Walter Boasso
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Walter J. Boasso: Louisiana State Senator representing District One of the state. His district includes St. Bernard Parish and the surrounding areas that were the zones most severely devastated by Hurricane Katrina.
Biography
Boasso is a life-long resident of St. Bernard Parish, and graduated from the local Chalmette Senior High School in 1978. He obtained a business degree from the University of New Orleans. Boasso began his own company cleaning storage tanks for local companies during summer vacations, and turned this niche business into a large corporation, Boasso America. The company is still headquartered in St. Bernard, and employs hundreds of employees in several states.
Political Career
Boasso became active in many local organizations, and was selected for the Chairman of the Port of New Orleans Authority Board of Commissioners in 2001. He was elected to the State Senate in 2003.
Hurricane Katrina
Boasso has been lauded for his response to the disaster that struck his constitituents on the morning of August 29, 2005, when Hurricane Katrina sent a tidal wave of up to 25-30 feet in height that drowned almost the entire parish of St. Bernard in a matter of minutes. Boasso was in Baton Rouge, and on being advised of the situation returned to the parish before the winds had completely died. He spent the next several weeks bringing in needed supplies including fuel, food, medicines, and transportation to the parish. Many locals have said that Senator Boasso was almost the only source of outside help for the Parish, for as was the case for St. Tammany Parish and the Mississippi Gulf Coast the media coverage and overall response was aimed entirely at New Orleans alone. Boasso noted that rescuers from Canada were in the Parish before any state response got there. Boasso has continued to push for assistance for the parish and has promised that Boasso America will continue to work in the parish.
Legislation
Boasso has garnered national coverage in his proposal and support for the "Boasso Bill". a state bill that would eliminate the duplicative and wasteful system of local Levee Boards and replace them with a professionally staffed Board to prevent the levee failures that contributed to the flooding.
Quotes during Hurricane Katrina
I've got 122,000 people in my district, and everybody's been affected (by Hurricane Katrina),” said state Sen. Walter Boasso, R-Chalmette
“I don't care about finger pointing,” Boasso said. “I'm hollering and screaming and you know what? If they can't help us we're going to help ourselves.”
"Fabulous, fabulous guys," Boasso said. Referring to Canadians who came to his flooded towns aid "They started rolling with us and got in boats to save people."
"We've got Canadian flags flying everywhere."
