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District Office
Legislative Assistant : Brittney Wood
Email Nita Rusich Hutter
Phone: (504)361-6684
Fax: (504)279-7193
Address: 208 Marlin Drive
Chalmette, LA 70043
Map
Capitol House Switch Band: (225) 342-6945
Capitol House Fax: (225)342-8336
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- District #: House District 1
- Party: Republican
- Caucus Membership: Louisiana Legislative Women's Caucus, Chairman
Louisiana Republican Legislative Delegation
Louisiana Rural Caucus - Occupation: Director of Development, Delgado Community College
- Education: B.S., Loyola University;
M.Ed., Tulane University - Spouse: Single
- Year Elected: 2000
- Last Year Eligible(Term Limit): 2012
- 2007 Election
Hutter faced opposition from Democrat Stacy Riley, Sr. She easily defeated him in the primary with almost seventy-percent of the vote. The Times-Picayune endorsed Hutter in this race.
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Registered Voters by Parish: St. Bernard 100.0%
Municipalities/Communities Represented: Chalmette, Meraux, Violet
Economic: This district includes most of Chalmette, all of Meraux and the western part of Violet. St. Bernard parish experienced complete devastation from Hurricane Katrina. Three weeks later, the western part of the parish was hit by Hurricane Rita. This district is struggling to survive, as many of the residents have not returned to live and work yet. The residents that remain in this district either are employed by two large petrochemical plants or commute to work in New Orleans. Before Hurricane Katrina this district had become predominantly a residential area. While the district struggles to regain its population, there are encouraging signs with many old businesses returning and new commercial sites sprouting. The school system continues to trend upward in its growth, a sign that families are beginning to return and new families are being attracted to the area.
Tourists traveling to this district can see the site of the Battle of New Orleans which was fought at the end of the War of 1812, which is operated by the National Park Service. Since September 2005, some tourists have come to the district just to see the damaged homes and businesses.
Social: Prior to Hurricane Katrina, this district consisted of mostly white, Catholic and middle-class residents, and after the flood damage, they were the ones to rebuild their homes. Many of these residents’ ancestors were the Islenos, who migrated to the area from the Canary Islands in the 1700s. Italian Americans make up a large portion of this district’s population.
Political: There are more registered Democrats in this district than Republicans, however the residents tend to vote Republican. Most of the constituents are a mix of white- and blue-collar conservative homeowners. The voters are primarily concerned with recovery, hurricane protection, coastal erosion and drainage.
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- In her third and final term in the House, Nita Hutter chairs the House Transportation Committee. She demonstrated great strength and courage in the days, weeks and months following Hurricane Katrina. Losing her home, she worked night and day to get her constituents the help that they so desperately needed.
- Hutter has been an active legislator by filing a good number of bills each session dealing with education, taxes and local issues. As the executive director of institutional advancement at Delgado Community College and a former teacher, Hutter will continue to sponsor and support legislation that improves education. Since Hurricane Katrina, her legislation has focused on hurricane recovery. Providing some relief to her constituents, Hutter authored bills to more strictly regulate contractors, to make it illegal for insurance companies to make homeowners with gutted homes pay for contents insurance and to qualify for government hospital financing by creating a rural hospital district in St. Bernard parish. She also authored a bill restricting the expansion of pain management clinics. Hutter plans to focus her last term on hurricane recovery, with flood control and affordable insurance as the most important issues.
- Education and transportation will continue to be a priority for Hutter in 2010. She’ll be the force behind bills to require classroom instruction with respect to dating violence in public schools and force railroad cars not block two main state crossings at the same time unless they are continuously moving.
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