Seven candidates now confirmed, some have raised as much as $100,000 for the campaign

By KEVIN CHIRI

Editor and Publisher

LAPLACE – The field continues to grow for the 2007 St. John Parish President’s race, now up to seven confirmed candidates, with a strong possibility for an eighth.

After St. John Chief Administrative Officer Natalie Robottom led the way last fall by being the first to announce she would run for the parish president’s seat, vacated by Nickie Monica who is out on term limits, the list of candidates began to get bigger and bigger.

As of this week, seven candidates are confirmed for the October 20 primary, with an eighth saying he is &#8220leaning” towards joining the field. Some observers have speculated that as many as 12 people could be in the race by the time election day arrives.

Here is a rundown of each candidate, and what they are doing in terms of raising funds, and making their bid to be the new parish president who will take office in 2008.

Vernon Alexis

The former police juror in St. John Parish, who served beginning in 1984, told L’Observateur this week that he will enter the race as a grass roots campaigner who doesn’t plan to ask for any campaign donations.

Alexis worked for the parish for 14 years in waste water operations, and worked for Godchaux Sugar for 14 years.

&#8220When I was on the Police Jury, we each ran our own district independently, so I know what running the parish is about,” he said. &#8220And I’ve worked under two parish presidents.”

But Alexis said he will offer a different candidacy since he won’t ask for any campaign donations.

&#8220I don’t want to owe anyone anything, so I’m not soliciting funds. I’m going to probably knock on more doors than anyone and try to win like that. I know I’m not the biggest name in the field, but I believe in miracles and I think people are tired of the heavy finance people in these races,” he added.

Perry Bailey

A former St. John councilman who ran for parish president in the last election, Bailey said he will offer a combination business and government experience.

&#8220I’ve been a successful insurance agent for 29 years, and I’ve been on the council, so I bring both levels of experience to the table,” he said. &#8220I have proven teamwork and leadership abilities and I want to help maximize the potential of St. John Parish. We’ve progressed, but we can be greater.”

Bailey would not reveal how much money he needs to raise to campaign, nor would he comment on the money he will personally fund the campaign with.

&#8220I’ll raise enough to win on, and I will self fund this race as well, but since I haven’t officially announced for the campaign, I do not want to comment on any of those numbers,” he said.

Bailey was only 600 votes short of the runoff for parish president in 2003, and thinks that shows the support he has.

&#8220I would like to think my previous government experience will make me be the top candidate in this field,” he said. &#8220I feel confident about my chances.”

Jobe Boucvalt

Although there had been some rumors in the community about Boucvalt possibly getting out of the race, the former parish councilman said he is in the race to stay.

Boucvalt made the runoff for parish president against Monica in 2003, getting 44 percent of the vote, and said he knew at that time he would run again.

He has held &#8220big and small” fundraisers to date and also did not want to comment on how much money he has raised, or what it will take to run the campaign.

&#8220I’ll use some of my personal money as well,” he said.

Boucvalt has been attending as many public functions as possible to meet the people, and said the response has been excellent.

&#8220People are very positive to my candidacy, and many have come to me to tell me they are supporting me,” he said. &#8220Some said they wanted to support me in the last election, but stuck with Nickie. But now that Nickie’s not running, many of those people said they are backing me now.”

Boucvalt said he is a top candidate since &#8220I am the person with vision for the parish. The other candidates just say they want to be parish president. I’m the one who promotes how to help the parish prosper and grow.”

Rev. Donald Brown

Another of the earlier candidates to announce, Rev. Brown said he has been busy for some time with family and friend fundraisers, and networking on both the East and West banks of the river.

&#8220Most people I talk to say we need a new regime, and I’m the people person in this race who has the concern of what the real problems are for people,” Brown said. &#8220So many candidates talk about what is wrong, but I’m a person who will get things done. My greatest concern is people.”

Brown said he expects to spend between $75,000 and $100,000 for the campaign and has raised nearly $20,000 so far. Part of the campaign will be financed with personal money, but he isn’t sure how much at this point.

&#8220With so many in the race, I expect a runoff, and right now I think the person in the runoff with me will be Arnold Labat,” he predicted. &#8220I truly believe I am the front runner. I’ve been here all my life and I’ve already talked to almost 3,000 people out of the 31,000 registered voters. A majority have told me I have their support.”

Bill Hubbard

A newcomer to the political arena, Hubbard is a successful businessman who promises to bring a business approach to running parish government.

Announcing for the race three months ago, Hubbard has been active with fundraisers and getting out to meet the public, and has been one of the top candidates already doing advertising with newspapers, billboards and direct mail. He said he has already raised &#8220over $100,000” for the race, and expects to need about that amount to run the campaign. Hubbard said he is not using any personal funds to run.

&#8220The business community in particular is looking for a change, and I’ve gotten a very positive response in a lot of the one-on-one meetings I’ve had with people since this started,” he remarked. &#8220So many people think the parish needs to be run by a proven, successful businessman, and they want a fresh change.”

Hubbard said he is using his multi-faceted advertising campaign to get his name out for now, and plans to hit the streets in the last 60 days of the campaign.

&#8220I’m cautiously optimistic that I will be in the runoff. There are some good candidates besides myself, but I have the business background and I’m the only candidate with a proven track record start to finish.”

Arnold Labat

The former three term parish president, who was term limited out in 2003, has decided to run for election again since he says he wants to use his experience to move St. John forward with the expected growth so many have projected.

&#8220The majority of people I’ve seen say they will support me, and so far I’ve built a good base. Next up for me is to get the masses to know me and support me, and I will start with more of that door-to-door work in August,” he said.

Labat said he will need about $80,000 to run through the primary, then approximately another $80,000 in the runoff to win. He has raised $35,000 so far, and plans to use just over $30,000 of his own money to finance the campaign.

&#8220I don’t golf, fish or hunt, and this civic endeavor to help the parish is what I want to do with my time,” he said. &#8220I’m extremely confident I will win since the feedback I get is that people think I’m the best man for the job, due to the experience I offer. A lot of people would like to see me back in office. It would be a crime for me not to run, considering how I can help the parish get back on track.”

As for the age factor often thrown at him, now at 76 years old, Labat said &#8220I equate age to knowledge. Who do people go to for advice? They ask older people with experience. That’s what I bring.”

Natalie Robottom

The early front runner in the race still sees herself in that position, pointing to her experience as CAO with the current administration.

&#8220My experience as an administrator with the parish, my ability to work with people, and my desire to serve, are the reasons I’m still the top candidate,” she said. &#8220I definitely still see myself as the front runner, and some polls I’ve seen support that.”

Robottom has had good success in the fundraiser realm as well, already raising $60,000 of what she believes will be $120,000 needed to run the entire campaign. She will also not use personal money in her campaign.

&#8220I had three very successful fundraisers and before I even decided to run, I had people approaching me about getting in the race,” she said. &#8220I’ve been attending a lot of public functions, although sometimes it’s more difficult since I’m still in office. But I get out as much as I can to local events, as well as sponsoring events.”

Robottom had a unique meeting she sponsored, asking all the parish ministers to meet with her to give her their input on what needs to be done to improve St. John.

&#8220This was not to ask for anybody’s support,” she said. &#8220I just wanted to listen to them to see what questions and concerns they had. I listened and took their input.”

Robottom said she will begin her door-to-door campaign in July.

Russ Wise

A current School Board Member, Wise has been going door-to-door and talking to people to see if he is a candidate who they would support.

&#8220I want to know if I am the man to solve the problems we have,” he said. &#8220I will decide by the first week of July if I am running, but right now I am leaning that way.”