District 4 candidates meet at forum

Recreation, the Urban Land Institute’s economic development study and economic diversification were on the minds of the three men running for the Morgan City Council during Tuesday’s St. Mary Chamber of Commerce forum at the city’s municipal auditorium.
The primary for the special election, called after James Fontenot resigned his District 4 seat because of a job change, will be Nov. 6. Jarrod Wiggins, Steve Domangue and John M. DuBois have qualified.
The deadline for registering to vote in person is Oct. 9. You can register using the GeauxVote portal until Oct. 16. Early voting is Oct. 23-30, excluding Sunday, at registrar of voters offices.
A Chamber forum for Patterson mayor, council and police chief candidates is set for 5:30 p.m. Thursday at the Patterson Area Civic Center.
The candidates for District 4:
—Jarrod Wiggins stressed his status as a family man. One of the randomly assigned questions from the public asked what he would do with a $1 million grant. His answer: Improve recreation.
“If you invest a million dollars in recreation programs, I think that would solve a lot of problems,” Wiggins said.
He’d put anything left over into infrastructure.
Wiggins promised to be accessible.
“I want people to know that they can call me ...,” Wiggins said.
—Steve Domangue, a manager at Cannata’s in Morgan City for 31 years, said he hopes to work with St. Mary Excel, the nongovernmental organization that recently raised money for an Urban Land Institute study of economic development opportunities in Morgan City and Berwick.
He said the waterfront, front street and the area extending to Lawrence Park are valuable assets for Morgan City.
Another question asked whether Domangue favors government consolidation in St. Mary Parish.
“That would take a lot,” he said. “To sell that throughout the parish would be a tough sell.”
Domangue emphasized his involvement in the American Petroleum Institute and the Chamber and is former Rotary Citizen of the Year.
—John Dubois said his priorities include flood protection in Lakeside Subdivision, keeping the local waterway open and economic diversification.
“If a business comes in to invest in use, we as a public have to invest in ourselves,” DuBois said.
DuBois said he’d dive into the “nuts and bolts” of the city budget to help keep the city on a firm financial footing.