Samuel Bernard Nunez Jr., (January 27, 1930 – January 15, 2012), was aLouisiana politician and businessman fromChalmette, the seat ofSt. Bernard Parish in theNew Orleans suburbs.
From 1964 to 1969, Nunez was a member of theLouisiana House of Representatives. From 1969 to 1996, theDemocrat Nunez was astate senator. He was theState Senate President from 1983 to 1988 and from 1990 to 1996, when his legislative tenure ended in defeat. He was theState Senate President Pro Tempore from 1980 to 1983 and 1988 to 1990. In 1973, he was a delegate to the Louisiana State Constitutional Convention, where he pushed for inclusion of thehomestead exemption onproperty taxes.[2]
Nunez graduated from Joseph Maumus High School inArabi in St. Bernard Parish. From 1951 to 1955, he served in theUnited States Air Force during theKorean War era.[2] Following his Air Force service, he received a Bachelor of Science degree fromLouisiana State University inBaton Rouge.
In 1983, Nunez became Senate President by acclamation[4] whenMichael H. O'Keefe of New Orleans was indicted, maintained his innocence, but was ultimately convicted of a federal crime and imprisoned.[5][6][7]
After a month of consideration, Nunez endorsed Breaux over Moore.[8][9][10][11][12][13][14]
Nunez was one of several pro-gambling legislators who were defeated or forced to retire following the 1995 legislative session. Two of Nunez' most prominent Senate colleagues,Armand Brinkhaus ofSunset inSt. Landry Parish andSixty Rayburn ofBogalusa inWashington Parish, lost re-election bids, while SenatorsLarry Bankston of Baton Rouge and Gerry Hinton ofSlidell stood down. Also failing in his re-election bid was Rep.Raymond Lalonde of Sunset, the author of the 1992 bill which allowed for a land-based casino to operate in New Orleans.[citation needed]
Senator Dean served two terms and was succeeded in 2004 by the Republican, later Democrat,Walter Boasso. As a Democrat, Boasso finished a distant second to RepublicanBobby Jindal in the2007 governor's race, as Jindal easily captured the requisite majority n the primary to avoid a runoff.[15][16][17]
Long after his legislative service, Nunez was a member of the board of commissioners of thePort of New Orleans.[18][19]He operated an insurance agency.[20][21][2][22]
| Louisiana State Senate | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Louisiana State Senator for District 11 (Jefferson, Plaquemines, and St. Bernard parishes) 1969–1996 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | President of the Louisiana State Senate 1983–1988 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | President of the Louisiana State Senate 1990–1996 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Louisiana State Senate President Pro Tempore 1980–1983 | Succeeded by Theodore M. Hickey |
| Preceded by | Louisiana State Senate President Pro Tempore 1988–1990 | Succeeded by |
| Louisiana House of Representatives | ||
| Preceded by | Louisiana State Representative for St. Bernard Parish 1964–1969 | Succeeded by |
