Julie Quinn is the new state senator for Senate District 6. In a show of district unity, key elected officials representing the four diverse parishes that are part of Senate District 6 administered the oath of office to Senator Quinn (R-Metairie) during special ceremonies in New Orleans. Senator Quinn won a special election last month to replace the late Senator John Hainkel who died while in office in April.

Tangipahoa Parish President Gordon Burgess, St. Tammany Parish President Kevin Davis, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin and Jefferson Parish President Aaron Broussard joined together to administer the ceremonial oath to Senator Quinn, as family, friends and other elected officials, including Governor Kathleen Blanco and Lt. Governor Mitch Landrieu, watched on. The former Jefferson Parish School Board member who demanded fiscal responsibility for the school system and led the way for the creation of the parish’s first magnet school will make improving the state’s education system a top priority.

"Through my experience on the school board and through my years of community service, I have seen time and time again what can happen in a community where education is under-valued and under-appreciated. And, while Louisiana has made great strides in making our schools and students more accountable, we still have a great deal of work to do. We owe it to our hard-working families, our children and our dedicated educators to do whatever is necessary to make sure that our schools are the best than they can be," Senator Quinn said.

"A quality education system in coordination with an aggressive workforce training program is also key to bringing new jobs to District 6. We must overcome the challenges of an uneducated population, an unskilled workforce and an unfriendly business tax structure to improve our economy, to support existing businesses and industries and to encourage the development of new ones," Senator Quinn added. "I look forward to working with the elected officials and community leaders across the four parishes to make that a reality."

Raised in St. Tammany Parish, Senator Quinn learned first hand the importance of community service from her father, Bruce Unangst who served as the first Parish President of St. Tammany and her mother Shirley Unangst. She graduated from LSU with a Bachelor of Arts degree in broadcast journalism and went on to earn her Juris Doctorate from Loyola Law School. As a practicing attorney she became involved in a number of civic activities and was first elected to the Jefferson Parish School Board in 2001 where she served until resigning to seek the District 6 Senate seat. Senator Quinn and husband Patrick Quinn have six children.

Senate District 6 includes parts of uptown New Orleans and Metairie, and continues up to the southern parts of Tangipahoa and St. Tammany Parishes.