BY MATTHEW BEATON

THE DAILY IBERIAN

ST. MARTINVILLE — Ronny Theriot, 64, won a third term as sheriff of St. Martin Parish.

He won in a landslide on Saturday. Theriot took 10,510 votes, or 73 percent of the vote, according to the Louisiana Secretary of State’s Office.

Theriot said that he was thrilled with the victory.

“We are extremely pleased. A lot of people worked very hard throughout the parish for several months and spread the word out to their neighbors and co-neighbors,” Theriot said.

With such a sweeping victory, Theriot said he truly felt the public stands behind him and the Sheriff’s Office.

“It makes you feel really good that the people trust you … and that they believe in you and that they really want you to continue serving in that capacity,” Theriot said.

Theriot said he will enjoy the victory for a few days, but he is looking to the future and hopes to serve St. Martin Parish to the best of his ability in the next four years.

“Just because it was 70-something percent out of a three-man race doesn’t mean you just sit on your duff and get complacent,” Theriot said. “We have to continue to have a vision. We have to work toward that vision and set goals … We’re going to continue to serve St. Martin Parish and everyone who comes to St. Martin Parish to the best of our ability.”

In the past, Theriot has said that he takes particular pride in the technological upgrades he has brought to the sheriff’s office. But he said he wants to do more.

“Technology continues to advance rapidly so we have to stay up with it and we do. We have technology personnel hired within our department,” Theriot said. “That helps make our work easier and provides better services to our constituencies.”

Theriot said he will continue to look at strengthening the sheriff’s office to make sure the parish is as safe as it can possibly be.

“We’re always looking at the volume of calls we have in the patrol division and if necessary, and depending on the budgetary constraints, … we always try to add additional manpower in those areas that we feel are very pertinent to public safety,” Theriot said.

Also in the race, Brian Theriot earned 1,259, or 9 percent of the vote, and Wayne Savoy earned 2,679 votes, or 19 percent. Neither of the two challengers launched a campaign with much funding.

Brian Theriot never reported contributions and Savoy had only a little more than $5,000 in personal campaign contributions.

For the election, voter turnout was approximately 41 percent, said Tricia Hammon, supervisor of elections for St. Martin Parish.