I am Richard Phillips and I am a candidate for the elected position of Councilman for District 5 of the City of New Iberia.

The four candidates are all ‘rookies’ and since we are seeking our first elected position, you must measure us by our past accomplishments and project those events toward being the most qualified choice to elect. It is by this criteria alone that I contend that I am the ‘More-Better’ choice for the position to be filled.

My PUBLIC SERVANT ‘career’ started at age 15 as a BEACHCOMBER for my hometown, making the beach safe to walk on for the beachgoers that followed later in the day. We Problem Solvers started at the crack of dawn and finished when the two crews met up in the middle, just before the Public Beach opened for the day.

Years later I ran a Public Water Plant in the summer months when additional supply was required during the vacation season for the increased population…solving the ‘THIRST’ and BATHING problems as a skilled Public Servant still under 21 years old.

My working years in the PRIVATE sector were spent in Accounting, Sales and Marketing, which helped me develop the ‘people’ skills required to solve my clients’ problems. Leaving Industrial Accounting, I progressed from a Area Sales Rep, Territorial Sales Rep, Regional Sales Manager to the Director of Marketing before my employment in the Public Sector once more. Accountants, Sales and Marketing positions SOLVE PEOPLE’S PROBLEMS.

As a PUBLIC SERVANT again, I engaged ALL levels of Government; Federal, State, Parish, City and Unincorporated areas in order to serve my ‘client’s’ needs and solve their problems…that’s what public employees do. I issued permits for New Construction (residential and Commercial), renovations, repairs, assessory structures, signs, Mardi-Gras parades, occupational licenses and administered the zoning regulations. Our Building Plan Reviews are all about code adherence for life safety, we aided the public through the Variance process and dealt with all the ‘in-house’ Departments: Planning, Electrical, Plumbing, Mechanical . We coordinated with the client’s Architects, Engineers, Surveyors and Contractors to ‘iron out’ problems that arose. In short, we touched every aspect of the administration of getting things done at a Governmental level and more. We were (are) the Problem Solvers who were not the FIRST responders taking people off their roof during KATRINA…we helped them as SECOND responders put the roof back on.

This, in short, is what I alone ‘bring to the table’ should I be the successful candidate.

The other candidates also bring their unique ‘package’ of skills and experiences…I just think mine is ‘More-Better’ to achieve my goal of serving the citizens of District 5 and by extension, the City and Parish’s concerns as well.

I only ask you to vote for #34: RICHARD PHILLIPS; Councilman for District 5, Thank You.