More than an election, port post is a family tradition

Like an heirloom, a spot on the Board of Commissioners for the Greater Lafourche Port Commission has passed through the families of both Seat G candidates in the April 2 special election.

For Harry Cheramie, 48, his grandfather served on the original board in 1960, his father was elected the first time a seat required election in 1970 and served for 29 years and Cheramie, himself, served a six-year stint from 2000-06.

John Melancon Jr., 50, joined the board five months ago, appointed by his fellow commissioners to hold the position his late father, John Sr., had occupied before he died Oct. 18.

Melancon had planned to make a second run at state representative, but after the passing of his father, who had long-urged John Jr. to campaign for a seat on the Port Commission, he decided he would indeed attempt to follow in his father’s footsteps.

“I agreed to take his place after he would pass, and if I’d like it I would run for his office,” Melancon said. “I took his place, and I really feel that I’m needed there and I can better serve there. That’s where I’m going to continue to go and hopefully have a successful election.”

Although Melancon has yet to be elected to a public position or serve on a public board beyond his current fill-in capacity, he lost on a bid for the Louisiana Legislature, he worked closely with the Panamanian government 11 years ago and in doing so, he says he learned how to work within a budget.

Melancon said he would like to take that experience, which included the innovation of efficiency-geared changes to a barge that was working in the Panama Canal, and incorporate it to removing derelict vessels from Bayou Lafourche.

By dedicating five years worth of the portion of the budget dedicated to dredging Bayou Lafourche, approximately $1 million, the Greater Lafourche Port Commission could obtain a stable tool to dredge and clean the bayou independently, Melancon said.

“I think we could get our own crane or excavator and put it in Bayou Lafourche and it could help us with the disposal of a lot of old, abandoned vessels which are constantly a problem for GLPC,” he said.

Cheramie excused himself from the commission at the end of one term, opting not to run for re-election with plans to relocate to Maryland and open a restaurant. But after his father-in-law passed away, he decided to open a catering business in Galliano.

Once a third-generation commissioner, Cheramie said he has an understanding of the necessary teamwork the position entails.

“People who are running for election of the board are going to say, ‘I want to do this and I want to do that,’ but it’s a nine-man board, so you need to discuss the problems or anything that occurs with the other eight commissioners and come up on an agreement,” Cheramie said. “That’s why they have a nine-man board. It can’t just go by what one man says or what two men say.”

Still, Cheramie does have plans if he were to be elected. He said he would work in conjunction with the other eight members of the board to further the port’s growth and support political lobbyists who vouch for the oil and gas and commercial fishing industries.

“We just have to keep on chugging at our president and our political system because we provide approximately 30 percent of the oil and gas for the nation,” Cheramie said. “Port Fourchon is an important asset to our community. It puts people to work, and when the port is rolling, all of the businesses in that south Lafourche area prosper from the activities.

“I will be the voice of the people. If anybody has any problems on anything, they can call me and talk to me anytime. I will work along with the commission as a positive and independent commissioner for what’s right for the port, to keep the port moving forward and being a success that it is in our area.”

The special election will be held Saturday and is open to all registered voters in the 10th Ward. The winner would complete the board’s current term, which expires at the end of 2012.