Fontenot loses ‘interim’ from mayor’s title

Since November Scott Fontenot has been operating as Eunice’s interim mayor.
With Saturday’s election win, Fontenot is settling into the job as mayor without interim attached to it.
“It seems like it took forever, but it got here quickly,” he said.
“It went fast,” he said. “You know Saturday night was awesome. That was probably one of the best nights of my life.”
On Sunday, Fontenot said he visited with his father, Gary “Goose” Fontenot.
“Twenty years ago he had run for mayor in a special election,” he said.
His father didn’t make the runoff in the election for mayor that Ken Peart eventually won.
But his father went on to serve three terms as police chief.
Fontenot, 33, said he is the youngest mayor to serve Eunice and may be the youngest serving in the state.
And, he said he’s never been far from Eunice.
“I’ve always been in Eunice my whole life,” he said. “I don’t remember ever really leaving Eunice even when I worked construction jobs in New Orleans.”
Fontenot served as interim mayor after former Mayor Claud “Rusty” Moody resigned as his health failed.
Fontenot’s candidacy was challenged in a court case that reached the state’s Supreme Court in January.
On Saturday, 69 percent of those casting ballots elected Fontenot as mayor.
“I almost don’t know what to say,” he said. “I’m just excited. I’m really looking forward to some good things.”
Fontenot is filling Moody’s term which ends in December 2018.
Interviewed Tuesday morning, Fontenot said he told Harry Summerlin, an administrative aide in the mayor’s office, the campaign begins now for the next election.
“We are going to do our job and hopefully the people will have the trust in me again,” he said.
“I want to represent the people and I want to be a servant to them, and I just want to do what is in the best interest of everybody in Eunice,” he said.
“I know I can do the job. I’ve been doing it every day,” he said.
Fontenot continues to express a mixture of pride and amazement at his being elected at his age.
“To be elected mayor of a city this size at my age is almost unheard of,” he said.
“I think that is pretty neat. I think that should be national headlines, but Eunice headlines are good enough for me,” he said.
Fontenot pledges to “move Eunice forward.”
He wants to explore a city-wide paving program and wants to upgrade and maintain existing parks.
“I’d like to see us invest more into our children,” he said.
Fontenot and his wife, Katie, have two children, Anzley, 12, and Wesley, 10. Katie Fontenot is a third-grade teacher at Eunice Elementary.
Fontenot said he is considering adding GPS tracking to city vehicles and adding an e--mail system for department heads to streamline communications.
Fontenot acknowledges pay for city employees is low, but says the money is not in place to afford raises for the 135 employees.
“The reality is our revenues are not what other towns revenues are,” he said.
“We have to find additional sources of revenue whether that is through property tax or by expanding our city limits, but we’ve got to do something,” he said.
On Tuesday, Fontenot’s plans were more immediate. A storm system posed flooding and he put the word out that sandbags were available for residents at the city barn.
“I saw the weather. I know the first week in office you better handle your business,” he said.