The two candidates for Iberia Parish Sheriff faced off Tuesday night for what may be the last time before the runoff balloting takes place Nov. 16.

A New Chapter PUSH and the Iberia Christian Ministerial Federation sponsored the event, which drew about 50 interested parties to the Cyr-Gates Center in New Iberia’s City Park.

The “Partnering for Change” forum had Tommy Romero and Murphy Meyers sharing a small plastic table in front of the stage. There was no flash, no pomp, no pretension — just two men and a microphone, which they passed back and forth, with several dozen voters seated in the rows of chairs immediately in front of them.

The candidates answered a series of six questions which had been provided to them prior to the event. When asked why the questions had been provided, Rev. Zack Mitchell, one of the emcees for the event, said it was by design.

“We wanted them to really dig in on their answers,” Mitchell said. “There were one or two questions where they didn’t really get there, but the others I think they had some meat to the answers.”

The first question — “What separates you from your opponent?” — drew the typical stock answers as the pair extolled their years of experience — Romero as a narcotics agent, Meyers as a road cop in a marked unit. On rebuttal, though, the answers got a little more testy after Meyers minimized the worth of Romero’s undercover work as opposed to Meyer’s time as a patrol captain writing grants, managing programs and administering staff.

“Look, I could go through my 38 years one by one and make a list of what I’ve done. You may not have seen Tommy Romero, but that is because I was undercover as a narcotics officer,” Romero said. He also said his work had a major impact on the ecstasy trade in the Teche Area.

The pair also diverged in how they planned to reduce crime. Romero pitched his idea for a tech desk — the Iberia Parish Analyst Division, or IPAD — where residents could submit crime tips via their cell phones to an analyst, who would database the information so it could be used in the field.

Meyers shot down the idea as impractical unless the analyst was going to remain on duty 24-7. Instead, he suggested a return to courtesy and respect for the community and making sure shifts communicated with each other, along with getting boots on the ground where needed.

“It worked 30 years ago,” Meyers said. “It works today. It’ll work in 2020.”

Many of the voters in the audience were clearly in the camp of one candidate or the other prior to the debate. Becky Etienne showed up sporting her dark blue “Tommy Romero for Sheriff” shirt under a dark blazer.

“I support him because I prayed a lot about this,” Etienne said. “And in my soul and my heart, I believe he’s the man. He’s a good man, and he’s a capable man.”

Vincent Cassisa, who attended with his wife, Cynthia, and son, Anthony, said he was leaning toward Meyers.

“I like the way he talks,” Cassisa said. “He is very direct in what he says.”

Early voting, which closes Saturday, is currently underway for the Nov. 16 general election.