Bayou parishes refinance; save locals more than $2M
March 4, 2015
Ladies of the Sacred South
March 4, 2015
Terrebonne Parish’s first black firefighter Daniel “D.T.” Turner has announced his candidacy for the parish District 1 Council seat currently occupied by John Navy
The election will take place alongside the gubernatorial primary Oct. 24. If a run-off is necessary, it will take place Nov. 21.
Turner is a 69-year-old who is a retired 36-year veteran of the Houma Fire Department. He rose to as high as assistant chief and is currently a businessman with real estate holdings near his home in the Mechanicville area of East Houma.
Turner has previously served on the Terrebonne Association for Retarded Citizens (TARC) board, as well as the Houma Municipal Fire and Police Civil Service Board. He holds two-year degrees in Law Enforcement from Nicholls and Fire Science from LSU-Eunice and a one-year Arson Investigation degree from LSU-Eunice. Turner said he was also the only firefighter with the Houma Fire Department to attend the NASA Fire Academy in Emmetsburg, Maryland, and he did it twice.
“D.T.,” as he’s known by many in the community, ran for the District 1 Council seat in 2011 receiving 13 percent of the vote – the most of any candidate short of the winner, Navy, with 70 percent of the vote.
“I think I have a better chance of winning, but if I don’t win, I’ll still have the same goals as a daily servant of the people in my community and the citizens in Terrebonne Parish,” Turner said.
As a self-proclaimed “unofficial servant” of Terrebonne Parish, Turned said his election would place him in a better spot to serve not just those in District 1, but those in the entire parish, as an “official servant.”
Boasting strong relationships with Parish President Michel Claudet, District Attorney Joe Waitz, Sheriff Jerry Larpenter and the parish’s first black judge Juan Pickett, Turner hopes he can continue his service of helping the young, the old and the sick in his community while in office.
Turner said he’s been helping those groups of people his whole life. From helping the younger generation stay off the streets and get jobs, to finishing school, to getting drug treatment, to accompanying community members to the hospital and to teaching Sunday school and bible study classes at Residence Baptist Church – where he’s been a member for more than 50 years, among other churches – keeping kids on the right path is paramount to Turner.
“I’m a concerned citizen. That’s why I’m running, because I’m concerned about the community,” Turner said. “… My main goal is to help bring the community together more through the churches. I know in my community, the minorities, or the blacks, haven’t been voting, and we have to find a way to motivate them. Whether I run and win or not, I’m going to do that anyway, but as a councilman, I’ll be in a better position to help to get it done, but mainly I want to be in position to take care of the needs of District 1 and the citizens of Terrebonne Parish.”
