Shelton in Landslide

Shelton in Landslide

Nearly 40 percent of Central’s voters went to the polls April 5 and gave a re- sounding, landslide victory to local realtor Jr. Shelton, who was elected Mayor. The voters swept intooffice five of his political allies — new Police Chief James Salsbury, and Council members-elect Dr. Kim Fralick, Shane Evans, and John Vance, and incumbent Council member Wayne Messina. Shelton received 59 percent of the vote to Dave Freneaux’s 41 percent.  All of the candidates in the election were Republicans.

Meanwhile, another ally of Shelton, Central Councilman and Mayor Pro-Tem Ralph Washington ran fifth in the Council race and will face a runoff May 3 against the sixth place candidate, Jason Ellis.Four incumbent city officials did not seek reelection — Mayor Mac Watts, Police Chief  Doug Browning, and Council members Tony LoBue and Louis DeJohn. Incumbent City Council member Aaron Moak sought reelection but was defeated.

Watts, Browning, and DeJohn have served in city government since Central was incorporated in July 2005.  All were appointed by then Gov. Kathleen Blanco and later won election.  Moak is completing his second term on the Council, and LoBue is completing his first term.

The Mayor’s race between Shelton and Freneaux was heated, as Freneaux repeatedly attacked Shelton.  However, Shelton neither responded to the attacks nor made any of his own.  That seemed to serve him well with voters, who tired of the negative attacks.

As of now, only one incumbent elected official is returning to city government, Councilman Wayne Messina.  If Washington wins the May 3 runoff, he would be the only other veteran member of the Council. Washington would also be the only one of Central’s original Founding city officials to still hold public office nine years later.

Washington said there is so much to learn as a new Council member and that experience is important

“I’ve been part of the city from the beginning and have attended the committee meetings, the Council meetings, and all of the events that you have to attend.  It has provided me with a wealth of knowledge that a new Councilman won’t have for quite some time,” he said.

Washington has been a student of the city budget and has been instrumental in monitoring the activities of the city contractor.  He was the only critic of CH2MHill on the Council from 2008 to 2010 and he led the fight to oust the firm and place the city’s privatization contract out to public bid.

The City of Central has an annual budget of $6.5 million and runs a healthy surplus.  It has cash on hand of roughly $20 million, an unusual situation for a city government its size in these economic times, when many cities are fighting off bankruptcy. The top vote-getter in the Council race was Dr. Kim Fralick, who knocked on more than 5,500 doors.  That hard work paid off, as she received 5,135 votes, or 69.9 percent.  She led the field of 11 candidates.

The top candidate for City Council in Central’s first citywide election in 2006 was Ralph Washington, which led to his being elected Mayor Pro-Tem by the Council.

In 2010, the top vote-getter for the Council was Dr. Tony LoBue.  However, when asked if he would stand for Mayor Pro-Tem, he declined and said he preferred to support Ralph Washington for another term in that position.

All of the victors in this election were endorsed by the Republican Party of East Baton Rouge, as was Washington.

They will be sworn in July 1.

 

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