Three seats for the New Iberia City Council are up for contention for the Nov. 3 election, and candidates vying for those seats used the Greater Iberia Chamber of Commerce Forum Tuesday to sell their ideas to the local community.

Candidates for the District 2, District 4 and District 5 seats include Marlon Lewis and Benjamin T. Meyers for District 2, Deidre Ledbetter and Robert “Bob” Titus II for District 4 and Sherry Guidry and “Deedy” Johnson-Reid for District 5.

Most candidates agreed that roads were one of the significant issues facing New Iberia in the next four years, with crime being a commonly cited second.

Lewis, the incumbent for District 2, said he is continuing to run as a part of a greater legacy to serve the West End community that started with his father and aunt, the previous council representative for District 2.

“When we took over we had a $700,000 deficit; (now) we are in a $3 million surplus,” Lewis said. “We need to develop new businesses in our community, we have to find another way to increase our funds.”

Meyers, his opponent, opened by saying that if elected he would focus particularly on franchise contracts with Cleco and Cox, as well as the roads in the district.

“We need to watch the Cleco contract,” Meyers said. “Cleco is hurting the citizens of District 2.”

Meyers also claimed in his closing remarks that Lewis does not live in the district, and therefore is not eligible to be a councilman for the district.

For District 4, incumbent Deidre Ledbetter confidently said that she has addressed the complaints and issues of her constituents for the past four years and was looking forward to a second term.

“In 2016, I was a newcomer but I had the passion and drive to do whatever necessary to make New Iberia a better place to live, work and raise a family,” she said.

Her opponent, Titus, said that he had ideas he would like to bring as a councilman and hoped he would get the opportunity.

“You need new ideas to propel money from different areas,” he said.

District 5 incumbent Sherry Guidry said she was looking forward to holding onto the confidence and prayers of her constituents.

“We’re proud of what we’ve built, but we can always improve on things,” Guidry said. “I believe New Iberia should continue to tell their story.”

Johnson-Reid, her opponent who had lived in Atlanta for years, said the New Iberia she had come back to was not the New Iberia she left.

“I’ve worked in technology for almost 30 years and I’m happy to drive technology and move forward to the 21st century,” she said.