By KEVIN CHIRI
Slidell news bureau
SLIDELL – The final list of candidates for the Slidell chief of police election, set this fall on Nov. 8, will include four veteran police officers, following the close of qualifying last Friday.
Former Slidell Police Officers Tommy Benasco and Kevin O’Neill, St. Tammany Sheriff’s Officer Jimmie Estes, and State Police Trooper Randy Fandal all qualified as expected for the election.
O’Neill, 55, recently retired from his lifelong position, all with the Slidell Police Department, where he worked for over 30 years and achieved the rank of captain.
O’Neill has never run for public office, but said his experience with the local force and working entirely in the Slidell community makes him most qualified for the job.
Fandal, who also has over 30 years of law enforcement experience, started with the Slidell Police and worked there for 10 years before taking a job with the Louisiana State Police, where he spent over 20 years before retiring, all with an eye on running for the Slidell chief’s position.
Fandal, 56, a lifelong Slidell resident, said his experience at the state level gives him an advantage since he has training both locally and with state and federal law enforcement agencies.
Estes, 68, has 37 years of experience at three different agencies, including the city marshal’s office, the Sheriff’s Office and Slidell Police.
He said he wants to address the drug problem plaguing the younger generation, while also making it a priority to deter the South Shore criminal element from coming to the Slidell area.
Benasco has 22 years of experience with the Slidell Police Department and joined with the other three candidates in pointing out the lower starting pay for the SPD as a prime concern.
Benasco, 52, has been active with the Slidell Boys & Girls Club and wants to connect at-risk youth with law enforcement officers.
The election in November will be to fill the two years of the unexpired term of Randy Smith, the former chief who left the job after being elected St. Tammany sheriff.