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There were two inaugural ceremonies for the 2020 – 2024 elected officials of the Terrebonne Parish Consolidated Government (TPCG) on Thursday, January 9.
Following a mass at St. Francis de Sales Cathedral, Terrebonne Parish Clerk of Court Theresa Robichaux administered the oaths of office for Terrebonne Parish President Gordon Dove and the 2020 – 2024 Terrebonne Parish Council just after noon.
The council now consists of John Navy (District 1), Carl “Carlee” Harding (District 2), Gerald Michel (District 3), John Amedée (District 4), Jessica Domangue (District 5), Darrin Guidry (District 6), Daniel “Danny” Babin (District 7), Dirk Guidry (District 8) and Steve Trosclair (District 9).
Babin beat former Terrebonne District 7 Councilman Al Marmande in the 2019 election, but he held the seat before from 2012 to 2016.
Domangue, Amedée and Harding are new to the council.
“My priorities are the unification of the council and having the responsibility of the council be placed, as a unified effort, to take care of the affairs of Terrebonne Parish,” Harding said after the ceremony at St. Francis. “Then, I can actually go from there to my constituents and see what are the things that are more pertinent and actually try to distribute to them on an as-needed basis.”
Harding said he will also add “a little sunshine” to the council.
Terrebonne Parish President Gordon Dove takes his oath of office at St. Francis de Sales Cathedral on Thursday, January 9.
For his new term, Dove said he wants to finish the projects that TPCG started his last term, including what’s left to complete in flood protection and drainage and the Bayou Country Sports Park, among other projects, while still maintaining a balanced budget.
“We’re going to do as much with infrastructure as possible and of course, keep a balanced budget as we have for four years and be very fiscally responsible with the people’s money,” Dove told the Times.
Dove said one of his proudest achievements during his last term was the completion of projects in drainage and flood protection.
“For the first time in the history of Terrebonne, we have protection, and everything we add is going to just be increased protection,” he said.
“When we came into this government, we had to cut $10 million a year because of a slow economy due to the oilfield,” Dove added. “We were able to do that and still achieve the projects, $123 million worth of projects.”
Dove is looking forward to working with the new council and having another successful four years.
Another inaugural ceremony was held at 6 p.m. on Thursday at H. L. Bourgeois High School.
There, outgoing council members Arlanda Williams (District 2) and Christa Duplantis-Prather (District 5) were honored by the council, Terrebonne Parish District Court Judge Juan Picket and Terrebonne Parish Sheriff Jerry Larpenter.
Williams could not run again due to term limits, and Duplantis-Prather lost her seat to Domangue in the 2019 election.
Dove and Terrebonne Parish Assistant District Attorney Gary Williams Jr. also each took the podium to give positive remarks on Williams.
Williams said she was proud of several achievements from her time on the council, but she is most proud of the ex-offender re-entry program, which is receiving a $636,000 annual grant from the state Department of Corrections for the next three years.
“That was my goal – to leave something behind that would be able to help people for years to come. That re-entry program is going to give people a second chance,” Williams told the Times. “When you can impart hope in somebody, that is a legacy.”
She left her district and the entire parish “in the hands of some very capable people,” Williams said.
For their first meeting, following being sworn in again that evening, council members elected Trosclair as Council Chairperson and Darrin Guidry as Vice-Chairperson.
