Mayor, School Board races take shape in east St. Mary

One mayor’s race and one race for School Board took shape in east St. Mary on Wednesday, the first day of qualifying for the Nov. 3 primary election.

Qualifying runs through Friday. Early voting will be Oct. 20-27, excluding Sunday.

Slade Sanders, who has already been busy posting signs announcing his candidacy, is challenging incumbent Patterson Mayor Rodney Grogan. They both qualified Wednesday.

Two non-incumbents qualified in both the Patterson and Berwick council races.

In Berwick, Erica S. Brunson and Michael Mike Rodrigue qualified to run for the Town Council alongside incumbents James Richard, Kevin P. Hebert, Colleen Nicklas Askew and Raymond Price. The top five vote-getters will be elected.

The fifth incumbent, Ludness “Lud” Henry, qualified to run for mayor. He would succeed Duval Arthur, who is stepping down after his second term.

In Patterson, Allis Jennings and Dawn Rentrop qualified to run for the City Council along with incumbents Lee A. Condolle, Mamie Soudelier Perry and Miranda Weinbach. Again, the five candidates with the most votes will be elected.

Police Chief Garrett Grogan also qualified to run for re-election.

A former Patterson City Council member, Sandra K. Turner, figures in the School Board race. She qualified to run for the District 5 seat now held by Ginger Griffin, Patterson. Calyn Swords Welch, another Patterson resident, also qualified to run for the District 5 post.

Six incumbents on the 11-member School Board qualified Wednesday, so far without opposition. They are:

--Guienzy Brent, Franklin, District 1

--Current board Vice President Tammy Wilson, Jeanerette, District 2

--Lindsey T. Anslem, Bayou Vista, District 3

--Current board President Alaina Black, Morgan City, District 9

--Andrew V. Mancuso, Morgan City, District 10

--Rhonda Raymond Dennis, Morgan City, District 11

As of Wednesday, Jeffrey “Jeff” Hufstler, Patterson, was the lone candidate to file for the District 6 seat now held by Marilyn P. LaSalle, Patterson.

At the federal level, what was to be a party primary election for the U.S. House turned into a jungle primary after the Supreme Court’s Callais ruling. The ruling threw out one of Louisiana’s two Black-majority U.S. House Districts.

Gov. Jeff Landry suspended the House voting while the Legislature redrew the House map and set the traditional open primary for Nov. 3. As of Wednesday, only incumbent U.S. Rep. Clay Higgins, R-Lafayette, had qualified in the 3rd Congressional District, which covers St. Mary.

The race for U.S. Senate continued to be run as a closed primary. The nominees are U.S. Julia Letlow, R-Baton Rouge, and “Jamie” Davis, D-Ferriday. Letlow beat incumbent U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy in the Republican primary.

Here are the other candidates who qualified Wednesday:

District Judge
16th Judicial District
Court, ES 1, Div. G
--Curtis Sigur, D-New Iberia

District Judge
16th Judicial District
--Roger P. Hamilton Jr., no party, New Iberia

District Judge
16th Judicial District
Court, ES 2, Div. A
--Anthony Thibodeaux, R-St. Martinville

District Judge
16th Judicial District
Court, ES 2, Div. B
--Suzanne de Mahy, R-New Iberia

District Judge
16th Judicial District
Court, ES 2, Div. C
--Vincent J. Borne, R-New Iberia

District Judge
16th Judicial District
--Theodore M. "Trey" Haik III, R-New Iberia

District Judge
16th Judicial District
Court, ES 2, Div. E

--Renee Montegut Louviere, R-New Iberia

District Judge
16th Judicial District
Court, ES 2, Div. F

--Anthony Jude "Tony" Saleme Jr., R-Morgan City

District Attorney
16th Judicial
--"Mike" Haik, R- New Iberia

Franklin City Judge
--No candidates

Morgan City Judge
--No candidates

Franklin City Marshal
--No candidates

Morgan City Marshal
--Teddy Liner, Morgan City

Justice of the Peace
Ward 1
--Benjamin "Ben" Grimm, Jeanerette

Justice of the Peace
Ward 2
--Norma Bouey, Franklin

Justice of the Peace
Ward 4

--Eric Gaudet, Centerville
Justice of the Peace
Ward 5
--No candidates

Justice of the Peace
Ward 7
--Stanley Johnson Jr., Franklin

Justice of the Peace
Ward 8
--Glen Elliott, Morgan City
--Nicole Cherry Landry, Berwick

Justice of the Peace
Ward 9
--Melanie Foret Butcher, Amelia

Justice of the Peace
Ward 10
--Cardell Bowser Ina, Baldwin

Constable
Ward 1
--No candidates

Constable
Ward 2
--Wendy B. Landry, Franklin

Constable
Ward 4
--Larry "Teddy" Deslatte III, Garden City

Constable
--No candidates

Constable
Ward 7
--No candidates

Constable
Ward 8
--Jose M. Salvador Jr., Morgan City
--Andros Williams, Morgan City

Constable
Ward 9
--Joseph "Joey" Foret, Amelia

Constable
Ward 10
--No candidates

Mayor
Baldwin
--Ajani Connor
--Clarence A. Vappie

Chief of Police
Baldwin
--Anthony Gibson

Baldwin
Aldermen
5 to be elected
--Carolyn Bowser
--Amber Richard Tillman