Rep. Stiaes, Charmaine Marchand (D)
District# 99, New Orleans

• District # 99: House District 1
• Party: Democrat 
• Caucus Membership: Democratic Caucus
  Louisiana Legislative Black Caucus
  Louisiana Legislative Women's Caucus
  Orleans Delegation
• Occupation: Attorney
  
• Education: Southern University, New Orleans (1994), B.S., Criminal Justice; Southern Univ. Law Center (1997), J.D.
  
• Spouse: Shawn
• Year Elected: 2003
• Last Year Eligible(Term Limit): 2016
• 2007 Election
  Perhaps a sign of the times, Marchand had only one challenger in the 2007 primary, a significant change from the field of eight in the 2003 primary. Endorsed by the Times-Picayune, Marchand won the election by a margin of three to one.
  
  

• Louisiana Map
• District Map
• Metro Map
• Economic: District 99 includes much of the lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans, one of the areas most devastated by Hurricane Katrina, and the Bywater. Prior to August 2005, the Ninth Ward’s economic development struggled; even more so now, the district, which was completely under water, is struggling to survive. This area had the highest homeownership in the city at fifty-six percent before the storm. Most of the blue-collar workers that lived in the district were employed by large companies located in the industrial part of New Orleans East and in the Central Business District. Some residents owned their own small service or retail companies, most of which have not yet reopened. Still, the majority of the residents depend on economic assistance from the government.
• Social: Because so many of the Ninth Ward’s residents were senior citizens, the likelihood of them returning to rebuild without much governmental assistance is unlikely. Many of the residents were Catholics making low to middle incomes that had been there for fifty plus years from when they first built their homes. Even prior to Katrina, the property values had decreased.
• Political: One of the oldest African American political organizations in New Orleans, SOUL calls this district home. This organization strongly influences elections and is closely aligned with many local and state politicians. With over ninety percent of the residents being African Americans, Democrats dominate this district. With many of the voters having not returned after Hurricane Katrina, this district, along with the rest of the districts in southeast Louisiana, is likely to see many changes during redistricting in 2010.

• A high-profile resident of the Ninth Ward, Charmaine Marchand Stiaes is now entering her second term. Although she has only held an elected office for four years, she is no stranger to politics. Not only has she been active in political campaigns and organizations, but her uncle, Teddy Marchand, was the first representative elected for this district in 1972 and her mother unsuccessfully ran for this seat in 1986.
• As a member of the House and Governmental Affairs Committee, she’ll play major role in the upcoming redistricting process. Stiaes also authored the legislation that will consolidate the offices of the criminal sheriff and the civil sheriff of Orleans Parish in 2010 and has advocated for public school boards and superintendents to dedicate federal stimulus dollars to low performing schools.
• Losing her own home in Hurricane Katrina, Marchand has tirelessly worked to help her constituents return to their homes. She formed associations in which she urged her constituents to join together in order for them to unite their recovery efforts. After the storm, her high-profile status within her district spread to statewide and nationwide awareness, as she was interviewed on CNN and by the New York Times. One of her most well-known efforts was when she camped out for four nights on the State Capitol grounds to urge the company handling the money in Road Home grants to hurry the process along.
• Other than hurricane recovery issues, Marchand’s legislative concerns have remained the same – education, housing and health care. Self-employed attorney Marchand successfully fought for a constitutional amendment to the state’s eminent domain law by banning governmental takeover of private property for commercial development.