LAPLACE — It’s going to take another month for St. John the Baptist Parish voters to decide who their next Parish Council member is after Saturday’s election produced a runoff between Thomas Malik and Steven Fraker.

In the race for the District 7 seat, Malik received 302 votes (43 percent), while Fraker secured 204 votes (29 percent). The top two vote getters narrowly separated themselves from third place finisher James “Buddy” Duhe, who secured 196 votes (28 percent), according to the Louisiana Secretary of State’s Office.

The runoff election is scheduled for April 29.

The District 7 seat opened when Buddy Boe resigned in order to serve as senior advisor and communications director to Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser.

Raj Pannu is serving as interim councilwoman.

Voters were more definitive in their choice for School Board District 10, where Nia Mitchell collected 195 votes (82 percent) compared to Lisa Johnson Pittman’s 43 votes (18 percent).

Mitchell has been serving as interim board member since December.