ST. MARTINVILLE, La. — Early voting begins Saturday in St. Martinville’s mayoral race, with incumbent Mayor Jason Willis and challenger Lisa Nealson making their final pitches to voters about the city’s future.
Nealson, who served 13 years on the St. Martin Parish Council, says her record in local government sets her apart. “I actually served on the St. Martin Parish council for 13 years. I was not just the sitting council member, I was very active,” Nealson said.
She points to revitalizing the city’s tourism industry and investing in infrastructure — especially drainage improvements — as pillars of her candidacy. “Tourism was a big thing in this city at one time; tourism brings in economic stability,” Nealson said. She added, “If we take care of the drainage areas on a daily basis, or as needed — dig the ditches, clean out your culverts — if there’s any major drainage areas, apply for funding that could possibly help also.”
Nealson also cited her accomplishments in the Cade area, including upgrades to roads, drainage, and recreation. “Multiple things that I’ve done in the district, not only recreational like drainage and roads,” she said.
Mayor Willis, meanwhile, is touting progress already made during his administration, such as step-by-step solutions to water system problems. “We try to isolate one section of the city at a time, and if we do that, we can eliminate a lot of boil advisories because it would just be that section that’s under a boil advisory,” Willis explained.
Willis said targeted fixes and securing funding for projects in areas like Ledoux are part of a broader strategy to address the city’s infrastructure. “We're actually trying to get funding for it. We actually got funding for one of them. I know another area is Ledoux, we’re trying to get funding for it to get better drainage back there. But besides that, we don't really have a lot of drainage problems,” he said.
The incumbent also points to bringing in more than $18 million in funding over the last four years. “We brought over 18 million dollars’ worth of funding, so that’s a lot. We got to make sure our finances is in order, because in order to get state funding, most times you got to come up with a match,” Willis said.
With early voting now underway, both candidates say they are focused on delivering for the community’s residents and keeping St. Martinville moving forward.
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