Businessman surprises status quo of St. John politics with big victory

By KEVIN CHIRI

Editor and Publisher

LAPLACE — A new era in St. John politics was ushered in on Saturday night, when local businessman Bill Hubbard surprised the original field of eight candidates to win the runoff election and become the new parish president for St. John.

Hubbard, known mainly in business circles and from his involvement as a board member for the Port of South Louisiana, was the surprise entry into the 2007 election for parish president. He had never run for political office before.

But thanks to an aggressive marketing campaign that got his name, as well as his message about “a businessman with a plan” out, Hubbard won a narrow runoff on Saturday against St. John Chief Administrative Officer Natalie Robottom.

Hubbard won the election on Saturday with 6,329 votes for 51 percent, edging out Robottom with 6,157 votes for 49 percent.

“I’m just very happy, excited and in awe for this to happen,” Hubbard told L’Observateur on Saturday night. “And at this point I’m just looking forward to getting to work, and getting the job done.”

Hubbard said that he believes his message reasonated with voters.

“We did all we could to get this message out, and I think it showed people liked what they heard,” he said. “Natalie and I have two very different backgrounds, and she is a very good candidate. But we left no stone unturned in getting out to the people and running an aggressive marketing campaign so they would know what I offered. In the end, I believe it worked.”

Hubbard said that the first poll he took in February showed him at only 2 percent, but the strong campaign from early on made the difference.

“I have some great people who helped me, and I couldn’t have done this without them,” he said. “But most of all, this is a victory for St. John Parish since we want to work hard to see real progress here. I have promised that and now I am excited about getting this opportunity to deliver.”