LAPLACE – St. John Parish Chief Deputy Assessor, Rodney Nicholas officially announces his candidacy for Parish President in the upcoming October 12,2019 election. Nicholas and his wife Tressa have 4 children and reside in LaPlace.

Nicholas credits God for the privilege and gift of service to the citizens of St. John the Baptist Parish. He states that it is an honor to serve this great community where he was born and raised, and he is deeply humbled for the opportunity to serve at even another level. Nicholas believes he is truly blessed to have served six years as an elected School Board member because while serving as a board member, the St. John Public School district saw its’ highest level of academic growth and record achievement on high stakes performance test scores. In addition, Nicholas served for several years as Chairman of St. John Parish Economic Development Committee and was a commissioner on the River Region Tourism Commission. While concurrently serving in these capacities, Nicholas was employed by Shell/Motiva Enterprises in Norco, LA for 30 years, then by River Parishes Community College as a Staff Professor of Process Technology.

Nicholas is thankful to Assessor Lucien J. Gauff,Ill for seeing in him the qualities of leadership and giving him the opportunity to serve as St. John Parish’s Chief Deputy Assessor. Last year, Assessor Lucien Gauff became the first certified Louisiana Assessor to serve in St. John Parish,and recently Chief Deputy Assessor Rodney Nicholas qualified to become the second certified Louisiana Assessor in St. John Parish history.

Nicholas believes that serving as Chief Deputy Assessor has given him special insight to how government operates. As Chief Deputy Assessor, Rodney Nicholas is fiscally responsible for managing and balancing a multimillion-dollar budget for the Assessor’s office. Nicholas also implemented and manages the new “Shiptracks” software that monitors maritime vessels in the Mississippi River,and has more than tripled the ad valorem tax revenue from watercraft in St. John Parish. Additionally, Nicholas manages payroll and employee benefits for the St. John Parish Assessor’s office. He believes that the office’s fiscal accountability is reflected in receiving for three consecutive years, a clean financial opinion from an independent audit approved by the Louisiana State Legislative Auditors.

Nicholas believes that continued focus on improving the parish’s infrastructure is critical to economic development and growth that are both necessary and needed in St. John Parish. He has selected Ms. Eliza Eugene, current CEO of ‘Blessed to be a Blessing’ and the parish’s former St. John Ambassador for Small Business as his Campaign Chairperson. Nicholas’ top priority is to work with The U.S. Corps of Engineers,and other federal, state, and local officials to continue progress on the West Shore Levee project. He is committed to providing storm surge protection to our local communities and lnterstate-10 which are major components of his economic development strategic plan. Nicholas also would like to propose smart incentives that will attract clean industry to the west bank of St. John and has ideas to dvelop new business on the east bank.

Nicholas is an ordained minister; he and his wife Tressa are very active members at the First Community Antioch Baptist Church of Lutcher. Nicholas has a Bachelor of Theology degree and earned a Master of Arts in Religion from Liberty University accredited through the U.S. Department of Education. Additionally, he successfully completed his doctoral qualifying exams and is a candidate for the Ph.D. in Public Policy at Southern University in Baton Rouge.

Rodney Nicholas states, “My background in Public Policy, leadership experience in four different governmental entities, and direct fiscal responsibility in managing and balancing a multimillion-dollar budget is what uniquely qualifies me for the office of Parish President.”