Samuel Bernard Nunez Jr., (January 27, 1930 – January 15, 2012), was a

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

politician and businessman from Chalmette, the seat of

St. Bernard Parish St. Bernard Parish (; ) is a List of parishes in Louisiana, parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat and largest community is Chalmette, Louisiana, Chalmette. The parish was formed in 1807. St. Bernard Parish is part of the New Or ...

in the

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

suburbs. From 1964 to 1969, Nunez was a member of the

Louisiana House of Representatives The Louisiana House of Representatives (; ) is the lower house in the Louisiana State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. This chamber is composed of 105 representatives, each of whom represents approximately 4 ...

. From 1969 to 1996, the

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

Nunez was a

state senator A state senator is a member of a State legislature (United States), state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. History There are typically fewer state senators than there ...

. He was the State Senate President from 1983 to 1988 and from 1990 to 1996, when his legislative tenure ended in defeat. He was the State Senate President Pro Tempore from 1980 to 1983 and 1988 to 1990. In 1973, he was a delegate to the Louisiana State Constitutional Convention, where he pushed for inclusion of the

homestead exemption The homestead exemption is a legal regime to protect the value of the homes of residents from property taxes, creditors, and circumstances that arise from the death of the homeowner's spouse, disability, or other situations. Such laws are found ...

property tax A property tax (whose rate is expressed as a percentage or per mille, also called ''millage'') is an ad valorem tax on the value of a property.In the OECD classification scheme, tax on property includes "taxes on immovable property or Wealth t ...

es.

Background

Nunez graduated from Joseph Maumus High School in Arabi in St. Bernard Parish. From 1951 to 1955, he served in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

during the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

era. Following his Air Force service, he received a Bachelor of Science degree from

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; , ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It had a population of 227,470 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Louisiana, Louisiana's second-m ...

. In 1983, Nunez became Senate President by acclamation when Michael H. O'Keefe of New Orleans was indicted, maintained his innocence, but was ultimately convicted of a federal crime and imprisoned.

Political career

After a month of consideration, Nunez endorsed Breaux over Moore. Nunez was one of several pro-gambling legislators who were defeated or forced to retire following the 1995 legislative session. Two of Nunez' most prominent Senate colleagues, Armand Brinkhaus of

Sunset Sunset (or sundown) is the disappearance of the Sun at the end of the Sun path, below the horizon of the Earth (or any other astronomical object in the Solar System) due to its Earth's rotation, rotation. As viewed from everywhere on Earth, it ...

in St. Landry Parish and Sixty Rayburn of

Bogalusa Bogalusa ( ) is a city in Washington Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 12,232 at the 2010 census. In th2020 censusthe city reported a population of 10,659. It is the principal city of the Bogalusa Micropolitan Statistical Are ...

Washington Parish Washington Parish ( French: ''Paroisse de Washington''; ) is a parish located in the interior southeast corner of the U.S. state of Louisiana, one of the Florida Parishes. As of the 2020 census, the population was 45,463. Its parish seat is ...

, lost re-election bids, while Senators Larry Bankston of Baton Rouge and Gerry Hinton of Slidell stood down. Also failing in his re-election bid was Rep.

Raymond Lalonde Raymond Lalonde (October 22, 1940 – December 30, 2022) was an American politician who was a Republican member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from Carencro in Lafayette Parish. He resided in the town of Sunset in St. Landry Parish ...

of Sunset, the author of the 1992 bill which allowed for a land-based casino to operate in New Orleans. Senator Dean served two terms and was succeeded in 2004 by the Republican, later Democrat, Walter Boasso. As a Democrat, Boasso finished a distant second to Republican

Bobby Jindal Piyush "Bobby" Jindal (born June 10, 1971) is an American politician who served as the 55th governor of Louisiana from 2008 to 2016. A member of the Republican Party, Jindal previously served as a U.S. representative from Louisiana from 2005 t ...

in the 2007 governor's race, as Jindal easily captured the requisite majority n the primary to avoid a runoff.

Later years and legacy

Long after his legislative service, Nunez was a member of the board of commissioners of the

Port of New Orleans The Port of New Orleans is a significant transport hub located in Louisiana, United States. It serves as an embarkation point for cruise passengers and Louisiana’s sole international container port. The port generates $100 million in revenue a ...

. He operated an insurance agency.Death of Sammy Nunez
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Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nunez, Samuel B. Jr. 1930 births 2012 deaths American businesspeople in insurance American people of Spanish descent Deaths from Parkinson's disease in the United States Neurological disease deaths in Louisiana Deaths from pneumonia in Louisiana Louisiana Isleño people Democratic Party Louisiana state senators Louisiana State University alumni Democratic Party members of the Louisiana House of Representatives Politicians from New Orleans People from Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana People from Chalmette, Louisiana United States Air Force airmen Businesspeople from New Orleans 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century members of the Louisiana State Legislature