At 54 percent of the vote, Mayor-elect Ryan William defeated mayor Jennifer Vidrine in Tuesday's election.
We sat down with Williams who says his biggest focus will be to develop a structure with the city of Ville Platte.
And to put his administration in the right places in government so the city could function more effectively.
“I would collaborate with the city officials, all the city council members, and city workers. My approach is hands-on and you lead by example and I’m ready to do this,”
He also says he would review the decision on the newly announced sewer plant coming to the city by current Mayor Vidrine.
“I’m speaking from the outside in but I think it can be reversed. And like I said I have some people working on this now and I’ll do everything that is best for the people that I serve. My slogan was putting the people of Ville Platte first and in all aspects, that’s how I operate,” Williams said
Williams says it’s been nearly a year since the passing of his younger son who was killed in an ATV accident.
He says losing his son made him grasp a different perspective on reality.
“My son Denim and I had the best father and son relationship. And after he passed I had to reevaluate my life. And I stayed out of work for eight months so I had a lot of time to reevaluate my life and my life slowed down a lot,” he added.
He says he will also work to create more resources for the youth.
"I will address the parking issue that our kids are our future so we have to put things in place just to get them involved and engaged,” Williams said.
Williams even made a promise, “I will continue to engage with people and address as many issues as I can, I’ll have an open door policy. And I will be at city hall working every day. Leaders are supposed to lead by example every day in all aspects of life. And I’ll be that guy.”
Williams has proven leadership dating back to his election to the Evangeline Parish Police Jury in 2009, in which he also served as President from 2018-2021.
Williams impact on the community has also been notable in the procurement of more than 30 million dollars in grants to Evangeline Parish.
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