Four vying for Terrebonne Council District 8 seat in Oct. 14 primary
Four people will be on the ballot for the Terrebonne Parish Council District 8 seat.
Voting will take place from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m. Oct. 14. District 8 includes Cocodrie, Chauvin, the Houma airport and some parts of Grand Caillou.
Here's a look at the candidates in alphabetical order:
Kim Chauvin
Kim Chauvin has run a seafood business, David Chauvin's Seafood Company, with her husband, David Chauvin, for 36 years.
If elected, Chauvin said she would focus on recovery from Ida, create recreation programs for children, find ways to lower insurance costs, open education for trade schools and training courses for adults and tackle drug usage through creating recovery centers
"And it doesn't need to just be in my district, it needs to be in this area," she said. "So there will be recovery centers and support groups. Just whatever is needed to recover those people from the addiction and get them to be productive citizens within Terrebonne Parish."
Elrin Fanguy
Native of Chauvin, 69-year-old Erlin Fanguy has worked as a FEMA WSP inspector for four years. Prior to that, Fanguy worked numerous jobs, including the oil field, Acadian Ambulance, and the Terrebonne Parish Sheriff's Office for 27 years.
If elected, he said his focus would be trying to revitalize the communities down the bayou. He said he would like to see community anchors like schools, recreational facilities, banks and businesses. Fanguy said he realizes these are School Board and Recreation District issues, but he would like to see a relationship fostered between the Parish Council and these entities.
"I'm not saying I can change things," he said. "There's eight other council people, and a Parish President and a lot of other boards, but at least I can get my word in. That's pretty much what I am trying to do - voice my concerns and see if there's something I can do. I love what's being done with downtown Houma, but we can't forget about the bayous. There's a lot of people still living down there."
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Chucky Farkas
Chucky Farkas is a lifelong commercial fishermen and a welder of 30 years.
If elected, Farkas said he would focus on trying to reduce flooding, fixing and maintain infrastructure like bridges in Chauvin, and bringing businesses to the south end of the parish.
"Lake Robinson and Lake Boudreaux should have never been put inside this levee system," he said. "They (are) using it as a basin to pump Houma into, but the problem is, when a storm comes on the west side the waters coming to the north. It's gonna flood Chauvin, it's gonna flood Dulac and it's gonna flood the south end of Houma."
Barry Soudelier
Chauvin native Barry Soudelier is 61-years-old and has managed a hunting camp for 32 years. He has served on numerous boards, including Rec. District 8 for more than a decade and the Terrebonne Parish Coastal Zone Management and Land Use Board for roughly five years. He has served on the Houma-Terrebonne Regional Planning Commission for roughly four years and the Bayou Lafourche Freshwater District Board for about four years.
If elected, he said he would oppose any talk of rec consolidation. He would focus on infrastructure and seek ways to improve population retention for the area. He added that he'd also like to help the shrimping industry combat imports.
"I'd like to develop a plan to keep the population down here, because our population is moving north," he said. "That's the problem of why we don't have as many kids in sports - kids are moving north. And that's not something that just started. That's been going on for the past 10 to 15 years. It's going to be a tricky situation for the next decade."
This article originally appeared on The Courier: Four vying for Terrebonne Council District 8 seat in Oct. 14 primary
