Update: Lafourche prosecutor Jennifer Richard wins local judge seat unopposed

Jennifer Richard, first assistant district attorney in Lafourche, won election to a parish judge seat after no one signed up to run against her.

Richard, a Republican from Thibodaux, will replace Lafourche district judge Steven Miller, who was elected in November to a seat on the Louisiana First Circuit Court of Appeal. Richard will fill the remainder of Miller's term, which expires Dec. 31, 2024.

Candidate signups, or qualifying, for the March 25 began Wednesday and ended at 4:30 p.m. Friday at local clerk of court's offices.

In other local races, three candidates signed up to run for a vacant Terrebonne Parish Council seat, one candidate won a seat on the Greater Lafourche Port Commission after no one opposed him, and two are vying for another seat on the port board.

“It’s been a great honor and privilege to serve the citizens of Lafourche Parish as a prosecutor for the past twenty years,” Richard said in Wednesday in a campaign announcement. “I’m excited for the opportunity to continue my service as a district court judge, and I am humbly asking the citizens of this parish to give me that chance in the upcoming special election.”

Richard has served as first assistant to Lafourche District Attorney Kristine Russell since 2017.  She joined the District Attorney’s Office in 2002 and has handled all aspects of criminal prosecutions during her tenure.

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Richard is a board member of the Louisiana District Attorney’s Association. She holds seats on the Fletcher Criminal Justice Advisory Board as well as the Lafourche Children and Youth Planning Board.

“As an assistant district attorney, I have spent much of my career in the courtroom," Richard said. "This experience has taught me that justice is about protecting our community, healing victims of crime and even rehabilitating offenders, when possible. Fairness is of the utmost importance to me, and if I am elected, I will work to accomplish the goals of justice with compassion, fairness and respect to all who come before me.”

A lifelong resident of Lafourche Parish, Richard is a 1994 graduate of Central Lafourche High School and a 1997 graduate of Nicholls State University. She earned her law degree from Tulane Law School in 2001.

She served as a law clerk for former Lafourche judge Bruce Simpson before beginning her career as a prosecutor.

Richard and her husband, Jarod Richard, have been married 22 years and have three three children, Rae, Max and Emmi. They are parishioners of St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in Thibodaux.

Here's a rundown of the other local races:

Terrebonne Parish Council seat

Democrats Tony Lewis, Brien Pledger and Fee Richard signed up to run for the District 1 seat on the Terrebonne Parish Council. The position, which represents parts of east and central Houma, opened after longtime member John Navy resigned in November to take a job at a local nonprofit.

Former Councilman Alvin Tillman is filling the District 1 seat as an interim councilman until the special election is held.

The winner of the March 25 election will fill the remainder of Navy's term, which expires Dec. 31. If no candidate gets more than half the vote in March, the top two finishers will compete in an April 29 runoff election.

All nine council seats are up for election Oct. 14 for four-year terms that start Jan. 1.

Lafourche Port Commission

Thomas Pitre III, a Republican from Golden Meadow, will fill the District B seat on the Greater Lafourche Port Commission after signing up unopposed.

Reggie Ledet of Cut Off and Dean Savoie of Golden Meadow, both Republicans, will compete in the March 25 election for the board's District E seat.

Pitre and the winner of the District E seat will fill vacancies on the nine-member board, with terms that expire Dec. 31, 2024.

To cast ballots in March, residents who have not already done so must register by Feb. 22 by mail or at the Lafourche Registrar of Voters' Office or by March 4 at the Louisiana Secretary of State's Office's website, geauxvote.com.

This article originally appeared on Daily Comet: Lafourche prosecutor Jennifer Richard wins local judge seat