Hebert wins Thibodaux District A council seat

Democrat Eddie Hebert defeated Mary “Debbie” Swanner to claim the vacant Thibodaux council seat in District A in the weekend’s run-off election.

Hebert, a registered nurse and part-time worker at Louisiana Home Care in Houma, won by more than 200 votes.

The unofficial results show Hebert receiving 561 votes, while Swanner received 326 votes.

In the March 31 primary election, Swanner received 34 percent of the vote for the Thibodaux seat. Hebert netted 28 percent. Neither candidate received a majority, which sent them into a run-off.

Turnout for Saturday’s runoff was slow, with a minority of qualified voters deciding the next city councilman. Lafourche Parish Clerk of Court Vernon Rodrigue said there are approximately 5,000 registered voters in the District A sector, which spans out over the northern and western sections of Thibodaux.

Rodrigue said more than 25 percent of the voters in District A cast their ballot in the council race on May 5. Eighty-nine of those ballots were cast earlier in the week, according to the Lafourche Parish Registrar of Voters office.

The District A seat has been filled on an interim basis by Douglas Swanner, son of the late councilman Norman Swanner, who died of a massive heart attack days after being re-elected to the seat without opposition.

Hebert is scheduled to take office in June.

Thibodaux City Councilman Eddie Hebert