By KEVIN CHIRI

Editor and Publisher

LAPLACE – Nickie Monica had a simple way to sum up his rise through the political ranks.

“From Garyville to the Capitol steps,” he said.

The current St. John parish president, who will leave office in January due to term limits, continued his political climb higher on Saturday, when he easily won election to the District 57 Louisiana House of Representatives seat.

Monica took down 57 percent of the vote in the runoff against Geri Broussard Baloney, continuing what was a strong advantage he showed from the primary to the runoff.

“I think we got our message out, that I have been a proven leader here in St. John Parish, and I have a lot to show we have accomplished since I took office,” he said. “I just stayed focused on the issues and was positive with my campaign. It showed that negative campaigns just don’t work.”

Monica referred to several attack brochures put out by his opponent in the final week, which questioned his spending of public money for his own good.

“You look at that and can see that people don’t respond to that kind of campaigning,” he said. “I stayed positive and ran on my record, and the results of the election show what the people wanted.”

Monica was a worker for Marathon before he decided to run for the St. John Parish Council just over 12 years ago. He won election to that seat, then decided to run for parish president and won eight years ago. He was re-elected to a second term, and now has moved up again with his victory in the House of Representatives race, replacing Bobby Faucheux, who is term limited out.

“When I won as the parish president, it was a high experience to realize that I was going to take that position. But this is something new and just like it. I honestly don’t think it will hit me until I head up those steps at the Capitol,” he said. “It won’t seem real until then.”

But Monica does have some specific plans of what he plans to address for his St. John and St. James Parish constituency.

“Traffic is a number one issue for me, and so is education,” he said.

Monica wants to propose the state re-direct 16 cents of a state gasoline tax to be specifically for road work, which it was initially intended for. He said that will improve the current backlog of five years for any state roadwork that is approved.

“That’s the problem right now. Even if you get a road project approved, it is at least five years before it comes up with funding,” he said. “So anything we try to get through right now won’t have a chance of starting for a minimum of five years. The 16 cent gas tax will help fund the road work and shorten that time.”

The biggest project he has on his agenda when it comes to roadwork is to push harder to get the much-needed Interstate interchange near Reserve approved. He said the project has been discussed and has had some preliminary work done, and there is currently $1 million in a fund for the final environmental impact statement. His goal is to get the interchange back on the front burner.

Additionally, he will work for the state to construct the service road from Highway 51 at the I-10 interchange, all the way to Belle Terre Boulevard, which will greatly reduce traffic on Airline Highway during commute time.

He also plans to work with the BESE board to get curriculum changes in local schools, which will help students come out of school with a certificate of qualification to go right into the many high-paying industry jobs in the area. Additionally, he wants closer work with local schools and the technical college.

Not leaving out St. James, he will work for a third lane on Highway 3125 from the Mississippi River bridge all the way to Grand Point Lane.

“My experience helped me win this election and I think that will help me get things done in Baton Rouge,” he said. “I’m very excited to get up there and get started.”

Monica’s inauguration is January 14 in Baton Rouge, the same day for St. John Parish inauguration activities for their newly elected officials here.