Lake Charles Mayor Randy Roach leaves office this week after a stellar career as a Louisiana public servant. It has been my pleasure to witness and evaluate his tenure in public office since he was elected to the Legislature in 1987.

However, it is Randy Roach the individual and friend who has impressed me the most. He is a man of principle who believes in and practices Christian values. We have discussed public and personal issues with one another on many occasions.

Before deciding to run for the Legislature, Roach had served as assistant Lake Charles city attorney and was deeply involved in the transition of the former Chennault Air Force Base into what is now a booming Chennault International Airport.

While there have been a few exceptions, Southwest Louisiana has sent exceptional legislators to Baton Rouge. Reporters at the state Capitol have asked me often how that has happened, and I have consistently given credit to the voters who send them there.

Fellow lawmakers and others who visited Roach during his first legislative session in 1988 spoke often about seeing Roach poring over bills spread all over the floor in his apartment.

“You can’t read ‘em all,” they would tell Roach, but he was determined to try. He has been just as determined in every pursuit in which he has been involved.

That determination wasn’t misplaced. The late John Maginnis called Roach the rookie of the year in his list of the best and worst legislators in 1988. He said Roach was an overwhelming choice, “the perfect freshman.” Maginnis said Roach worked hard in committee, read the bills, asked good questions, “and when he does speak on the House floor, he gets attention.”

Roach gave this corner of the state another shot in the arm when he was named the most effective of the state’s 144 legislators that same year. The decision came after those lawmakers, 189 staff members, 349 registered lobbyists, 161 high-ranking members of the executive branch and 41 unpaid lobbyists returned surveys asking them to rate the lawmakers.

Legislators were rated on their attentiveness, intelligence, vision, courtesy and honesty/integrity. The Baton Rouge Sunday Advocate gave the story front page coverage and said Roach, then 37, “impressed legislators, lobbyists and laymen with his soft-spoken style and non-combative approach during his first session of crisis lawmaking.”

Roach and Reps. Dennis Stine of Lake Charles and Allen Bradley of DeRidder were among 14 legislators who scored 4.0 or better on a 5-point scale. Roach scored 4.5, Stine, 4.3, and Bradley, 4.1. Other area legislators also scored well.

Roach told John LaPlante of the newspaper about the willingness of legislators to take chances.

“Some of the things we do will prove to be incorrect,” Roach said. But you can’t just wring your hands. If you sit back and don’t do anything, that’s when you’ve failed.”

LaPlante asked Roach about being nicknamed “Ward Cleaver,” the model dad of  the “Leave it to Beaver” TV show.

“I might be a little more reserved than other politicians are,” Roach said. “I have a tendency to move cautiously.”

Therein explains the only serious critical comment I have ever heard about Roach. Even his friends get exasperated with him at times for taking too long to make some decisions. I think he realizes that, but he isn’t going to make any rash judgments.

Roach incurred the wrath of former Gov. Edwin W. Edwards in 1993 when legislators from this area refused to go along with tax increases Edwards wanted. Roach was the main target.

“… Wait until Randy Roach hears about what happens to Moss Regional and McNeese. He’ll pay attention because he’ll hear from the people back home,” Edwards said.

Edwards was never happy when he didn’t get his way.

Former Lake Charles Mayor Willie Mount was another great public official and when she was elected to the state Senate in 1999, Roach ran for mayor. He won the special election with 60 percent of the vote, was unopposed in 2001, re-elected in 2005 with 88 percent of the vote, in 2009 with 78 percent of the vote and was unopposed in 2013.

I have known many public officials during the 56 years I have been with the American Press, and I can’t think of anyone who has been more dedicated than Randy Roach. Whenever there was a public event in this city, he was always there.

I know his wife, Nancy, is looking forward to having more time with her husband. I also know Roach wants to enjoy more time with his children and grandchildren.

However, don’t expect Roach to ever lose his sense of duty to his city, state and country. While he may have some critics — most of us do — we can all appreciate the fact he has been “a good and faithful servant.”Lake Charles Mayor Randy RoachFacebook