By ROBIN SHANNON

L’Observateur

LAPLACE – With more than 39 percent voter turnout, residents of St. John the Baptist Parish have put Natalie Robottom and Richard “Dale” Wolfe in a runoff for parish president.

Robottom, a former chief administrative officer for St. John, garnered 4,243 votes, good for 36 percent of the vote. Wolfe, the current councilman-at-large for Division A, racked up 2,540 votes for 22 percent of the total turnout. The two will face off in a runoff May 1 to replace former Parish President Bill Hubbard, who resigned in September before pleading guilty to federal bribery charges involving parish contractors.

Robottom led the race from wire to wire, having as much as 41 percent of the vote early in the night. At her campaign headquarters Saturday evening, she celebrated with about 200 of her closest friends and family members.

“I was hoping to win outright, but in a campaign with five candidates running I knew that wasn’t going to happen. I think we ran a positive, honest and professional campaign and the voters recognized that,” she said.

Wolfe, on the other hand, lagged behind in fourth place until very late in the evening when the final precincts were reported. He was able to edge out his closest competitor, acting St. John Chief Administrative Officer Buddy Boe, by 47 votes.

“Our plan worked,” Wolfe said Saturday night at his campaign celebration party in LaPlace. “We’ve got a fight in the next few weeks, and we need to do a little better.”

Wolfe said his 34 years of experience as a public servant in the parish played a big factor in Saturday’s results.

“I know the people of St. John Parish,” Wolfe said. “I know the needs of the people, and I am a people person. I intend to continue to run my campaign with honesty and integrity, and I will continue to put the people first.”

Boe, who received 2,493 votes for 21 percent, said he will continue to work for the parish throughout the next month to push forward the multitude of projects set in motion by the Hubbard administration.

“I knew from the very start that there were several hurdles I would have to overcome in this election,” Boe said. “I give a tremendous amount of credit to all my supporters who fought with me until the end.”

St. John School Board President Gerald Keller garnered 19 percent (2,169), and Edgard business man Perry Bailey earned 2 percent (236).

For more reaction from the runoff candidates check out the multimedia section of our Web site at www.lobservateur.com.