By ROBIN SHANNON

L’Observateur

LAPLACE – Former St. John Parish spokesman and current acting chief administrative officer Buddy Boe has announced his plans to seek the office of parish president in the special election scheduled for March 27, 2010.

In a statement released Friday, Boe, 24, said for St John to progress as a parish, the residents must stop accepting things as they always have and raise expectations throughout the community.

“If we want to better our community then we have to start demanding excellence from our government, our businesses, our family and ourselves,” said Boe. “I have the experience to demand better, and the energy to make it happen.”

Boe was appointed as public information officer for St. John Parish in January of 2008 by former Parish President Bill Hubbard. When Hubbard abruptly resigned in September in the wake of an investigation into bribery and conspiracy charges, Boe was promoted to acting chief administrative officer when then-CAO Pat McTopy took over the position of acting parish president. Hubbard has since pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing in the case.

Boe said the more than 23 months he has spent working within the parish have been “a baptism by fire” and added that many good projects are still on the table that he wants to see come to fruition in the near future. He said he is committed to finishing all of the initiatives set forth by the previous administration.

“Pat and I have been down in the trenches,” Boe said. “We have seen what has been taking place, and much of it is positive. (St. John) needs somebody who isn’t afraid to make the tough decisions to demand excellence in all of the services we provide – from opening a business, replacing a street light, adding on to your home and getting tree branches picked up.”

Boe said he plans on completing the projects envisioned in the Historic Redevelopment Plans for the four historic districts in Edgard, Garyville, Reserve and LaPlace. He believes the parish must put more resources into code enforcement in an effort to clean up the parish and remove blight.

“I want to make St. John Parish into the kind of community that people don’t have to leave,” Boe said. “You can shop here, get an education here, work here and play here, and I want to stress that.”

This is not the first time Boe has made a run at political office in St. John Parish. In 2006, Boe entered the race for Division B Councilman-at-Large and finished second behind current councilman Steve Lee. Boe said he plans to begin fundraising for his campaign immediately.

Boe is in his concluding semester of political science studies at Tulane University in New Orleans. He and his wife Courtney are residents of LaPlace.