Take a night out to meet the candidates

With election time nearing, St. Charles Parish residents should take advantage of the Meet the Candidates night Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Hahnville High School.

Sponsored by the St. Charles Business Association and River Region Chamber of Commerce, the event will give residents an opportunity to meet those who want to serve them and hear them explain how they would conduct the offices they seek in the Oct. 22 primary election.

Eleven candidates have been invited to attend the event and they will each answer two questions posed by this newspaper and the two sponsoring organizations.

Parish President V.J. St. Pierre and Councilman Billy Raymond, who are both seeking the parish’s highest office, have been invited. Other candidates include Tab Troxler and Councilman Terry Authement, who are both running for assessor, and clerk of court candidates Charlie Oubre, Lance Marino and Fenwick Swann III.

Additionally, four candidates for the parish’s two Councilman At-Large seats have been invited. Those include current Councilman At-Large, Division A Carolyn Schexnaydre and her challenger, Jeanne Hall, along with Clayton “Snookie” Faucheux and Kenny Schmill, who are both running for Councilman At-Large, Division B.

 Considering that those elected will be serving us for several years, getting to know them personally and find out how they will serve should help us know who can do the better job of holding the office during those years. And it should also help the candidates get a feel of what the public would expect of them and set their sights on fulfilling it.

So take an evening out next week and do your duty as a citizen of St. Charles Parish. It doesn’t happen often but such an opportunity can go a long way in building a better parish.