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Lafourche Parish celebrated the beginning of a new political era on Sunday as a new parish president and the next parish council started their terms.
Friends, family and parish officials packed into the Lockport Fire Station to welcome the leaders of Lafourche for the next four years. Each member and the parish president took their oath of office with their families nearby.
The ceremony provided a physical representation of the turnover within Lafourche Parish government. Jimmy Cantrelle replaced Charlotte Randolph as parish president, and the council featured five new members.
Luci Sposito is the new District 2 representative, Michael Gros is in District 3 and Aaron “Bo” Melvin represents District 4. Corey Perrilloux and Armand “Noonie” Autin represent Districts 6 and 7, respectively. A District 5 council member was not present at the inauguration, as the position is up for grabs in a March special election after the only candidate who qualified, incumbent John Arnold, was disqualified for unpaid fines.
In his address to the crowd, Cantrelle said he welcomed all council members and citizens to come to him with concerns and ideas.
“Working with the council, I will work with every one. I guarantee you that my door will always be open for any council member or any person in Lafourche Parish. We’ll always work together, because we have great, great people in this parish,” he said.
The new parish president also mentioned the vicious downturn of the 80s to provide context for hope that the parish will bounce back from the current economic swoon.
“I went through the 80s. We went through it, we survived, and we’re a better parish for it. Hopefully we can go through it without too much pain,” Cantrelle said. “And I guarantee you we’ll work hard together. Only thing, we may be a little leaner, a little meaner, and a little more effective.”
Melvin requested the public exhibit patience as the freshmen council members learn the ropes of Lafourche Parish government.
“I hope people are patient, because we got so many new members, which they wanted. And I hope that for the best, and people are patient as we move forward,” Melvin said.
District 9 Council Member Daniel Lorraine, who has been on the council for 32 years, expressed confidence in his new colleagues and reminded them to keep their ears to the ground in their districts.
“I know how it works. I’m sure these people are going to learn,” Lorraine said. “You don’t learn overnight. It takes you a while. But don’t forget being elected is an honor. Don’t forget where you come from. Go back and see these people. Don’t just go back and see them every four years. Go back and visit with them as much as you can.”
Melvin said that he wished for the massive turnover to breathe new life into parish government.
“I told folks I’m bringing a new set of eyes on my campaign, with a fresh set of ideas and ideals. I’m hoping other people feel the same to where we can move forward. And there’s a lot of fresh blood to help do that,” Melvin said.
District 8 Council Member Jerry LaFont, beginning his second term, told the audience that he would do his part to challenge the parish to progress.
“In the next four years, I’m going to do the same things I did in the last four years: I’m going to ask the questions that everybody’s afraid to ask. I’m going to make sure that we can cover everything that we can do to make this parish move forward,” he said.
Several council members and Cantrelle said that the first order of business was for the parish president to assemble his staff of department heads. Cantrelle said that he plans to move or combine several departments to consolidate work into single entities.
Lafourche’s new leader called for cooperation as the dust from election season settles, noting that a divided parish council causes harm to all.
“If we all work together, we can pull the wagon in the same direction. But if we start pulling in different directions, we will never accomplish anything,” Cantrelle said.
Lafourche Parish President Jimmy Cantrelle takes the oath of office with his family by his side on Sunday. Cantrelle unseated three-term president Charlotte Randolph in a run-off election.
