St. Mary council incumbents withstand competition

Three newcomers will join the St. Mary Parish’s 11-member council Jan. 1 following Saturday’s primary election.

Four St. Mary Parish Council incumbents held onto office in Saturday’s election, with only the District 1 seat falling to a newcomer, complete but unofficial returns show.

Incumbent Craig A. “Rev.” Mathews, a 39-year-old business management/marketing specialist from Jeanerette, lost his seat to Lionel “Butch” Metz, 58, a banker also from Jeanerette. This marks Metz’s return to the parish council. He served from 1992 to 2000.

Also returning to the council are District 3 rep David Hanagriff, District 6’s Logan J. Fromenthal Jr., District 9 Councilman-at-Large Albert Foulcard and District 10 Councilman-at-Large Steve Bierhorst. Kevin Voisin, who previously represented District 7 on the council, also returns as District 11 Councilman-at-Large.

Newcomers to the parish council are Tim Tregle, who won Voisin’s vacated District 7 seat, and Sterling Fryou, who will represent District 8.

They join District 2 rep Charles “Butch” Middleton, District 4’s Glen Hidalgo and District 5’s Ken Singleton who were re-elected unopposed.

District 1 pitted Metz against Matthews and Herbert “H.B.” Bell. Metz received 52 percent of the vote (995 votes), while Mathews pulled in 33 percent and Bell garnered 13.24 percent.

“The people said they wanted someone they can trust; someone who will look out for them and the district,” Metz said Sunday. “I intend to provide the best representation I can and to be fair with everyone.”

Metz said his first priority will be teaming with state Rep. Sam Jones to determine the placement of the La. Highway 318 and U.S. Highway 90 interchange. “We’ve got to agree on where it is going to go,” he said.

In the District 3 race, Hanagriff soundly defeated opponent Peter Soprano with better than 70 percent of the vote, 1,564 votes to 650.

The owner of a machine shop, Hanagriff lives in Centerville. He has also served on the St. Mary Parish Planning and Zoning Commission. Self-described as the “most conservative on the council as far as spending is concerned,” Hanagriff politicked for economic development, especially in St. Mary Parish’s west end, and the need to lower millage rates.

District 6 incumbent Logan Fromenthal Jr. beat contender Renesse Landry with 61.22 percent of the popular vote.

Fromenthal, a Shell Oil Co. retiree, works for Jag Construction as a sales/special assignments and safety consultant. Prior to serving on the parish council, he served two terms on the Morgan City Council from 1996-2004.

During his campaign, Fromenthal listed flooding and a lack of jobs as chief concerns from his district.

Morgan City resident Tim Tregle handily won the District 7 seat, beating opponent Rogers Liner with 61.55 percent of the vote.

District 8 councilman-elect Sterling Fryou narrowly defeated Norris Crappel, garnering 504 votes (50.91 percent) to Crappel’s 488 (49.09 percent).

Incumbent Foulcard returned to the District 9 at-large seat having defeated opponent Rodney Oldander with 51.45 percent of the vote.

Bierhorst returns to his seat, having staved off Darian “Coach” Breaux with 63.87 percent of the vote.

The Patterson resident is a network operations manager for AT&T. He formerly served on the Patterson City Council for 14 years and as mayor pro temp for eight years. Bierhrost is also a member of the Patterson Volunteer Fire Department, having served as chief for more than 20 years.

Bierhorst touted several “quality of life” issues throughout his campaign, including economic development and job creation.

Voisin takes over the District 11 post, having defeated Greg Green with 66.5 percent of the vote.

A resident of Morgan City, Voisin owns Atchafalaya Bonding Service. This is his third term on the parish council. During his campaign, Voisin spoke of the need for jobs and retaining businesses in the St. Mary area.