By DEBORAH CORRAO / L’Observateur / November 2, 1998

Voters in the River Parishes will be voting for a U.S. Senator, state publicservice commissioner and several local officials Tuesday.

The local races, as well as the public service commissioner race, are runoff elections.

Statewide incumbent Sen. John Breaux faces a challenge from sevenopponents, the most well-known, Republican Jim Donelon of Metairie.

Other candidates are Raymond Brown, Jeffrey H. Dicket, L.D. Knox Sr., SamHouston Melton Jr., Martin A. Rosenthal and Darryl Paul Ward.Incumbent Public Service Commissioner Irma Dixon is in a runoff battle with former commissioner John Schwegmann.

Also on the ballot in St. Charles Parish is a runoff for the District 7school board seat between Steve Crovetto and Fred Seal. Other schoolboard seats have already been decided there.

In St. James Parish, voters in Gramercy will be deciding a runoff betweentwo Democratic candidates for mayor, Herman Bourgeois and Ronald St.

Pierre, and a runoff between Mike Kahl and Kenny Poche for Chief of Police.

In the District 3 alderman race in Gramercy the runoff candidates are Barry LeBlanc and Alvin “Shark” St. Pierre, Jr.There are three school board seats up for grabs in St. James Parish. Runoffcandidates for School Board in District 4 are Dianne Gaudin and George Nassar, Jr. Charles Nailor and John Schexnayder face each other in a schoolboard runoff in District 6; and Kathleen Becnel and Richard Reulet, Jr. arein the runoff for the District 7 seat.

Voters in St. James will also be deciding whether or not to renew a 10-year 4.93 mills property tax for the purpose of constructing, operating andmaintaining recreational facilities in the parish.

In St. John Parish, District 4 voters will elect a school board member. Runoff candidates for that seat are Aleitha Bardell and Patrick Sanders.

There are also two proposed state constitutional amendments on the Tuesday’s ballot.

The first would rename the Board of Trustees for State Colleges and Universities the Board of Supervisors for the University of Louisiana System.

The second would restructure the Board of Regents by providing for the board to be composed of two members from each congressional district and one at large and to provide that the board be representative of the state’s population by race and gender.

Polls in all three parishes will be open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.

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