Parish president 2023 election already hot with Cromer news
By KEVIN CHIRI
Slidell news bureau
SLIDELL – The election for St. Tammany parish president is still more than a year away, but the interest in that race already demanded big attention earlier in 2022 when Slidell Mayor Greg Cromer confirmed he plans to run against incumbent Mike Cooper for the job.
After the pending challenge from Cromer was first reported in The Slidell Independent this past April, the showdown has been heavily discussed in political circles for months and both candidates have been seen stepping up public appearances at many events around St. Tammany.
But the idea that it might be a two-man race is beginning to look a little premature. And for that matter, there could be two other high-profile names to get into the race, according to information confirmed by the Slidell Independent.
Current Parish Council President Mike Lorino has long been rumored to consider a run for the job, however, it was earlier seen as a challenge that would more likely occur after Cooper finished his time in office.
Then, as Cooper ran into many conflicts during his first two years in office, both with the Parish Council, other public officials and the public, it appeared Lorino began to consider a run earlier than previously considered.
This past week, Lorino confirmed he is considering a run at the parish president job and hopes to make an announcement in the coming month or two. While declining to elaborate on the reasons he is now viewing the election in 2023, he did state, “it’s very clear the parish needs to move in a different direction” than the one Cooper has been leading.
But Lorino isn’t the only other possible big-name candidate who could enter the race.
Rick Franzo, president of the top public watchdog organization in the parish, Concerned Citizens of St. Tammany (CCST), confirmed to The Independent this past week that he is also thinking about a run for the job following much encouragement from “friends and major public officials.”
Franzo was the man who led the start to CCST when he became the face of a group of Lacombe residents who formed Concerned Citizens of Lacombe. The public body formed to halt plans for a garbage waste transfer station originally planned for the corner lot at Interstate 12 and Hwy. 434 in Lacombe. In the end, the group defeated the big money garbage company and got them to compromise by moving the waste transfer station farther away from the intersection in a location that was not visible from any highways.
That successful beginning was just the start to make Franzo become a public figure who is probably as well-known as any public official. He led CCST in various key issues for St. Tammany, including work to halt potential fracking here, as well as becoming heavily involved in the investigations that aided law enforcement in bringing down the former sheriff, district attorney and coroner for public corruption issues.
CCST has hosted many public election forums and remained very involved in all areas of transparency for government bodies and has a Facebook following of over 160,000. Franzo has been urged by many family members and friends to become a candidate, and now has confirmed he is considering the election for the top public job in St. Tammany.
“Yes, I am considering a run,” he told The Independent. “I’ve always talked about the need for more transparency in our government, and I believe we need to do more to make St. Tammany an example in Louisiana, and even in the United States.
“We need change, as Cooper has failed on so many levels,” he stated. “I like Mike as a person, but he lacks leadership and unfortunately, the council never gave him a chance. No doubt he made mistakes, but the Council seemingly wanted him to fail.
“I expect to make a decision on the parish president’s race by Thanksgiving, but yes, I definitely am considering it,” he added.
One other reason that Franzo might be in great shape to enter an election like this is because he sold his business at the beginning of 2022 for a substantial amount of money and would likely be well-financed personally for the election, should he decide to do it.
Franzo worked his way up from a sales representative for a chemical company in the Northeast and is originally from New York. He took advantage of opportunities to finally set up his own company, starting Henric & Associates, which brought him to Louisiana in 1979.
He led his business to become partners with larger chemical firms, selling two companies before recently selling Uniservice Americas LLC, which had become a worldwide distributor in over 750 ports around the globe. He said he was considering a sale of his company with retirement years on the horizon, then finally did so in January of 2022 when he received an offer from a company in Holland, “too good to turn down.”
Lorino has been a two-term parish council member, originally from St. Bernard Parish, who moved to St. Tammany with his family in 1998. He has a strong background in business as a board member for the Associated Branch Pilots for the Port of New Orleans and has served for 24 years on that organization. He was also a commissioned bar pilot for over 37 years.