Rep.St. Germain, Karen Gaudet (D)
District# 60, Plaquemine

• District # 60: House District 1
• Party: Democrat
• Caucus Membership:Democratic Caucus, Chairman
  Louisiana Legislative Women's Caucus, Vice Chair
  Acadiana Delegation
  Capital Region Legislative Delegation
  Louisiana Rural Caucus
• Occupation: Legislator
• Education: Louisiana State University, Paralegal College
• Spouse: Kenneth
• Year Elected: 2003
• Last Year Eligible(Term Limit): 2016
• 2007 Election
  St. Germain went unopposed during this most recent election cycle due in large part to her inclusive approach to parochial politics, meaning she is overly careful not to alienate any particular area.
  Over the next term, expect St. Germain to play a larger role on legislation coming out of the House Natural Resources Committee, ethics and workforce as well as on matters impacting the Acadiana Delegation.
  
  

• Louisiana Map
• District Map
• Metro Map
• Economic: District 60 runs along the west bank of the Mississippi River south of Baton Rouge. It includes almost all of Iberville Parish, the lower part of West Baton Rouge, a smidgen of Ascension and most of Assumption.
  The traditional Louisiana industries—fishing, agriculture and petrochemicals, fuel the economy. The Atchafalaya Basin, rich in wildlife, makes up the western edge of the district.
  Fishermen, especially from Iberville and Assumption, glean a living from its rich waters. Sugar cane, meanwhile, is the major crop and it’s grown on large farms in all four parishes. The district includes several sugar mills that also provide jobs for unskilled workers.
  The petrochemical plants provide the better-paying jobs. Dow near Plaquemine is one of the largest of the plants and Shintech, a Japanese vinyl chloride maker, has operations that that straddle the Iberville-West Baton Rouge border.
• Social: The district retains a strong Cajun influence in varying strength, especially in rural Assumption Parish. Incomes range from poor to middle-and upper-middle-class. There are large African-American communities throughout the district. The West Baton Rouge, and to some extent Iberville, areas of the district are changing from rural to suburban as workers in Baton Rouge move into the growing number of subdivisions springing up on former cropland.
• Political: The district, thanks largely to the influence of African-American and working-class residents, is still strongly Democratic. The influx of suburbanites from outside the district is adding a more Republican flavor, though.

• Democrat Karen St. Germain is an approachable and open-minded legislator. Not surprisingly, knowing her district, she has taken to recreational and commercial fishing and hunting, carving out a name for herself in the House as a staunch supporter of the average sportsman.
• On business issues, St. Germain is open to labor-related issues, but also votes with LABI roughly two-thirds of the time. While she is not opposed to taxes, generally speaking, St. Germain is a stickler for finding places in the state’s budget to accommodate expanded exemptions and other tax adjustments. In 2007, she passed legislation that created an annual sales tax holiday for the purchase of certain hurricane-preparedness items.
• A strong voice for her party in the Lower Chamber, St. Germain has also become a point-person on commercial fishing and oil and gas issues. It shouldn’t come as a surprise, since she serves as vice chair of the House Natural Resources Committee.
• St. Germain is very calculated about spreading resources throughout her entire district. While she from Pierre Part, she maintains an office in Plaquemine and travels the district regularly.