caernarvon, Louisiana
Caernarvon is an unincorporated community in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana, United States. The name of the community is from a plantation originally located here. The plantation's name is widely believed to be from a similarly named town in Wales.-History:...
freshwater diversion in Braithwaite. The structure allows fresh water from the Mississippi River to flow into the marsh on the east side of the river. Parish officials noticed the water in the river was not rising at the same rate. After consulting the Army Corps, they made the quick decision to open the floodgates, letting the rising water flow into the Mississippi, relieving pressure on the levees.
(2011-2014)
Nungesser began his second term with a public cry for help in removing oil from eroded land at Bay Jimmy. On June 20, 2011, Nungesser announced that he will run for Lieutenant Governor of LouisianaLieutenant Governor of Louisiana
The Office of Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana is the second highest state office in Louisiana. The current Lieutenant Governor is Jay Dardenne, a Republican...
, challenging a fellow Republican, incumbent Jay Dardenne
Jay Dardenne
John Leigh "Jay" Dardenne, Jr. , has been Louisiana's Republican lieutenant governor since November 22, 2010. He won a special election to the position held in conjunction with the regular November 2 general election. At the time, Dardenne was Louisiana secretary of state...
of Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and is the second-largest city in the state.Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, medical, and research center of the American South...
.