New Iberia City Council members Dan Doerle and Sherry Guidry bade farewell to the council and their constituents at Tuesday’s meeting, which was the last meeting both would still be in office. 

Three new council members will be sworn in on Jan. 5 along with the rest of the council to start a new term for the city in early 2021. Brooke Marcotte will be replacing Natalie Lopez for District 1, Deedy Johnson-Reid will be replacing Sherry Guidry for District 5 and Ricky Gonsoulin will be replacing Dan Doerle for mayor pro tem. 

Doerle, who has almost two decades of experience under his belt on the council, gave an emotional goodbye at Tuesday’s meeting, saying that he was proud of his years of service and is happy to leave the city in the hands of the current crop of public officials. 

“It made me a better person and I appreciate this town,” Doerle said. “It’s easy to throw darts but it’s not easy to make decisions where you’re affecting a lot of people.”

Guidry, also emotional, also said she was proud of the last four years of service to the city and District 5. 

“It’s been four great years,” Guidry said. “I had the pleasure of serving with you all and I really enjoyed myself.”

Mayor Freddie DeCourt thanked Doerle, Guidry and District 1 Councilwoman Natalie Lopez, who was absent for their years of service. He also said there were many plans he had for the next term and he was excited to get started with the new council. 

“I’ve never worked with a council that had the interests of the people at heart like this one,” DeCourt said. “We’ve got four more years and I’m hitting on the gas.”