Four qualify for Melville mayor following incumbent's death on election day

The difficulties currently facing the Town of Melville might appear too immeasurable to fix, yet four mayoral candidates who qualified for an unusual Dec. 10 election say they are dedicated to finding solutions for financially resurrecting the municipality of about 1,000 people.

A Nov. 8 Election Day vehicle accident in Port Barre, which killed incumbent Mayor Velma Hendrix, 84, threw the Melville mayoral election into turmoil, as the votes for her and two other women Shelia “Sam” Londerno and Caretta Robertson, who qualified in July were counted but invalidated.

The death of Hendrix, whose funeral was scheduled in Melville on Friday afternoon, meant that qualifying for mayor was reopened after Nov. 8 according to state law and two other candidates Melissa Montgomery and Robert Barnette will campaign along with Londerno and Robertson over the next three and a half weeks.

In separate interviews on Thursday, each of the candidates agreed it won’t be easy crafting improvements for Melville, which is currently without a bank, a gas station, sufficient retail outlets or a pharmacy.

The Current Situation

In addition, an August review of town finances by the State Legislative Auditor’s Office showed that Melville town officials had failed in some cases to collect customer payments over a seven-month period for utilities, leaving the town at that point with a cash liability of $460,000.

Town accountant Donald Ford said in a Daily World interview in August that Melville has been able to survive financially primarily due to an influx of American Rescue Act funding that is being provided due to lost municipal revenues over the past year.

Parish President Jessie Bellard has said that St. Landry Parish government has been willing to help Melville sustain its viability in order to remain functioning with a town government.

Four members of the Melville Town Council were reelected during the Nov. 8 election and councilwoman Linda Haynes has served as mayor pro-tempore until a new mayor is elected.

What The Candidates Are Saying

Montgomery, Londerno and Robertson each said that they have lived in Melville all their lives and are aware of the endemic problems facing the town.

“We have many problems with roads, water issues and a need to get our businesses back. To make improvements it’s going to take more than a mayor and a Council. We have to have the whole town on board to make it work,” Montgomery said.

Londerno received the most votes (182) in the Nov. 8 election. Robertson claimed 171, while Hendrix had 70.

“We’re into a crucial position right now. We do need to get our finances back into compliance with the state. Our financial situation should be the top priority and that will mean getting the (utility) bills out every month. People can’t pay bills if they don’t receive their bills,” said Londerno.

Like Montgomery, Londerno emphasizes that once a mayor is elected in Melville, financial recovery won’t be achieved without a unified effort from the citizens.

Robertson said there is a need for the town water system to obtain funding to install a meters that will calculate water and other utility usages.

“Once we can get (water consumption measured) then we need to turn to seeking grants that should be available and that will help our infrastructure and provide us with more programs for our youths, adults and the elderly,” Robertson said.

Barnette said he chose to run for mayor because the town in his words “needs help.”

“I see people here looking for jobs, but the only jobs that people have are given to them by rich people. Our roads need to be fixed. The whole town needs to be repaired,” Barnette added.

Barnette alleged during the interview that the town is now owned by a cabal of wealthy individuals who he claimed are purchasing all the property inside the town.

In order to win the election, Barnette said he is seeking the help of Republican officeholders.

Robertson said there also needs to be encouragement by town officials to secure more businesses to increase sales taxes.

“It looks like when the pandemic came in, that’s when things really went down. People go out of town now to do their banking. When they do that, they tend to shop for other things in places where they do the banking, like Opelousas and other towns,” Robertson maintained.

Montgomery said she decided to qualify last week because she now has time to be a full-time mayor.

“I guess it was a spur-of-the-moment decision. I’m 53 years old and have lived (in Melville) all my life. I don’t have anyone at home, so I can dedicate myself to improving the town,” Montgomery said.

Londerno said she feels it is her purpose at this point in her life to assist in the recovery of the town.

All of the issues confronting Melville at this point won’t have immediate solutions, Londerno said.

“It’s going to be gradual, baby steps. What has happened did not happen overnight,” Londerno noted.

This article originally appeared on Opelousas Daily World: 4 candidates running for Melville mayor after incumbent's death