Ann D. Duplessis is a Democratic former member of the Louisiana Senate for the Second District. She held the seat from 2004 to 2010, when she resigned to enter the administration of MayorMitch Landrieu of New Orleans. Duplessis has spent over 21 years in the financial services and banking industry beginning as a part-time teller into a leadership role as Senior Vice President of Retail Banking, responsible for marketing and sales for a $300 million community bank. She is also the former owner of Hair and Body Corner Day Spa and Solutions Consulting Services, which specialized in working with small and emerging businesses and entrepreneurs on business and financial planning, feasibility studies, loan packaging and business plan preparation.
Professional, Civic, and Business Affiliations
Concerned with the quality of life for her community, Senator Duplessis has worked on various civic, community, political and professional boards including:
Senator Duplessis also served as Chairwoman of the Board for the New Orleans Regional Business Park and Vice Chair of the Downtown Development District of New Orleans. Currently, she sits on the following boards:
Duplessis is president of the Louisiana Federation for Children. Duplessis has been married for 20 years to former New Orleans Police Sergeant Virgil Duplessis. They have three children, Brooks, Lindsey and Heather. Duplessis filed a bill to give legislators a higher annual salary and increase the amount they are paid per day when they are in session. Duplessis resigned from the state senate effective on June 27, 2010 in order to serve as the deputy chief administrative officer for New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu.
Major Undertakings
Duplessis called for legislators’ annual pay to be increased nearly $60,000 per year. The speaker of the House and the president of the Senate, who each earn $32,000 a year, would be paid $80,000. The speaker pro temporeof the House and the president pro tempore of the Senate would have their salaries increased from $24,500 to $75,000. Also, lawmakers currently are allowed a monthly expense allowance of $500. Duplessis wanted that raised to $1,500 for members of the House and $3,000 for members of the Senate. Duplessis argued that lawmakers put in long hours and deserved to be compensated better. Many in the public don’t like the idea of more money for Louisiana lawmakers. Almost 70 percent of voters to a CityBusiness poll say a raise was not needed.
