St. Landry Parish- For the first time in four decades, Leonville will have a new mayor this year. Current mayor Joel Lanclos Jr. has held that seat for more than 40 years and is stepping down.
Nick Degueyter and Mary Auzenne are both hoping to fill that seat.
Degueyter says being a council member, an officer with the volunteer fire department and mayor pro temp is what makes him more than qualified to be the next mayor.
“I’ve been on the council for the past 16 years,” Degueyter said. “I’ve gained a lot of experience from our present mayor and fellow council members. It gave me an opportunity to take the leadership position and show that I do have the ability to run a meeting and conduct business.”
Degueyter includes in his list of accomplishments as a council member as adding playground equipment, boat launch and improvements to the sewer system. He hopes to continue doing the same if he’s elected mayor.
“We recently did a big water improvement and we’re at the point now where we can provide the quantity and quality water we need for our citizens,” Degueyter said. “We have plenty of water if anyone else wants to come to town and add subdivisions.”
He added, “We’ve been working on our infrastructure so much. I’m hoping we can do sidewalk improvements to keep our kids safe.”
Mary Auzenne, a business owner, also wants to ensure safety around the community especially for children. She hopes to add a side lane in the school zone.
“I’m all about safety for the kids,” Auzenne said. “I would like speed bumps in the area because people do drive by and speed in areas. If we install speed bumps, that will slow down the traffic in certain areas that people are speeding in.”
She also wants to add improvements to drainage, the town’s bridges, and infrastructure.
“I want people to give me a chance to let me go out and see what I can do,” Auzenne said
“I can go to the capital. We can get grants for our community. I don’t want to raise sales taxes. I want to keep taxes as is. Change is really important. People have been telling me that nothing has been done. Nothing has been changed. So I want to help make that change.”
