Ernest Freyou, left, and Freddie DeCourt, center, watch Romo Romero make a point during the forum Wednesday night.

Iberia Parish President Ernest Freyou defended his administration’s accomplishments over the past three years against the two men challenging his office in October’s election — one a veteran politician and the other a semi-newcomer to politics.

An audience of more than 100 people crowded inside the South Louisiana Community College auditorium Wednesday for the final night of the Fall Political forums staged by the Greater Iberia Chamber of Commerce, Leadership Iberia and The Daily Iberian to hear from Freyou, Romo Romero and Freddie DeCourt.

DeCourt, the youngest of the candidates at 49, was quick-spoken and energetic during the question-and-answer session, noting repeatedly that if elected he would use that energy to drive his administration and the parish forward to the future.

Romero, who is no stranger to local politics, having held offices of police jury president, sheriff and state representative, said despite being 74 years old, he had more “energy” than both his opponents combined.

Likewise, Freyou, who is 72, said age has no effect on his work ethic, citing his childhood on a farm, his time in the military and his boredom during retirement, which drove him to seek public office four years ago.

“Who are we?” Freyou said, looking at both his opponents. “I’m not a career politician, but these guys here have four decades combined in politics. I’m here to do public service work.”

DeCourt said although he serves as mayor pro tem for the city of New Iberia, he is by no means a politician, adding the majority of his career has been spent as a general contractor, expert witness, designer and real estate developer.

“Let’s look past old politics and start new,” DeCourt said. “Both my opponents have had their chance. The result: no growth, no change.”

DeCourt said if elected, he would use the parish-owned Acadiana Regional Airport as a site for a business park, to help spark economic development and create jobs.

For Freyou, economic development has already been his focus, citing the creation of the tax increment finance, or TIF, district along U.S. 90. Plans are in the works to use the tax revenue raised from the TIF to lay the infrastructure, namely sewerage and water lines, along U.S. 90 to attract businesses to the future Interstate 49 corridor.

In addition to economic development, Freyou said the development of levee protection is a must.

Romero said “unity” would be the focus of his administration, namely putting more of a focus on the smaller communities such as Coteau, Delcambre, Loreauville and Jeanerette when allocating money for projects.

Romero took a shot at Freyou’s administration, and alleged more than $1 million was “squandered” in an attempt to create sewerage treatment ponds near the airport.

“We have people arriving on million dollar planes and using Port-a-Lets at Acadiana Regional,” Romero said.

Freyou rebutted, and said that was untrue.

“There was no squandering of a million and a half dollars,” he said. “That money is back in our coffers. That’s an outright mistruth.”

When questioned about talk of parish government being “unfriendly” to business, namely Gordon’s Landfill, and the Dollar General in Coteau, both of which have resulted in lawsuits over permitting regulations, the candidates had varied responses.

Freyou agreed that prior to taking office the parish government was “unfriendly” to business, he said a permitting office has since been established and the process streamlined.

DeCourt said as a general contractor he understands the difficulties faced by developers, but added the issue is not all parish government’s fault. He said numerous state regulations can make things more difficult to develop new businesses.

Decourt said he would hold a conference for area architects, developers and contractors to discuss the numerous forms of “red tape” they encounter during a project, as well as determine how to overcome those issues.

“From a developer’s point-of-view, all government could be more friendly,” Decourt said. “It’s all about communication and understanding there’s many requirements, and they’re not all local.”

Looking forward, the candidates were asked how they would propose finding funding sources to spawn further development without the use of federal and state grants.

Decourt said he would use the $3 million in severance taxes coming to the parish over the coming years, in addition to TIF taxes as “seed money” for economic development. By bringing more businesses to the parish, he said in turn that would bring more people, more houses, and more subdivisions.

Romero also cited the severance tax, but said there’s room in the parish budget to make cuts and redistribute it toward priority projects, which he said he would allocate based on the wishes of the Parish Council.

“Let’s talk about how parish government really works,” Freyou responded.

Freyou said 75 percent of the parish government’s funding comes from dedicated tax revenues, while the other 25 percent is in the general fund or operating budget.

“Our biggest costs are roads, bridges, drainage and the jail, which we have no funding source for,” he said. “We’re paying $2.5 million a year to keep the jail running.”

Regarding the severance tax — a state natural resource tax taken from mining and oil and gas industries and distributed to parish governments — Freyou said the money will be allocated in installments spread out over the next three years, the first payout being $500,000 on July 12, 2012, followed by $1 million the next year, and $2 million the following year.

Election day for the parish president’s race, and others, is scheduled for Oct. 22.