IPC elects Blanchard as new Registrar of Voters

Published 6:00 am Thursday, November 16, 2017

For the first time in more than 30 years, the Iberia Parish Council has a new Registrar of Voters to Iberia Parish.

The council held interview proceedings Monday night in executive session to give the seven candidates who applied a chance to answer a set questionnaire that had been formed just for the appointment process.

Those candidates were Andrea Viator, Kristie Blanchard, Constance LaRive, Robbie LeBlanc, Jene Nora, Frankie Rideaux and Steven Stansbury. Six of the seven candidates were interviewed during the process.

The appointment was decided by ballot voting, with each council person writing their choice on a piece of paper. As with all ballot appointments, the rules were that if no candidate got less than eight votes, the candidate pool would be pared down and another round would begin.

“I know we all struggled with this decision, we did a lot of soul searching after the interview process,” Councilman Eugene Olivier said. “I feel that we should place the best qualified person for this position. I hope you all make the right choice.”

A second round wasn’t necessary, however. After the first round, a 9-5 vote occurred with the appointment going to Blanchard. Blanchard is a former deputy clerk who left the office three years ago. Blanchard has also served at the St. Martin Parish Registrar of Voters.

“I want to thank (former registrar Mildred) Mrs. Adams,” Blanchard said, holding back tears. “I chose to leave three years ago and I’ve been wanting to come back.”

The runner-up was Frankie Rideaux, the current deputy clerk for the Registrar’s Office. Rideaux said at the beginning of the meeting she had more than 20 years of experience at the office, and has served in nearly every position.