ERIK SANZENBACH / L’Observateur / October 11, 2000

LAPLACE – The race for the District 8 seat of the St. John the BaptistParish School Board is headed for a runoff election on Nov 7.

The St. John Clerk of Court’s office reported election results with three ofthree precincts reporting, and Russ Wise and Mike “Coach” Maggiore will face each other in the run off with neither getting the necessary 51 percent to win the election out right. This was to be expected, with a slate of fourcandidates vying for the school board seat.

The winner in November will serve the remaining two years of Richard DeLong’s term. DeLong retired from the board in July due to health problems.Wise, a former school board member, came out on top with 382 votes, or 37.09 percent, and former parish council member Maggiore came in a closesecond with 360 votes, or 34.95 percent. In third place was former school board member and president Charles M.

Duhon with 242 votes, or 23.5 percent. Rounding out the results was RandallTriche with 46 votes, or 4.4 percent of the vote.The results may be in question though, because of a technical snafu at one of the precinct polling locations. On Saturday poll commissioners at LaPlaceElementary School forgot to make adjustments to a voting machine, and as a result school board candidates got more votes than were registered in District 8.

Eliana DeFrancesch, St. John Parish Clerk of Court, explained that theprecinct under question is split in two. Half the precinct is in District 8, andthe other half isn’t.

“Commissioners were instructed to push a lever on one of the machines to lock out certain voters,” said DeFrancesch. “They did not pull that lever until5 p.m.”As a result, 168 voters from outside District 8 were allowed to vote for a school board candidate.

DeFrancesch said the commissioners had been trained in the procedure.

“They are veteran commissioners, they were trained, and they should have known better,” said DeFrancesch. “It should not have happened, but it did.”But neither candidate in the run off seems too concerned about the mistake.

“The mistake would not really have made a difference,” said Wise. “I don’tthink this will change the results. I’m not going to raise a big fuss about it. Iwould have like to have (won the election outright), but I am more than willing to go into a run off.”Wise was confident enough in his position in the race not to even attend the opening of the voting machines Tuesday in Garyville for the official count.

Instead, he took his son’s class at John L. Ory Magnet School to Baton Rougeto participate in a mock national election in the Legislature.

Maggiore said he isn’t too worried, either.

“I don’t think the mistake will help either of us,” said Maggiore. “They could beanybody’s votes. How are they going to tell? Being in the run off is sufficientfor me.”One other issue facing both candidates is that of a public forum on school board issues. During the first election, Wise had tried to put together aforum, but because of some legal drawbacks and the reluctance of the other candidates the forum was canceled.

Maggiore said he doesn’t mind having a forum before the run off.

“If we set up the forum fairly, I have no problem with the debate,” Maggiore said.

He said he doesn’t want to have the forum at a school as Wise proposed during the first election because he doesn’t think it is right to do it there.

Wise replied, “A school is the most obvious place to do it, but I will ask Mr.

Maggiore to an open forum, anywhere, anyplace he wants to do it.”

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