FRANKLIN — A member of the Louisiana Democratic State Central Committee wants to see Black employees in the St. Mary Parish Registrar of Voters Office.

Alfreida Edwards, who represents most of St. Mary Parish as the DSCC District 50-B member, believes its time the parish registrar of voters office hires Black employees, “because Blacks represent one third of the voters in this parish.”

“Over history, to my knowledge, I don’t think there have been any African Americans, Blacks, who have worked in the that office.”

“Furthermore, during this past election cycle, I can’t tell you the amount of persons who came up to me and asked, when is that office going to have someone working in it, that looks like me?”

Edwards, who is African-American, spoke to the St. Mary Parish Council on Wednesday, citing that there are 11,000 African American voters in the parish, who represent about a third of the voters here, as the reason to have black employees working in the office.

“We need diversity. When someone enters that office, they should be able to gravitate to someone who looks like them,” she said

Councilman Jay Ina said that as a result of Edwards’ request, he drafted a letter to St. Mary Registrar of Voters Jolene Holcombe from the parish council, asking her to consider hiring a minority employee when the next job opening becomes available.

Councilman Scott Ramsey said while he is on board with sending a letter to Holcombe, he said there is no way to force the issue, because other minority groups would want the same representation.

When Edwards’ concluded her presentation, the council voted unanimously to send the letter, which commends Holcombe for her efforts during the recent past elections, “particularly during such a very challenging time of this terrible pandemic. We believe our citizens maintain a very positive perception and healthy attitude with regard to the integrity of our election processes in St. Mary Parish.

“We are writing to you to request that as we move forward into 2021 and beyond, every effort possible is made to hire more minority employees when job openings become available in the Registrar’s Office. With an estimated one-third of all current registered voters identifying as Black or African-American, it is imperative that every effort is made to diversify the make-up of as many Boards, Commissions, and Offices as possible in our Parish to represent the diverse make-up of the population we have.

“We believe this will be another positive step in the right direction for diversity and inclusion. We, the St. Mary Parish Council, will also continue our efforts to promote diversity when appointing citizens to fill the numerous positions under our jurisdiction as well.”

In other business Wednesday, the parish council met Evan Boudreaux, the new Economic Development Director of St. Mary Parish. Boudreaux, who was formerly Deputy Director of Policy with the Picard Group of Lafayette, also was political director for Congressman Dr. Bill Cassidy.

Boudreaux is a native of Bayou Vista. He replaces longtime director Frank Fink, who retired after more than 20 years of service.

“I believe this community shaped me into the man I am today,” Boudreaux said of St. Mary Parish. “Every I idea I have may not be the right idea. However, I believe that working together, we can put St. Mary Parish on a competitive level to our neighbors. This will require moving the department into a more engaging arena, however, I believe it will put St. Mary Parish on the map, where it needs to be.”