ERIK SANZENBACH / L’Observateur / August 12, 2000

LAPLACE – In a surprising and unexpected move, Duaine Duffy has stepped down as chairman of the St. John the Baptist Parish Council.Duffy announced his resignation from the chairmanship at the beginning of Tuesday’s parish council meeting and asked vice-chairman Cleveland Farlough to take over meeting.

Duffy said he had decided to step down because, “I don’t have the time to give to all the agenda meetings, and I don’t feel good after those agenda meetings.”He said he feels the focus of the council is changing, and his vision does not agree with the vision of other council members.

“I think we are moving in the direction of a police jury,” he told the council.

“And I don’t want to be in the middle of these fights anymore.”Specifically, he was talking about the parish personnel issues that keep coming up on the council agenda. Duffy feels personnel issues should not beon the council agenda but instead should be taken up by the Civil Service Board and the administration.

After the meeting Duffy said agenda meetings that were 20 to 30 minutes long now take hours to complete and usually end with no results.

“I tried to act as mediator at these meetings,” said Duffy, “and I ended up in an adversarial role with other members of the council. Our visions are justnot the same. This council has a mixed agenda without any focus right now.”His vision is to run the council in a much more business-like manner.

“We have to limit the discussions to what really needs to be done,” said Duffy. “Unfortunately, this is not the will of the majority of the council.”Though surprising and unexpected to the public, Duffy said he had been thinking of stepping down as chairman for a long time.

“I was tired of it by the end of my last term,” said Duffy, “but somebody had to take it over for awhile.”Duffy said dealing with minute issues and blowing them up into big things was finally what made him decide to step down as chairman.

Specifically, he said the issue of where to place council secretary Audrey Millet during the tenure of her lawsuit against the council was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

“When I have to call each council member up and poll them for such small matters, it is time for me to move on,” said Duffy.

Moving on for Duffy means spending more time with his constituents and his family.

“My time can be better spent working for my district and being with my family,” Duffy told the council.

Duffy already has his agenda set on what he wants to do for Division B as just plain old councilman.

“My number-one priority is transportation,” said Duffy, “I will take advantage of every federal grant to get more thoroughfares built in the area.”The availability of water to LaPlace is also high up on Duffy’s priority list.

“We are going to have to find another water source soon for LaPlace,” said Duffy. “We will either have to dig another well in Ruddock or build a waterplant on the river. Either way, this is a very important project that will meanbond sales and lots of planning.

“I’m not naive enough to think it will be finished in my term, but you have to get things moving now. This is something I don’t think the present councilunderstands. I mean, we have to finish projects started by the past council.”Duffy doesn’t see his stepping down as a fatal blow to the council.

“The process for doing business will be slower,” he said, “but it has been slow for the past seven months, anyway.”After Duffy announced his resignation as chairman, Farlough opened the council meeting and Dale Wolfe immediately nominated Melissa Faucheux to be chairperson.

Before the vote, Steve Lee asked Farlough if he wanted the position.

Farlough said he did not, and Faucheux was elected chairperson by a unanimous vote.

“Ms. Faucheux, you’re it,” said Farlough as he passed the gavel to her.”Thank you, and I’ll do the best I can, ” replied Faucheux.

When asked later why he didn’t accept the chairmanship, Farlough somewhat echoed Duffy’s feelings when he said, “I didn’t want to get mixed up in any rancor of one faction against another. I like things to move in an orderlyway.”

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