Although many local residents are likely to see a reduced interest in local politics after Tuesday’s election, two key positions in the city of New Iberia are still waiting to be determined.

The races for New Iberia mayor pro tem and New Iberia City Marshal both ended with a runoff Tuesday night following the release of election results in town. Both races will be decided Dec. 5 when the runoff election is held.

In the mayor pro tem race, Ricky Gonsoulin and David Merrill were the two leading candidates out of a field of three. The race will decide who gets to replace longtime Mayor Pro Tem Dan Doerle, who will be termed out of office.

Gonsoulin, an Iberia Parish farmer and longtime member of the Iberia Parish Council, finished the race with 42 percent of the vote, or 4,873 voters. David Merrill, a former New Iberia city councilman for District 4 came in second with 36 percent of the vote, or 4,239 voters.

The race saw a 60.5 percent voter turnout, and Gonsoulin finished the race with only a 634-vote lead. Although seemingly large, the turnout was actually less than the 2016 mayor pro tem race, which saw a turnout of 63.5 percent of registered voters.

Gonsoulin, who has spent most of his political career in parish, not city, politics, said that he plans on a budget and infrastructure focus in city government as mayor pro tem. As a former chairman of the finance committee of the Iberia Parish Council, Gonsoulin said he wants to add his skills to a city budget that is already doing much better than many municipalities in the Teche Area.

Merrill, on the other hand, has focused his campaign on the diversification of New Iberia in terms of business, recreation and culture. The former city councilman said his past work in city government helped with sidewalk programs and other community needs, and he would like to continue that in a new term.

In the other race, the city marshal election is also set to determine a key city position between two qualified candidates.

Current Marshal Tony Migues is facing former New Iberia police officer Corey Porter. The candidates finished in the top two Tuesday night. With a voter turnout of 60.1 percent, Migues finished in the lead with 47 percent of the vote, or 5,414 voters. Porter finished second with 34 percent, or 3,983 voters.

The race could be seen as a referendum on Migues, who has served as city marshal since being elected last year following the death of longtime Marshal Vic Delcambre. Since getting elected, Migues has touted a modernization of the marshal’s office in terms of vehicles and office equipment, and is hoping to continue a vision of the office as a community oriented department that serves as a backup to the NIPD.

Porter, who was part of the founding of the New Iberia Police Department back in 2018, has a wealth of experience in law enforcement from New Orleans to Texas. After coming back home to New Iberia following the establishment of the NIPD, Porter subsequently left the department and applied for a police chief position with the city of Jeanerette. After another candidate was chosen, Porter put his hat in the race for New Iberia City Marshal.

Porter has also campaigned for the Marshal’s Office to be more community minded, and wants to work on everything from youth programs to educational programs for homeowners.

The runoff election is Dec. 5.