Plenty of Slidell Council races have interesting possibilities
By KEVIN CHIRI
Slidell news bureau
SLIDELL – Voters in the Slidell city limits will head to the polls this Saturday, March 26 to select what could potentially be several new faces on the Slidell City Council.
Also facing voters in city elections will be the decision on whether incumbent Police Chief Randy Fandal returns for a second term, as he is being challenged by newcomer Rhett Rodriguez.
Slidell Mayor Greg Cromer was re-elected unopposed for a second term in January when no one chose to take him on in the election.
The City Council races are where the real attention has been focused with a number of races having surprise entries, while two vacant seats have many new candidates who have never run before.
Councilmen David Dunham in District ‘B’ and Ken Tamborella in District ‘E’ were the only fortunate incumbents out of nine seats to initially win unopposed, leaving the possibility of several changes in other districts. In District ‘G’ there was qualifying in January that brought a challenge by Patrick Burke to incumbent Cindi King, however, Burke later decided not to remain in the race so King will return to her seat in that district.
Bill Borchert and Glynn Pichon are two incumbent At-Large council members who were probably hoping to win unopposed, however, a longtime Slidell educator in Jeff Burgoyne surprised many observers when he qualified to take them on. The formula for winning outright with two seats available can get confusing, but one main rule is that a candidate must get at least 25 percent of the vote to either win a seat, or make a runoff.
If all three candidates get at least 25 percent, then the top two will win the At-Large positions.
In District ‘A’ there was a surprise when longtime Slidell resident Tom Abney qualified to run against incumbent Leslie Denham. That seat has traditionally been won by a Democrat, the party Denham claims, while Abney has entered as a Republican, making it an interesting race to follow.
Both candidates have been campaigning hard, with Abney pointing to his lifelong career in Slidell and commitment to the community through volunteer work, especially with area youth, while Denham states that her four-year record of achievement should be enough to maintain the trust of the voters.
Two new political hopefuls are facing off for the District ‘C’ seat after former Councilman Warren Crockett was term limited out. Megan Haggerty, formerly a staff member with the St. Tammany Chamber, along with Gnanse Nelson, an active member with the Democrat Party in the area, are the two candidates for that seat and will ensure a new face will join the council.
In District ‘D’ there will also be a new council member after former Councilman Val Vanney passed away last summer, opening up that seat.
Four candidates qualified and are offering the voters quite the variety, considering Mark “Choppy” Daeumer is registered as an Independent, Sean Morrison is a registered Democrat, and both Bonnie Vanney and Nick DiSanti are Republicans.
In District ‘F’ a longtime incumbent faces a strong challenge as Kim Harbison puts her 20-year City Council career on the line seeking re-election, but is facing solid competition against former Keep Slidell Beautiful Director Trey Brownfield, making his first plunge into the political scene.
Harbison has been a staunch supporter of the past three mayors, but Brownfield has been as active as any candidate with visibility at many public events, extensive advertising, and walking the district to talk to voters. The race is expected to be very close, regardless of the time Harbison has already served.
In the race for police chief, Fandal is considered a strong favorite after his first four-year term, however, Rodriguez is hoping to upset the incumbent and follow in the footsteps of his father, Max Rodriguez, who served as the chief of police in Slidell from 1978 to 1990.