By Monique Roth
L’Observateur

LAPLACE — St. Charles Parish District Attorney Joel Chaisson II, two state judges and seven out of eight school board members were automatically re-elected for another term after facing no opposition as qualifying ended Aug. 22 for the Nov. 4 election.

For the second time, Chaisson faced no opposition in his quest for the District Attorney’s position.

“It certainly is an honor and privilege to be re-elected for another term as District Attorney,” Chaisson said. “I look forward to continuing to serve the citizens of St. Charles Parish and continuing to make St. Charles Parish a safe place to live and raise a family.”

Two out of three 29th Judicial District Court judges faced no opposition: District C Judge Emile St. Pierre, a Republican, and District D Judge M. Lauren Lemmon, a Democrat.

The District E judgeship is being sought by Timothy Marcel, a Democrat from Destrehan, and Michele Morel, a Republican from Luling. In a special 2012 election, Morel defeated Marcel by just 168 votes.

School board members Melinda Bernard of District 2, Dennis Naquin of District 3, C.H. Savoie of District 4, John Smith of District 5, Jay Robichaux of District 6, Arthur Aucoin of District 7 and Al Suffrin of District 8 all garnered no opposition in their quests for another term.

In District 1, incumbent School Board member Ellis Alexander Sr. of Hahnville will face off again with Milton Allemand Jr., a Republican from Luling. Alexander lists no party affiliation.

Allemand ran against Alexander in the 2010 race, where he lost by 640 votes.

In the race for District 1 Public Service Commissioner, incumbent Eric Skrmetta of Metairie will face-off against Forest Wright of New Orleans and Allen Leone of Metairie. All three men are Republicans.

In the District 1 Justice of the Peace race, incumbent Edna Bridges, a Democrat, will run against Republican Charles Matthews, Democrat Henry Wolfe and Rick Whitney Jr. Whitney lists no party affiliation.

In District 2, voters will choose between incumbent Earl Tastet, Vanessa Johnson and Randall Muller Jr. for their Justice of the Peace.

District 3 Justice of the Peace contenders include incumbent Henry Miller Jr., a Democrat, and Edward Hymel III, a Republican.

In District 4, three newcomers are vying for the Justice of the Peace position. Contenders include Donald Lichenstein III, a Republican, Darrell Chiasson, who lists no party, and Stanley Hebert Jr., who lists his party affiliation as “other.”

In District 5, the Justice of the Peace position is being sought by A.D. Barnes Jr., who lists no party; April Black, a Republican and Tika Riley, who lists no party.

John Marino Jr. of District 6 was the only Justice of the Peace automatically reelected as qualifying closed.

In District 7, Justice of the Peace incumbent John Brady, a Republican, will face-off against Robin Triche-Fields, a Democrat, for the position.

District 1 Constable Justice of the Peace Rose Legaux, District 3 Constable Justice of the Peace Gil Schmidt, District 4 Constable Justice of the Peace Donnie White and District 5 Constable Justice of the Peace Stephen Black were reelected after facing no opposition.

In District 2, Constable Justice of the Peace incumbent Craig Petit, a Democrat, will face-off against Kenny Schmill, who lists no party.

Voters in District 6 will decide between Democrat Jerry Pfister and Aaron Marino, who lists “other” as his party affiliation, for their Constable Justice of the Peace.

Incumbent Gary Cazenave and Butch Ockman are seeking the District 7 Constable Justice of the Peace position. Both men are Republicans.

Early voting for the Nov. 4 primary will be Oct. 21-25 and 27-28.

For more information or with any questions, contact the St. Charles Parish Clerk of Court at 985-783-6632.