Dugas running for Parish Council seat in District 9

LOREAUVILLE — Former Iberia Parish School Board District 9 member Joel Dugas announced he will seek District 9 seat on the Iberia Parish Council in this fall’s election.

Dugas, originally from nearby Coteau Holmes, has spent most of his life in Loreauville, having graduated from Loreauville High School in 1977, and said he has long been active in the community and parish.

“I chose to raise my family here because of the people,” he said in his candidacy announcement. “That’s why they deserve the best representation they can get. I gave my best as a School Board member and will work to do the same if elected to the Parish Council.”

After studying at then-The University of Southwestern Louisiana (now-University of Louisiana at Lafayette), Dugas spent 34 years working supply chain management for BP before retiring. He now works for JC Construction in New Iberia.

From 2003 to 2012, Dugas represented District 9 on the School Board and served two years as the School Board president. He also worked as chief administrative officer for Iberia Parish President Romo Romero.

Dugas said he pushed for the new Loreauville Elementary School while on the School Board and would place Iberia Parish’s infrastructure, roads, bridges, drainage and sewerage atop his priority list if elected to the Parish Council.

“We have to be true to our word and spend dedicated taxes where they are meant to be spent,” he said. “I believe in the fundamentals of the three branches of government and the importance to get them right. Without these fundamentals, we will not be successful.”

Dugas also serves as a eucharistic minister for St. Joseph’s Catholic Church and was on the board of directors for the Loreauville Youth Association, coordinating girls’ softball.

District 9 includes Loreauville and the area surrounding. Qualifying for the election is Sept. 8-10 and election day is Oct. 24.