Q: Please give a brief description of your professional background and volunteer experience.

A: As a law enforcement officer with the Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Office, I have served this community in the capacity of a patrol deputy, human resource background investigator and detective until I was laid off due to department wide budget cuts. Upon learning of the department wide layoffs, New Iberia City Marshal Vic Delcambre offered me a position as a deputy city marshal.

I served in the capacity of deputy city marshal until Marshal Delcambre’s untimely passing, at which time I made the decision to resign my position and seek the office of city marshal. Continuing my history in business management, I am currently the office manager of the Law Office of Kay Pitman Clark.

For the past several years I have dedicated most of my free time to serving my community by way of volunteering. I am currently the board president for CASA of the 16th Judicial District Court (Court Appointed Special Advocates) and have fulfilled this role since July 1, 2018. In just five short months after filling this position, I was able to turn a failing program around and also secure funding in order to continue to allow the 16th Judicial District to have a CASA. In January of 2018, I was elected to serve a three year term on the board of directors for United Way of Iberia. I am also actively involved in volunteering for St. Francis Diner, Bayou Mardi Gras Association, Chez Hope, Iberia Parish 4-H and the Cajun Navy.

Q: Why did you decide to run for marshal?

A: As a deputy city marshal, then-City Marshal Vic Delcambre spoke to me about his plans to retire at the end of his then-current term. He expressed how he believed it was time to turn the office over to someone younger and inquired if I would be interested in being city marshal. From that point on I watched and learned from Marshal Delcambre. After his passing, I met with his wife, children and grandchildren and discussed the idea of running for City Marshal. Upon receiving not only their blessing, but their support as well, I had one goal in mind and that was to be the city marshal that Marshal Delcambre would be proud of.

In keeping with my proven dedication and service to this community, being the next city marshal allows me to be in a position where I have the ability to help more people who, in some cases, are not receiving the help and assistance that they need and deserve. Moreover, the position of city marshal will assist in my efforts to bridge the divide in our community and help end the violence. I believe that a city marshal should be someone who is a proven servant of the people, and not someone who only seeks to fill a position for the title that it carries.

Q: What areas are you looking to focus on as a City Marshal?

A: As city marshal, the first thing I will do is make the Office of the City Marshal accessible to the people it serves by being open to the public Monday – Friday from 8:30-4:30. My second plan of action is to meet with and build a working relationship with the mayor, city judge and chief of police. It is crucial to the success of the city to have a working relationship with them all. The next area that I would focus on is looking at different options to bring revenue to the office for it to be self-sustaining. One of my plans to do this is to serve the 3,000-plus back logged warrants that are currently not being served. With the agreement of the city judge, I would like to plan a two week amnesty period which would allow anyone with a New Iberia City Court warrant to come turn themselves in without the fear of going to jail. This would allow the individual to have a second chance to take care of their business with the court. Once funding is secured, I will begin looking into hiring an LA POST certified office administrator and six LA POST certified deputies. It is important that your Marshal’s Office be staffed with deputies who have graduated from a police academy and have the proper training required to do the job of a deputy marshal. I will eliminate the liability to the city by not allowing non-POST, non-trained deputies to operate city owned vehicles bearing any type of law enforcement emblems.

Q: Where would you like to see the New Iberia City Marshal’s Office improved and how would you do that?

There are several areas of the Marshal’s Office that need improvement. After speaking with several landlords and citizens in New Iberia, there appears to be a need to overhaul the current eviction process. It has been reported to me on several occasions that the current Marshal’s Office is not enforcing Orders of Eviction after being signed by the city court judge. It is reported that they are having to contact the city police to assist in the enforcement of the order. As with most small offices, finances and funding issues should be addressed with forward thinking and proactive measures. In addition to serving warrants and other services that can be provided by the Marshal’s Office, I plan to work with city court and all other applicable entities to establish a misdemeanor probation office that would serve the New Iberia City Court. This office would require all defendants placed on probation by the city court judge to report to the Marshal’s Office in order to fulfill their probation obligations, up to and including paying supervision fees. The third area that needs improvement is the security of the city courtroom and city hall. Meeting with both the mayor and city judge, I will be able to receive their input as well as discuss my plan to upgrade security.

Q: Do you see the Marshal’s Office moving in a positive direction and how would you add to that?

A: Unfortunately, I cannot say that I see the Marshal’s Office going in any specific direction. While I am sure that the donations of electronic equipment and law enforcement vehicles have allowed the Marshal’s Office to become more visible, I strongly believe that a marshal must not only be visible but proactive. Moreover, I believe that a marshal should have multiple plans of action to address the various issues presented to the Marshal’s Office. By not only having the desire to fill the position, it is important to have a vision and set plans in place. The City Marshal should bring effective change not only to the Marshal’s Office, but to the city of New Iberia as a whole.