Candidates gather for first forum of season

Candidates for Eunice and St. Landry Parish offices had three minutes each to sell themselves to the electorate at a forum sponsored Thursday night by the Chamber of Commerce and the LSU Eunice Student Government Association.
The format posed a different question to each candidate, giving them 180 seconds to extemporaneously respond, as well as add whatever else they could squeeze into the allotted time. Candidates took the podium in alphabetical order; the questions were drafted by the sponsoring groups prior to the forum.
The chief of police race seemed to draw particular interest from the crowd. There are five men in the race, including the incumbent.
Retired detective Raymond “Bubba” Cole was asked how he would combat the drug problem.
He said continuing education of narcotics’ pitfalls is part of the answer as is the need for help from citizens telling police who is doing it. “Not everyone is doing drugs. We can get that small number,” he said.
Cole said the kind of citizen response that is needed is predicated on public support. “The public has lost respect for the department. I will treat people right and we’ll get that back,” he said.
Chief Ronald Dies, seeking a second term, was asked if there was a policy or regulation he would like to change and why.
He said his department’s biggest problem is money, more precisely the lack of enough of it to pay officers what he considers a fair, competitive salary.
“Without it, we can’t get the people we want to provide the service you deserve,” he said as he recounted economic difficulties many of his officers face.
Dies noted three planks of his previous campaign -- solve a long-standing murder case, fight drugs, improve the department. He noted the first was accomplished and asserted progress had been made on the latter two.
Randy Fontenot was asked about officer oversight. He said the department has policies and Civil Service regulations he would use in managing the department. “You can get a lot accomplished by using them right,” he said.
He agreed the pay is “deplorable”, but disagreed that the city can’t get qualified recruits. “Leadership is a factor, and we don’t have it,” he said.
Joseph “Jo Jo” Reed was asked what he considers the biggest problem facing the chief and what he would do to address it.
“The biggest problem is the young officers out there. It reflects on the chief even though he is not causing the problem,” he said, adding he would try to pursue officer hires who are 25 or older in order to get more mature men and women in uniform
Reed also said military background, in his opinion, did not necessarily make for a good officer. “Some of them have issues; we need to investigate more,” he said.
Bart Thibodeaux was asked if he had any plan to combat the youth drug problem.
He said continuing efforts in the education realm are necessary, and said he thought the department needs to interact with other parishes and agencies on the enforcement end.
“We do need to get more officers into the schools. Our high school kids are having a hard time with choices now,” Thibodeaux said.
Questions for judicial candidates are, by necessity, general in nature because they cannot talk about specific cases, sentences, etc.
City judge candidate Paul Brown was asked about any plans he might have for using education and reform to reduce crime.
He feels there are lots of ways to “bring my knowledge and values to bear in the community.” Specifically, the reform will come through the juvenile courts and he plans to initiate a juvenile drug court similar to what exists in a few other Louisiana jurisdictions.
Jay Caswell was asked about any plans to enhance or change how city court operates.
He said he thinks retiring Judge Lynette Feucht and her predecessor and father Nilas Young have established policy and procedure that meets the needs of the community, but that’s not to suggest he would do things the same way.
“Scheduling would be addressed,” he said, noting sometimes night courts runs well past midnight. He said a major change could occur if the city was “fortunate enough to have the current limits increased.”
He said that would allow the court to do more to resolve city disputes and in many cases reduce the time it takes to get a matter legally resolved.
Josie Frank was asked the best way to deter first-time offenders from a life of criminal activity.
She said her vision is to reduce recidivism. “We need to offer options on how to get offenders out of the system,” she said, citing such as a program to allow drop-outs to complete high school education, because “education is the way out.
Frank also said the court needs to offer such constructive classes as parenting and anger management as it works to reduce the return rate.
Terry Hoychick was asked how the thinks the court system should work with law enforcement.
He took note of the working relationship between the two, stressing enforcement has to be done correctly in order for the court to do its job.
“I can help by getting with the police department and city marshal’s office and offering instruction if there are any issues. The judge will know if there are such issues (as cases get to the courtroom),” he said.
Hoychick also said there is a need for pro-active intervention, getting to kids before there is a problem. “The judge can go with the cops and teach children that these are not bad people and teach them the right way to lead a life,” he said.
The parish race drawing attention is that contest for district attorney. Incumbent Earl Taylor and challenger Ellis Daigle are waging a back-and-forth media campaign.
Daigle, who stepped down this year as a district judge in order to run for DA, was asked how St. Landry compares to other parishes in number of trials and sentencing of criminals.
He asserted that when compared to jurisdictions of equal size, St. Landry “is not having the prosecution needed to fight crime. As ST. Landry residents your are in danger. That’s what led me to step down and run,” he said.
Daigle decried a pre-trial division program mean for non-violent first offenders that he said is not being used that way and that put $1.4 million into the DA Office funds last year in the way of fees and charges paid by offenders.
“There is a lack of prosecution, with only one trial since October 2013. Citizens are in danger because of this failure to prosecute” leaving criminals on the streets, Daigle said.
Taylor, completing 18 years in office, was asked what he perceives as the highest concern of a DA and how would he combat that concern.
“Making sure victims are protected” is the leading concern, he said. “We prosecute cases,” he said, noting more than 4,000 convictions over the past six years.
“Trial or pleading, it makes no difference. We’ve had over 500 felony convictions this year. Trial by jury, by judge or pleading. It makes no difference, it’s all the same and ends up with the judge,” Taylor said.
He noted advantages of resolving before going to trial include cost savings as well as more convenience for potential witnesses, jurors, etc.
“We are the voice of the victim and make sure justice is done,” Taylor said.
Two candidate are seeking the judge seat vacated by Daigle.
Gerard Caswell was asked how he would address keeping young people on the streets facing criminal charges from becoming statistics.
He said young people are going to get in trouble if not in school. “We can work with the schools and the DA’s Office,” he said, noting that 24 years as the School Board’s attorney gives him an entree with educators, as well as first-hand knowledge of education issues.
Those years as board counsel are indicative of what Caswell told the audience the judge’s post needs -- experience.
Scherri Guidry, who is misdemeanor senior assistant for Lafayette Parish and lives in St. Landry, was asked how a judge determines when to be lenient and when to take take a hard line.
Noting there are exceptions due to the severity of a crime, she said, “Everyone should have the opportunity for a second chance. A judge has to look at mitigating circumstances, at the life, the circumstances and the law,” she said.
City Marshal Terry Darbonne was asked about any plans to increase or decrease services his office does.
He mentioned neither increasing
e or decreasing during a review of what his office does.
Challenger Ronnie Valenta was asked what he perceives as one of the highest concerns of a city marshal and what would he do regarding it.
He said he would check out going to fires, writing tickets and such as things that aren’t the marshal’s function, saying the marshal’s office is an arm of city court, not the police department. He would like to re-instate the Junior Marshal’s program.
Long-time At-large alderman Jack Burson was asked how he sees the relationship between the economy and the city’s growth management.
He noted he is working with the administration for funding economic development efforts.
“We need to help young people develop technical skills needed by locally owned companies,” he said.
Challenger Chawana Fontenot was asked if there is any city legislation she is interested in the City Council enacting, revising or repealing.
She said there is a lot in the City Code book that doesn’t apply today.
She said during her 12 years as a council member (she ran for mayor in 2010) the city made laws to meet changing needs.
She said she didn’t know of any that she would repeal but granted she doesn’t know them all.
Ward 1 council candidate Jason Bertrand said road conditions are the number one issue in that district.
Jeremy Ortego said the most-needed improvement is fixing up Harris Park, with drainage second.
Marshall Thibodeaux said he would evaluate and use proper protocol to get the job done when getting a complaint. He said municipal grass-cutting is a problem city-wide.
Ward 3 candidate Marion “Nootsie” Sattler said 20 years’ business experience would help him address city issues, including roads and drainage.
Incumbent James “Junior” Bergeron did not attend due to a death in the family.
School Board Dist. 12 candidate Donna Baltakis said Common Core is an issue to be decided at the state level, not the board level, adding she does agree with establishing measurable standards.
Albert “Al” Hayes, Jr. said the board-superintendent relationship is the board hires, then evaluates on the basis of policy implementation.
Roland Miller said if approached with a school concern he would take ti to the proper party at the central office or wherever else he had to go.
District 12 challenger Mary Donatto said her primary objective is increasing the parish’s dismal graduation rate (65 percent).
Incumbent Harry Fruge said he works with other board members envious of Eunice schools to help their schools improve.