Whitney elected to Dist. 53 seat

With a higher than expected 37.3 percent turn-out at the polls Saturday, it was still a minority of the 62,480 registered voters in Terrebonne Parish that did their part to fill five positions on a runoff ballot.

DISTRICT 53 STATE REPRESENTATIVE

In the closely watched race for the District 53 seat in the Louisiana House of Representatives, political newcomer Lenar Whitney upset Terrebonne Parish Councilman Billy Hebert with 59.2 percent of an overall vote of 3,709 to 2,552.

More than 59.1 percent of voting District 53 constituents in Terrebonne Parish gave Whitney the nod with 3,654 ballots cast to Hebert’s 2,519. In Lafourche Parish that margin increased when 55 to 33 ballots cast gave Whitney a 62.5 percent finish.

“I’m going to be meeting with the governor next week to find out what he wants to do,” Whitney said Sunday evening.

The state representative-elect, who had received the endorsement of Gov. Bobby Jindal, is the first Republican to ever win the District 53 seat and first woman elected as a state representative from Terrebonne Parish.

“Fiscal responsibility is going to be first on my agenda,” Whitney said. “I’m running on the Tea Party platform of fiscal responsibility, constitutional conservatism and opposition to taxes.”

TERREBONNE PARISH ASSESSOR

Terrebonne Parish Chief Deputy Assessor Loney Grabert, who last week was commissioned by the Louisiana Secretary of State to fill the parish assessor’s seat through the end of the year following the death of Assessor Gene Bonvillain, defeated candidate Harvey Chabert 7,702 to 5,949 and clenched 56 percent of the runoff votes.

Grabert said that although he will not officially take office until Jan. 2013, he intends to run in a March 24, 2012 special election that is mandated because the incumbent died while in office.

“I’m going to put my name in for that and see if somebody runs against me,” Grabert said of the interim position that would last only eight months.

Grabert said he did not feel that his win involved votes offered in tribute to Bonvillain, who was not running in this race and had intended to retire at the completion of his term on Jan. 1, 2013.

“I want to thank all the people that went out and voted for me,” Grabert said Saturday night. “I think people just looked at the candidates and voted for the ones they thought were best for the job. We are going to continue with integrity and fairness in the office and move forward.”

As a newly elected assessor, who will finish 2011 as an appointee to the position, Grabert said that he intends to boost the use of technology and make records more accessible to taxpayers.

Terrebonne Parish Council District 5

Making her return to the Terrebonne Parish council following a four-year absence when she termed out in 2007, Christa Duplantis defeated one-term incumbent Johnny Pizzolatto 968 to 941 for 50.7 percent of the vote and the Terrebonne Parish Council District 5 seat.

After picking up campaign signs on Sunday, Duplantis, who will enter into a fourth term of service, expressed appreciation for those that voted for her and supported her campaign, and noted a need to hit the ground running.

“We need to finish the green space enhancement on the east side under the twin span [bridge],” Duplantis said.

“A big, big issue is working on the area at Grand Caillou [Road] and Main [Street]. That is a very congested area and we need to work on that. Also work on drainage issues in the Lisa Park area [and] work with the treatment plant in the area.”

Duplantis said that drainage and streets are regular maintenance issues, but quality of life matters, including the proposed addition of a bicycle path, are of specific interest to her.

Pizzolatto, who is a former school board member as well as councilman, declined to say if he intends to seek public office in the future. “It didn’t finish the way we wanted it, but it was a very close race,” Pizzolatto said Saturday. “Everybody worked hard, but she won.”

Terrebonne Parish Council District 7

Clenching 55.8 percent of the ballots cast in the Terrebonne Parish District 7 runoff, Danny Babin defeated Tim Fanguy 855 to 676 and claimed the seat that will be vacated by Clayton Voisin due to term limits at the end of 2011.

“Right now I just want to savor the victory,” Babin said following Saturday’s final count. “I do have some ideas and we do want to continue moving the parish forward like it has been during the last four years. Right now I’m thankful for those people that voted for me, and for those that didn’t, I will win their trust. I’m going to work as hard as anyone who has ever been on the parish council.”

Terrebonne Parish Council District 8

During the Oct. 22 primary election, incumbent Joey Cehan was eliminated from contention for a desired return to the Terrebonne Parish District 8 seat he held for the past four years.

Saturday’s runoff contest saw repeat contender Dirk Guidry defeat former Councilman Pete Rhodes 1,103 to 927, with the winner holding 53.1 percent of the ballots cast. Cehan threw his support to Guidry when he was eliminated from the running.

“I’m doing great tonight,” Guidry said Saturday. “I appreciate the endorsement I got from Joey Cehan. I think it helped out a lot. It was a clean race and I look forward to working with the council and [parish] president to make Terrebonne Parish a much better place to live.”

Council Composition

The only current Terrebonne Parish council members that will be returning to the panel of nine elected representatives in 2012 are District 2 Councilwoman Arlanda Williams, and District 9 Councilman Pete Lambert, who won in his primary bid.

Additional council seats decided in the primary election include District 1 with John Navy taking the win, District 3 with Greg Hood, District 4 with Beryl Amedee and District 6 with Russell “Red” Hornsby.

The new council will be comprised of Navy, Williams, Guidry and Lambert as four Democrats, Hood, Amedee, Hornsby and Babin as four Republicans and Duplantis as the one member with no party affiliation.

“I eagerly await working with the new members,” Williams said on Sunday. “I feel we will continue to move forward in harmony.”

Voter Participation

Saturday’s runoff election saw 2.6 percent fewer voters participate than the 24,535 people that went to the polls during last month’s primary contest.

Observers made note that the opening of deer hunting season and an LSU football game could be considered possible distractions.

“As government we need to find a way to get more people going out to vote,” Babin said regarding the participation level. “It is a shame that apathy is there and we don’t have that many people going out to vote.”