Dragna sworn in as mayor; council members take oaths for new term

New Morgan City Mayor Lee Dragna officially took the reins of Morgan City’s top office Monday evening as he was sworn in as the city’s new mayor at the Morgan City Municipal Auditorium.
Dragna, along with the five-member council, each took the oath of office before they began their four-year terms with a short meeting.
“I look forward to all of us together, bringing this city forward …” Dragna said.
He thanked outgoing Mayor Frank “Boo” Grizzaffi for his eight years of service to the city.
Before the swearing in, Grizzaffi presided over a brief meeting as his final act as mayor.
“I spent eight years as the mayor of Morgan City and couldn’t be more proud of what we accomplished as an administration,” he said in his final remarks. “I know I showed up for work every day and did the best I could.”
In his remarks, Grizzaffi thanked the council, his chief administrative officer, Marc Folse, and his family. Folse also is retiring, and Dragna appointed Charlie Solar Jr. to replace him.
“Charlie Solar is basically like me,” Dragna said following the meeting. “When projects need to get done, everybody calls Charlie. Everybody in the city calls Charlie to do projects, and if I can have Charlie oversee some things while I’m concentrating on funding and planning other projects, I believe we’ll be able to move at a much faster pace of getting projects done that need to be done.”
Solar is the only new mayoral appointment as the following department heads will remain in place: Paul Landry, city attorney; Leo Landry, city prosecutor; Gerrie Besse, archives and library; Deborah Garber, finance director; Alvin Cocker-ham, fire chief; James Blair, police chief; Mike Loupe, public works director; Dwayne Barbier, Recreation and Culture director; and Bill Cefalu Sr., utilities director.
Also, the Rev. Ron Bias was elected as mayor pro-tempore, and Debbie Harrington was selected as clerk of the council.
In other action Monday, the council approved:
—The appointment of Dragna to the Board of Directors of the Louisiana Energy and Power Authority and Cefalu as alternate director.
—Signatures for city bank accounts.