By Monique Roth
L’Observateur

LAPLACE — Over 200 people packed into the Belle Terre Country Club Tuesday night for a forum featuring the three candidates vying for St. John the Baptist Parish District Attorney.

It was standing room only at the event, which was organized by the Belle Terre Civic Association.

Incumbent Tom Daley, Geri Broussard Baloney and Bridget Dinvaut each answered nine questions at the forum, which lasted just over an hour.

Daley drew on and highlighted his law experience and record as D.A., while Baloney’s overall message was, if elected, she would focus on the prevention of crime by pouring resources and time into the youth of the community.

Dinvaut repeatedly said, if elected, she would focus her office’s resources on the “aggressive prosecution of violent and repeat offenders.”

The candidates answered questions on a bevy of topics, including their opinions of pretrial diversion programs, the number of people incarcerated in St. John Parish and what they think qualifies them to be District Attorney.

Regarding pretrial diversion — an alternative to prosecution which diverts certain offenders from traditional criminal justice processing into a program of supervision and service — Baloney said she would always be in favor of “treatment over incarceration for non-violent drug offenders,” adding “we can’t incarcerate away the problem.”

Baloney said the current D.A.’s Office has a “revolving door” for misdemeanor offenders.

“I’m going to slam it and shut it once and for all,” Baloney said.

Daley said in cases involving non-violent drug offenders, each case has to be reviewed and analyzed to determine if and what type of pretrial diversion is appropriate. He said his office actively and successfully uses pretrial diversion programs, and he has hired a full-time social worker to help facilitate the processes of those programs.

Dinvaut said pretrial diversion is “warranted in certain cases,” adding she thinks it is “a program that should be for very young offenders who are occasional offenders.”

When answering if she thought St. John Parish incarcerated too many, too few or the correct amount of people, Dinvaut answered, “St. John sends criminals to jail. If you’re not a criminal, you’re not going to jail.”

She said the D.A.’s Office needs to “take an aggressive approach” to prosecution, as crime and arrests rates have increased.

Baloney said the parish sends “far too many people to prison,” and blamed high incarceration rates on social and educational deficits.

She said if elected, she would work with the Sheriff’s Office to ensure truancy laws were strictly enforced so students would progress in school and stay out of legal trouble.

Daley said Louisiana is the incarceration capital of the world, and in his opinion, the Department of Corrections does a bad job of correcting people.

“They should be called the Department of Housing,” Daley said. “They house and feed (people) and do nothing to correct them.”

Daley added the D.A.’s Office doesn’t arrest people, only works with the Sheriff’s Office to prosecute complaints and crimes.

“We evaluate it and deal with it,” Daley said of crime. “People can’t commit a crime without consequences.”

When answering what qualified her to be St. John Parish’s District Attorney, Baloney said her experience being an entrepreneur forces her to find “creative solutions to solve difficult problems,” and she hopes to “change lives, build hope and fight crime in our parish” as D.A.

Daley said in his long legal career he has handled hundreds of thousands of cases in all different capacities, including as an assistant D.A., D.A. and judge. He said he is proud of his office’s work and record of fiscal management.

Dinvaut said her “proven record as a crime fighter” spans over 28 years, adding, “this is what I do …. this is my passion.”

The election is Nov. 4, with early voting taking place at the Registrar of Voters’ office from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. today, Monday and Tuesday.

St. John Parish Registrar of Voters Rita E. Jarrow has two office locations. The east bank office is located in the Percy Hebert Building, 1801 W. Airline Highway in LaPlace, and can be contacted by calling 985-652-9797. The west bank office is located in the Edgard Courthouse, 2393 River Road in Edgard, and can be contacted by calling 985-331-4559.