Decision Day

Voters will head to the polls on Saturday beginning at 6 a.m. to choose the best candidate for several high-ranking positions, including parish president, clerk of court and assessor.

Strong early voting numbers could mean large turnout Saturday

Almost 10 percent of voters in St. Charles turned out to the polls last week for early voting for parish president and other high-profile offices.

Election Day is this Saturday, Oct. 22.

More than 2,600 voters have cast their ballot so far – about 1,300 Democrats and 950 Republicans have voted. The most parishioners voted early in districts 3 and 6, with the least voting in district 5.

Registrar of Voters Brian Champagne said that the turnout was better than in 2007.

“I think it went very well. We had an excellent turnout,” Champagne said.

Polls will open at 6 a.m. this Saturday, giving voters the chance to determine the future of St. Charles Parish. Polls will close at 8 p.m.

In this month’s elections, Councilman Billy Raymond is running against incumbent Parish President V.J. St. Pierre Jr. Raymond had given no public indication that he intended to run, qualifying for the position on the last day possible and making sure St. Pierre would not run unopposed.

Assessor will be chosen between current Councilman Terry Authement and Tab Troxler, past director of Emergency Preparedness for the parish.

Parishioners will have three choices in the Clerk of Courts race: incumbent Charlie Oubre Jr., attorney Fenwick Swann III and insurance broker Lance Marino. Oubre surprised many when he announced his tenth run for office in July. Swann and Marino are both running on a platform of modernizing the Clerk’s Office, while Oubre hopes to maintain the accomplishments he has made in the office since first being elected in 1978 and protect his employees.

Almost all of the current council members have opponents for their seats. Jeanne Hall is challenging incumbent Carolyn Schexnaydre, Carl Cantrelle Jr. is running against incumbent Shelley Tastet, and Bryan Bedi is up against incumbent Dennis Nuss. Councilman Paul Hogan has been challenged by both Stanley Hebert and Jason Richard. Only two of the current council members will not run as incumbents. Since Authement is running for Assessor, residents will choose between Clayton “Snookie” Faucheaux and Kenny “Gatorman” Schmill. Current Councilman Marcus Lambert will not seek re-election, so voters will decide between Traci Ackerman-Fletcher and Eric Stumpf.

Out of all the local elections, only Sheriff Greg Champagne and Councilman Larry Cochran have been automatically re-elected due to a lack of challengers.

Residents can visit http://voterportal.sos.la.gov to find information on which polling location they should visit. For a sample ballot, see pages 8C, 9C.