In the Calcasieu Parish Police Juror race, Brian Abshire, District 2; “Ron” Hayes, District 1; Chris Landry, District 7; “Tony” Stelly, District 10; Roger Marcantel, District 11, Judd Bares, District 12; Joe Andrepont, District 13; “Randy” Burleigh, District 14 and “Tony” Tramonte, District 15 are unopposed.

Mack Dellafosse Jr. and incumbent Tony Guillory are in the race for District 4. In District 9, incumbent Anthonie Bartie and Felicia Frank are on the ballot. In District 8, it’s Mary Kaye Eason, Emily Fenet-Parker and Scott Washington going after Guy Brame’s seat, which he held for 18 years.

The American Press asked Calcasieu Parish Police Jury candidates to answer the same two-part question to help voters in their districts make up their minds on Saturday, Oct. 14. The question: ‘If you are limited to accomplishing only one goal if you are elected to office, what is the one thing you would like to accomplish, and how would you do it?’ 

Here are the responses from Police Jury District 8 candidates:

Mary Kaye Eason

As a candidate for the Calcasieu Parish Police Jury, my top priority is transportation infrastructure. It’s a concern parish-wide, but it’s especially pronounced in rapidly developing District 8 in South Lake Charles. I would like to build for where we’re going, not just catch up to where we are. Doing this will require both long-term thinking and collaboration between the parish, the city and the state to bring our roadways and related infrastructure into the 21st century and beyond. My record of service with local, regional and statewide entities has prepared me well to pursue those forward-thinking efforts and collaborations.

As a police juror, I hope to look at the big picture – not just this intersection or this sidewalk – but what are the ripple effects? How can we make our roads work for everyone who uses them? For example, planned LNG facilities will bring much-needed jobs and revenues…but also traffic to my district. Let’s prepare to make the most of this opportunity by staying ahead of the curve. Are our roads ready for the number of additional people using them? How can we minimize impacts to the neighborhoods along the way and improve traffic flow for them? Projects like these deserve a dose of innovation engineering – finding the best solution by looking worldwide, beyond our parish, and making it even better when we implement it here. I want to see Calcasieu Parish become that gold standard.

Emily Fenet-Parker

To fulfill the promise of the Calcasieu Parish Police Jury Mission Statement every single day that I represent and serve the people of District 8 – “to provide the people of Calcasieu Parish with high-quality services and actions that benefit present and future generations throughout Southwest Louisiana”.

To accomplish this, I will (1) Be the squeaky wheel for the people of District 8, always vocal about the issues that matter and work diligently to find solutions. (2) Prioritize long-term planning with fellow jurors and staff to take District 8 and Calcasieu

Parish from good to great.(3) As Calcasieu Parish grows, work with fellow jurors and staff to ensure that current ordinances are enforced and support changes that foster progress. (4) Collaborate with fellow jurors, staff, and community partners to find solutions to

the greatest challenges facing Calcasieu Parish, including drainage, litter, and continued

recovery efforts, and (5)Pledge to always be available to listen, answer questions, discuss challenges, and keep residents in District 8 informed. Call or email me and I will always respond.

As a lifelong resident of Calcasieu Parish, I will serve this district and parish with integrity and care. Serving District 8 and Calcasieu Parish would be an honor. I promise to always be available and always be your voice as we raise the next generation in the place we proudly call home!

Scott Washington

It would be easy to pick some grand visionary topic to pontificate. I choose to offer this. Eliminate “one off” single subject “special” tax elections and renewals at the local level.

These elections are expensive to conduct and there is absolutely no reason these matters should not be decided as part of the broader general election process.

Taxes that might have, and have had very different results in a broader general election are often then voted in, as a result of very low turnout “special” elections.

The result is that new taxes are imposed on everyone by a very few.

Taxes that are voted on for capital projects never seem to go away. We are always asked to renew the tax even after the bond obligation has been fulfilled.

The solution is doable, reasonable and fair: Follow the example of the Louisiana Legislature. Only address tax matters every other year, put them all on the ballot at one time and let the voters decide one time. This would require the taxing bodies to justify their operating budgets for renewals and eliminate “special one off” tax elections that take place as a result of matters that were rejected by the voters on whom the tax was to be levied in an earlier general election.