After facing no opposition, State Senate President Joel Chaisson II will be the new St. Charles Parish district attorney starting next year.
Chaisson, a Destrehan resident, was the only person to qualify in the special election for the seat.
“I’m extremely grateful that my colleagues felt confident enough in the job that I would do as district attorney that none of them chose to seek the office themselves,” Chaisson said. “I’m extremely grateful to have this opportunity to serve the people of St. Charles Parish…and I plan to work very hard to do a good job to justify the confidence that they have placed in me.”
Chaisson is a graduate of the University of New Orleans and Louisiana State University Law Center. He has been involved with politics since he was 23 years old – first as a St. Charles Parish councilman in 1983, then as a member of the Louisiana House and later the Laouisiana Senate. But he has always kept the St. Charles district attorney position in the back of his mind.
“It’s always been something that I have given a lot of consideration,” Chaisson said. “I thought that if the opportunity ever arose that I would like very much to do that.”
Chaisson said that his experience in politics, especially as Senate President, should help him in his new position.
“Being president of the Senate in some very difficult economic times has been quite a challenge,” he said. “In managing an office the size of our district attorney’s office, I think those times I struggled to balance the state’s budget will come in handy…to make sure the resources are spent wisely and we get the most bang for our buck.”
Chaisson will take office on June 1, 2012 but plans to spend the next few months meeting with retiring District Attorney Harry Morel to learn more about the job.
“I’ll be using that time to meet with our current district attorney…to discuss the operations of the office and make sure that I hit the ground running,” Chaisson said.
The seat opened up when Morel decided to retire after more than three decades as district attorney, in part so that his daughter, Michelle Morel, could run for judge in the 29th Judicial District.
Michelle Morel qualified for the seat this week with opposition from Tim Marcel of Destrehan. Both are local attorneys.
The judge’s seat is on the March 24 ballot because Judge Robert Chaisson, Joel’s brother, was elected to the state 5th Circuit Court of Appeal earlier this year. Whoever wins the election will serve until 2014 – the remainder of Robert Chaisson’s term.
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