Area clerks of court, assessors, coroners returned to office

Voters may elect new faces to the parish president post and council seats in Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes, but for the clerks of court, assessors and coroners, it’s business as usual.

The three positions in both parishes went uncontested as qualifying closed Thursday.

In Terrebonne Parish, Assessor Gene P. Bonvillain, Clerk of Court Robert Boudreaux and Coroner Victor Tedesco, M.D., were unopposed. In Lafourche, Assessor Michael Martin, Clerk of Court Vernon and Coroner Coleridge T. Franklin, M.D., will also return to office without opposition.

“It’s a great feeling,” Bonvillain said. “It’s a testament to the work being done by this office.”

The Terrebonne Parish assessor was voted into office in 1995, but because of the complexity of the duties and lack of technology, he didn’t actually take over the post until

1997.

“When I first took over the office I vowed to make sure the assessments were fair and equitable values across the board,” he said. “We spend a lot of time making sure the value placed on properties is fair. Traditionally, we’ve had very few appeals.”

Another long-time representative of the people’s business, Boudreaux was first seated in 1991 as clerk of court. He’s been reelected each time unopposed.

“It’s an attribute to the modernization of this office and the fine staff here that works diligently with the public,” he said.

Without a public race ahead of him, Boudreaux said his coming days will be filled with readying for the Oct. 20 election.

“Whenever an election starts or finishes, we immediately begin working on the next election,” he explained. “There are always a lot of election-related activities going on. I’m glad that (being reseated unopposed) leaves my time free for the work ahead.”