Assessor Longman, Coroner Melancon head back to office along with three council incumbents

Three men seeking parishwide offices and three St. Mary Parish Council incumbents will take office in the 2024-28 term after qualifying for the Oct. 14 primary last week without opposition.

Parish voters will still have many races to consider on the primary ballot.

The solo qualifiers are incumbent Coroner Dr. Eric Melancon and incumbent Assessor Jarrod K. Longman, both of Morgan City, and former Judge Greg Aucoin, who qualified for clerk of court.

Longtime Clerk Cliff Dressel has announced his retirement. Melancon was elected to a first term as coroner in time for the COVID pandemic, which claimed more than 250 lives in St. Mary.

The parish president post is being vacated by David Hanagriff, who is term-limited. Former Franklin Mayor and state Rep. Sam Jones and Timothy "Tim" LeBlanc, both of Franklin, have qualified.

Sheriff Blaise Smith has announced that he's leaving office. Four sheriff candidates have emerged: current Chief Deputy Gary Driskell of Morgan City; Jason Granger and Kenny P. Scelfo, both of Franklin; and Cody J. Thibodaux of Patterson.

On the Parish Council, two incumbents representing at-large districts will return to office: Dr. Kristi Prejeant of Centerville in District 9 and Dean Adams of Morgan City in District 11.

Gwendolyn "Gwen" Hidalgo of Centerville, the current council chairwoman, represents the third at-large district, District 10. She is being challenged by Angelena Brocato, currently a member of the Hospital Service District No. 2 board, and Reginald D. Weary, Patterson's city accountant.

Each of the at-large districts covers about a third of parish's population. Each is represented by a council member elected by a parishwide vote. The parish charter limits the chairmanship and vice chairmanship of the council to members representing the at-large districts.

Among the eight council members elected from traditional geographic districts, only one -- J Ina of Franklin in District 2 -- qualified without opposition. He is the principal at Franklin Junior High.

Incumbents are being challenged in six of the remaining traditional districts. In a seventh, District 4, three candidates are running to succeed Scott Ramsey of Bayou Vista, who is stepping down. The candidates there are Myron Bourque of Berwick and Javon Charles and David W. Hill, both of Bayou Vista.

State Sen. Bret Allain, R-Frankln, is term-limited, and three candidates have qualified to run for his District 21 seat: businessmen Robert Allain of Franklin and Stephen Swiber of Gibson, and former parish Chief Administrative Officer Henry C."Bo" LaGrange of Patterson.

Incumbent state Rep. Vincent St. Blanc III, R-Franklin, is being challenged by Gloria R. Robertson, D-Franklin, in House District 50, which covers most of St. Mary.

State Rep.Beryl Amedee, R-Gray, qualified without opposition. Her District 51 comes into east St. Mary in the Morgan City area.

The in-person voter registration deadline for the Oct. 14 election is Sept. 13. If you use the GeauxVote online system, you can register until Sept. 23.
Early voting for the Oct. 14 primary will be Sept. 30-Oct. 7, excluding Sunday. Any necessary runoffs will be Nov. 18.

State Senate District 21
—Robert Allain, R-Franklin
—Henry C. “Bo” LaGrange, R-Patterson
—Stephen Swiber, R-Gibson

State House District 50
—Gloria R. Robertson, D-Franklin
—Vincent St. Blanc III, R-Franklin (incumbent)

State House District 51
—Beryl Amedee, R-Gray (incumbent)

Sheriff
—Gary Driskell, Morgan City
—Jason Granger, Franklin
—Kenny P. Scelfo, Franklin
—Cody J. Thibodaux, Patterson

Clerk of Courrt
—Greg Aucoin, Morgan City

Assessor
—Jarrod K. Longman, Morgan City (incumbent)

Coroner
--Eric Melancon, MorganCity (incumbent)

Parish President
—Sam Jones, Franklin
—Timothy "Tim" LeBlanc, Franklin

Council District 1
—Herbert “H.B.” Bell, Baldwin
—Craig A. Mathews, Jeanerette (incumbent)

Council District 2
—J Ina, Franklin (incumbent)

Council District 3
—Whitney Bourque, Frankinl
—Rodney Olander, Franklin (incumbent)
—Peter Soprano, Franklin

Council District 4
—Myron Bourque, Berwick
—Javon Charles, Bayou Vista
—David W. Hill, Bayou Vista

Council District 5
—Charles "Butchie" McKinney, Paterson
—Leslie “Les” Rulf, Patterson (incumbent)
—Douglas Streety Jr., Patterson

Council District 6
—Shawn Canty, Berwick
—Patrick J. Hebert, Morgan City (incumbent)

Council District 7
—James “Hammer” Bennett Jr., Morgan City (incumbent)
—James “Jimmy” Davis Jr., Morgan City

Council District 8
—Eriq Blanchard, Morgan City
—Mark A. Duhon, Amelia (incumbent)
—Carlo Gagliano, Amelia

At-Large Council District 9
--Kristi Prejeant, Centerville (incumbent)

At-Large Council District 10
—Angelena Brocato, Patterson
—Gwendolyn “Gwen” Hidalgo, Bayou Vista (incumbent)
—Reginald D. Weary, Patterson

At-Large Council District 11
—Dean Adams, Morgan City (incumbent)

Constable Justice of the Peace Ward 1
--Anna Charles Perry, Charenton