ST. MARTINVILLE — St. Martinville residents will see an almost brand new city council following its March 29 election after only two of the five council members qualified to run for another term in office.

Council members Mike Fuselier in District 1 and Juma Johnson District in District 4 both qualified for another term in office, with Fuselier as the only candidate who saw no opposition for his council seat.

Johnson, on the other hand, faces three candidates all vying to become the next city council member for District 4. Janise Anthony, James “Lil Jimmy” Charles and Monica Charles all signed up at the Clerk of Court’s office this week in the hopes of being elected as the next council member for the district.

In District 2, Councilman Craig Prosper did not qualify for another run in office which leaves four candidates vying for the position. Carol Frederick, Juanita Jacquet, Lance Laviolette and Marty Theriot will be running campaigns to replace Prosper for the seat.

In District 3, longtime councilman Dennis Paul Williams also chose not to run for another term in office. Jonas Fontenette and Ryan Denise Williams have both qualified for the seat, which will guarantee a runoff will not occur for the seat.

In District 5, Councilman Edmond Joseph, a first term councilman for the city, chose not to qualify for the race as well. Candidates James Bertrand, Florita “Flo” Chatman, Joseph Mason and Leander “Cush” Williams all qualified for the seat instead, and will be facing each other for the March election.

Mayor Melinda Mitchell will also have competition to face as she begins campaigning for a second term in office. Four other candidates have qualified to contest the mayoral seat and oust Mitchell, who has faced a controversial term in her first four years in office.

Lisa Nelson, Mark Pratt, Jason Willis and Patrick Wiltz will all be running for office with the intention of becoming the new mayor of St. Martinville.

In St. Mary Parish, the Franklin City Council and mayoral races are also set for this March’s ballot. However, the results are much less contested.

Mayor Eugene Foulcard will be getting another term as Franklin mayor after no one else qualified to run against him for the position.

Every Franklin City Council member also ran unopposed with the exception of District C Councilman Larry Guilbeau and At-Large Councilman Lester Levine. Guilbeau will be facing candidate Ella Hamilton while Levine will be facing Ian Ruskoski.

Only one race was slated in Iberia Parish for the March election, but after only one candidate qualified there will be no need for a race.

Marcus Broussard ran unopposed to replace Brad Davis on the Iberia Parish Council. Davis resigned from his position last year after moving away from the parish.