Six on tap for lead spots in Lafourche Parish government

Lafourche Parish President Charlotte Randolph proposed few changes among her department-head nominees, requesting the majority be returned to their positions by the parish council.

As of press time Monday, the only structural change Randolph planned to present to council members at Tuesday night’s meeting was the creation of a Department of Communications & Information Technology position. She is seeking the appointment of Parks, Recreation and Public Facilities Director Brennan Matherne for the job.

“Brennan Matherne has a special talent working with media and computers,” Randolph said. “This new department is designed to improve communication among the administration, the council and the public.”

Should the council veto the position, Matherne would be renominated for his current post.

Martha Hodnett, a new face to Lafourche government, is Randolph’s nominee for Community Services director.

An experienced grant-writer, Hodnett is familiar with the school system, which is an asset, Randolph said, considering her department works so closely with Head Start and Community Action programs.

“Additional funding will allow these programs to grow, offering more services to the children and residents of Lafourche,” Randolph said.

Executive assistant Crystal Chiasson was also expected to be nominated to fill the director of Human Resources slot. The position has been vacant for a number of years, but the new charter allows Randolph to nominate a candidate within 60 days of a new term.

As of press time, Randolph had not disclosed her nominees for the Finance, Recreation and Coastal Energy & Environmental departments.

All of Randolph’s nominees for department directors must be approved by the parish council. Tuesday night’s meeting marked the end of the 60-day nominating period.

“The progress and productivity of the last four years was the result of this core team,” Randolph said. “I want to build and improve on the experiences of the team to better produce projects, programs and services here in Lafourche.”

The parish president submitted her first nominations for parish administrator and department head positions.

“Department heads are people I work closely with on a day-to-day basis,” the parish chief said. “The success of the last four years is largely attributed to the individuals who have filled these positions.”

Faced with many challenges in the last term, Randolph said, “We may have made some mistakes, but a wiser person than me once noted, ‘If you do nothing, you do nothing wrong.’ I can answer any discussion about mistakes with 10 success stories.”

She said the team’s notable successes include road improvements and added flood protection for the parish.

“We have secured millions of dollars outside of the parish to protect our residents. We have been both conservative and progressive with tax dollars,” she said.

“You can’t run a perfect government,” Randolph said. However, she believes that she can run a good government.

When Randolph was re-elected, she said, “I come with a team,” despite the recent speculations that a change was coming.

Cullen Curole has been nominated as Lafourche Parish administrator. Randolph credits Curole with saving the Community Action Program, which was struggling to keep its funding nearly two years ago.

Curole devised a plan to rededicate surplus funding to address the needs of the parish Council on Aging, the animal shelter and the Lafourche Parish Detention Center.

In addition to serving as parish administrator, Curole will oversee Human Resources and the Coastal Energy and Environment department. He will also monitor the Office of Emergency Preparedness and Risk Management.

Ray Cheramie was renominated to the Public Works director post. Randolph said Cheramie was instrumental in re-energizing the parish’s Public Works Department.

Under his guidance, neglected pump stations were renovated or repaired, additional ones were installed and countless levees and canals were improved and cleaned.

Gretchen Caillouet was nominated to continue her work as the director of Grants and Development. Caillouet is credited with Lafourche receiving more than $5 million in grants, due in large part to her attention to detail and deadlines, the parish president said.

“Before Caillouet arrived, Lafourche had not applied for funding from the state’s capital outlay program or from a variety of sources in years,” Randolph said. The money is funding courthouse repairs, drainage and other major projects, she explained.

Editor’s Note: For an update on the Lafourche Parish Council’s final approval of Randolph’s proposed appointments, visit us online at www.tri-parishtimes.com.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA