Women break Parish Council glass ceiling

Elections that took place on Oct. 12 for St. Mary Parish brought something new to the St. Mary Parish Council: women.
“Since St. Mary Parish adopted the St. Mary Parish Home Rule Charter in 1984, only men have been elected to serve on the council,” said Henry C. “Bo” Lagrange, chief administrative officer of St. Mary Parish Government, in a phone interview.
Before the charter, St. Mary Parish was governed by a police jury that served as both the executive and legislative branch of government.
“At least one woman, Matilda “Tee” Aloisio, served on the Police Jury,” Lagrange said.
Since the Home Rule Charter, council members have served as the legislative branch of government, and the president serves as the head of the executive branch.
Women have stepped in as interim council members to fill the position of an elected official when they were unable to perform their duties. But, none have been voted into the position, until now.
The 2019 elections saw Dr. Kristi Prejeant winning a spot on St. Mary Parish Council at-large seat for District 9, successfully becoming the first woman elected to serve on the council.
That title was quickly followed by the second woman, Gwendolyn Hidalgo, who beat Jeremy Chesteen by 128 votes in a nail-biting runoff election Nov. 16 for the Parish Council at-large seat for District 10.
Hidalgo was born and raised in St. Mary Parish. Prejeant was born and raised in New Orleans. Both currently live and work in St. Mary Parish.
Hidalgo works for Sicard Atchafalaya Dentistry as the office manager, and Prejeant is a general surgeon who practices at Franklin Foundation Hospital and Ochsner St. Mary.
Hidalgo’s husband, Glen Hidalgo, served on St. Mary Parish Council for 12 years.
“I followed him around and I thought I can make these decisions and with a woman’s point of view on certain things. … They needed some diversity on the council. They need some women up there,” Hidalgo said.
Prejeant agrees with her. “Woman are the jugglers. We work to balance our homes and work life, which gives us the right mindset to bring in more of a community- and family-based approach to the council work. They need diversification on the council, more of a vast coverage of representation.”
According to research done by the Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions, there is a clear difference in men and women’s legislative styles and their policy priorities. There is also strong evidence that as more women are elected to office, there is an increase in policy-making that emphasizes quality of life and reflects the priorities of families, of which both were issues Hidalgo and Prejeant focused as their wants to improve for St. Mary Parish.
Both candidates stressed that they wanted to be a “voice for the people.”
“It is time that good people with good ideas and honesty stand up for people in the parish,” Prejeant said. “I felt like I had to make a difference. The recent hospital issues pushed me over to run, but it’s not just hospital issues that need to be addressed. …
“I am approaching this with a broad-spectrum approach. I cannot make promises, but I am approaching with an open mind to grow the community with new business and grow the medical community,” Prejeant continued.
Hidalgo said she also is approaching with an openness and desire to work with the council to address the needs of the parish. “I’m not going in with my own agenda. I want to be a voice for the people, I want to speak up and meet in small groups with people and hear their concerns to bring the parish forward,” Hidalgo said.
“We need to get some changes going, the old way of running things needs to change and we need to work together to find some solutions to what can we bring new to the parish,” Hidalgo continued.
Hidalgo said amongst the new and old council members she has met with the general consensus is “we all want to work together, let’s see what we can do and what we can move forward. Let’s see about our drainage, roads and infrastructure, what can we do to draw business and diversify? I don’t see the oil industry coming back like it was so I think we need to figure out how to move forward for our future.”
The date the new council members will be sworn in is Jan. 13, 2020.