Staff Report

LAPLACE – Former St. John Chief Administrative Officer and current LaPlace resident Natalie Robottom has officially announced her candidacy for parish president.

Robottom joins St. John Councilman Richard “Dale” Wolfe, School Board President Gerald Keller and Acting Chief Administrative Officer Buddy Boe as a candidate in the March 27 election to replace Bill Hubbard, who resigned from office in the wake of an investigation into bribery charges involving a trio of parish contractors. Hubbard pleaded guilty to all charges and is now awaiting sentencing.

Robottom said in a release Friday the biggest challenge facing the next president of St. John Parish is to fully restore faith, trust and confidence in government.

“Government must serve the people, not the other way around,” Robottom said. “Through 28 years of working with the school system, parish, state and federal government, the people of St. John can trust me to do what’s right.”

A former educator, Robottom said she is firmly committed to supporting education and training programs for residents, and she said local businesses are in need of properly trained workers.

“I will always put the best interests of St. John the Baptist Parish first,” Robottom said. “I will use my communication skills and 28 years of administrative experience to work for everyone.”

To join the race for parish president, Robottom left her post as director of Governor Bobby Jindal’s Office of Community Programs. In her time in state government, Robottom said she also served as the governor’s designee to the Delta Regional Authority, which provides infrastructure grants to rural communities and local governments.

Prior to her time working at the state Capitol, Robottom served as St. John Parish’s chief administrative officer and chief financial officer under former Parish President Nickie Monica. She also spent a short time as Parish Manager for Terrebonne Parish before joining the Jindal administration.

Robottom earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Southwestern Louisiana in Lafayette and acquired a Master’s Degree from Louisiana State University. 

Robottom resides in LaPlace with her husband Hernendez.