[StBernard] Former St. Bernard judge first to qualify in district attorney race

[Westley Annis]

Former St. Bernard judge first to qualify in district attorney race
Print Benjamin Alexander-Bloch, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune By Benjamin
Alexander-Bloch, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune 
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on August 21, 2014 at 11:59 AM, updated August 21, 2014 at 6:28 PM


Former St. Bernard Parish Judge Perry Nicosia on Thursday was the first
candidate to qualify for the parish district attorney race. Nicosia,
D-eastern St. Bernard, resigned from his judicial post on Tuesday citing his
intention to run for district attorney.

UPDATE: Along with Nicosia, only two other candidates qualified on Thursday.
A drop in the bucket compared to the 42 candidates signed up on Wednesday. 

The three-day qualifying period for the Nov. 4 election runs through Friday.

On Thursday afternoon, School Board candidates Katherine Karcher Lemoine,
D-Arabi, qualified to run against Lynette DiFatta, R-Arabi, in the District
1 race. And, in the Constable Justice of the Peace Ward B race, Jason R.
Danna, Other-Arabi, signed up on Thursday to run against Anthony "Tony"
LaNasa III, R-Arabi, for that post.

District Attorney Jack Rowley, 83, who very rarely speaks to the press, has
yet to publicly discuss his plans for the fall election. He is serving his
sixth term in a post he first garnered in 1979.

On Wednesday, the first day of qualifying, two candidates - Kim Cooper
Jones, R-Meraux, and Darren Roy, D-Chalmette - signed up to run for
Nicosia's now-vacant Division C judicial seat.

In October, Jeanne Nunez Juneau, D-Chalmette, became the first female judge
in St. Bernard's history when she edged out Jones for the judicial seat
vacated by Manuel "Manny" Fernandez.

Fernandez, who retired in May 2013, died this past February.

On Wednesday, Juneau and the three other remaining incumbent judges in the
34th Judicial District Court qualified to seek re-election and no candidates
had signed up to challenge them by midday Thursday. If no other candidates
qualify in those races, the judges would win their races outright.