YMCA director running for Terrebonne council seat

The director of Houma’s Bayouland YMCA says she wants to bring her public service to a new level by representing District 6 on the Terrebonne Parish Council, promising a focus on drainage, recreation and economic development.

Angi Falgout, a mother of two and graduate of Terrebonne High School, who attended classes at Nicholls State University, says her decision to seek the seat is a natural outgrowth of the work she has done as YMCA director and various public service projects.

The seat is currently held by Russell Hornsby and is also sought by former Tri-Parish Times publisher Darrin Guidry and former school administrator Clyde Hamner.

The election of a new parish president – necessitated by current Parish President Michel Claudet’s pending exit due to term limits – makes this election a year a perfect time for a change in representation, Falgout said.

“I have spent the vast majority of my adult life in some form of public service and feel I am prepared to shoulder the responsibility of representing the interests of the voters in District 6,” Falgout said in her campaign announcement. “With Michel Claudet concluding his term of office, we are going to elect a new parish president. I want to work closely with the new president to keep the parish moving ahead. Having worked as an executive assistant to a previous parish president, I believe I have a reasonably good understanding of the needs of that office and exactly what the council members need to do to best work with the president.”

District 6 covers an area from Bull Run Road, south along La. Highway 311, and includes the Ellendale and Ouiski Bayou subdivisions. It is also bounded on the south by Bayou Black and the Gulf Intra-coastal Waterway.

Falgout describes the area as a “growing section of the parish both residential and with light industrial development along Valhi Boulevard.”

The primary election will be held Oct. 24 and if one of the candidates does not receive more than 50 percent of the vote, a runoff between the two highest vote-getters will be held Nov. 21.

Falgout served on and chaired Fire District 4-A and says she has a firm grasp on the council’s role regarding the multiple taxing districts that manage various public services.

Full discussions about the affairs of parish government, Falgout maintains, are necessary among all council members.

“Economic development isn’t just going to be a focus if I’m elected, it is at the heart of District 6’s agenda and must become the central issue that the District 6 council representative brings to the table. District 6 is on fire, economically speaking. It is the hottest area in the parish and more and more people find themselves within its borders every day. If they don’t live here, they may work here. If not, they may find they are conducting business here or, at least, traveling through it. The pressure is on the infrastructure of District 6 and I will work hard to guarantee that the parish focuses on each and every aspect of infrastructure development needed to ensure safe and effective growth.”

Drainage problems, Falgout said, are not just representative of a fear, but are “the single most important vulnerability that Terrebonne Parish faces.”

The development, she notes, is a double-edged sword, requiring greater monitoring for potential flash flood threats and runoff problems.

“I will continue to support the construction of levees with parish and state resources for the sake of all of Terrebonne while we wait on the federal government, but I will also make sure that everything possible is done within the 6th District to ensure that the growth of drainage infrastructure keeps up with the expansion of Terrebonne’s light industry into District 6.”

As director of the YMCA, Falgout said, she has doubled the entity’s revenues, bringing stability to what was a “fledgling organization.”

She is married to energy consultant Drake Falgout, and is the daughter of Rickey Giroir and Charlene Chaisson Giroir. The family is active in worship at St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church.

Falgout