By ROBIN SHANNON
L’Observateur

LAPLACE — In the race for a seat on the 5th District Court of Appeals, Vacherie attorney Jude Gravois beat out long time St. John Parish judge Mary Hotard Becnel by a razor thin margin of 210 votes.

Gravois replaces former Court of Appeals Judge Tom Daley, who left the bench to become St. John Parish District Attorney. Gravois will finish out Daley’s term, which ends in 2010. The seat represents residents living in St. John and St. James parishes although the scope of the court extends to St. Charles and Jefferson.

Gravois attributed his win to a well-run, grass roots campaign that spanned both parishes. He is well known in St. James but said he and his campaign supporters worked hard to make inroads with many residents in St. John.

“I am truly humbled and proud of the support I received in both parishes,” said Gravois. “You never know how these races are going to turn out, but I felt good going into the election.”

Only about 20 percent of the registered voters in the two parishes came out for Saturday’s election in a race where every vote definitely counted. In the two parishes combined, Gravois received 5,387 votes to Becnel’s 5,177 votes. Gravois earned the win with about 50.99 percent of the vote.

The narrow race came down to how each candidate faired in the home parish of the opposition. Gravois, who earned 4,313 votes in St. James Parish, managed to collect 1,074 votes in St. John, whereas Becnel, who earned 4,379 votes in St. John, only managed 798 votes in St. James.

Gravois offered kind words for the way Becnel ran her campaign and said he is pleased and honored to have the opportunity to serve residents of both parishes on the Court of Appeal.