Mayors gather in Crowley

Representatives from 31 municipalities scattered across Southwest Louisiana gathered at the International Rice Festival Building here Thursday night for the annual Louisiana Municipal Association District G meeting.
Crowley hosted the meeting since Mayor Greg Jones has presided as the District G Vice President for the past year.
Highlighting the meeting was the election of Jones’ successor, Vinton Mayor Kenneth Stinson, who defeated Crowley Alderman Vernon “Step” Martin for the post.
Stinson has served in public office for 25 years — 14 years as a member of the Vinton council and the past 11 years as the mayor. He also has served for three terms on the LMA executive board.
Stinson will take office Aug. 2 during the annual LMA Convention in Lake Charles. The term of office is one year.
Another highlight of the meeting was an address by Toye Taylor, deputy chief of staff for Gov. John Bel Edwards.
Taylor touched on the ongoing budget battles in Baton Rouge saying he anticipates a third special session to begin June 18.
“We have to come together for the greater good and that’s just what Gov. Edwards in trying to do in the state,” Taylor said. “Failure is not an option. The governor is trying to find a solution that will be best for our people.”
He added that he expects the call for the third special session this year to be “concise, very tight.”
Turning his attention to LMA, Taylor pointed out that, as a former councilman, mayor and parish president, his focus is on local government.
“Not to speak ill of any of the former (LMA) administrations, but there has never been a better working relationship between the governor’s office and LMA than we have had this past year,” he said. “LMA is a solid and the most professional organization that we have in our state.”
Addressing Jones, who has announced that he will retire from public office at the end of his current term, Taylor added, “I walked away from elected office 10 years ago. It’s a transition and it took me years to get over it.”
John Gallagher, executive director, noted that LMA “faired very well” during the three previous legislative sessions, “fighting back a number of issues” that would have been detrimental to local governments.
Karen White, executive counsel for LMA, followed, saying, “You could sum up the whole legislative season as pretty much a hot mess.”
She acknowledged that, as of the end of the last special session, “we do have a budget, a balanced budget, but one that falls short of fulfilling the state’s needs for the coming year.
“Hopefully, they will get it together and find a way to raise the revenue they need to fill the gap” during the anticipated third special session.
Earlier in the night, Sibley Mayor Jimmy Williams, second vice president of the LMA executive board, lauded Jones’ efforts as the District G vice president.
“You could not have asked for better representation than you got with Greg,” he told the capacity crowd. “If he believes in something, by God he’s going to say it.”
A standing ovation followed.
Others addressing the gathering Thursday night included Rayville Mayor Harry Lewis, first vice president of the executive board; Randy Albarez, Louisiana Recreation and Parks Association representative; Cliff Palmer, executive director, Louisiana Municipal Advisory and Technical Services Bureau; and Jerry Cronin, Risk Management, Inc.
As the outgoing vice president, Jones served as master of ceremonies for the night’s event, thanking his staff for all the work they put in to make the meeting a success. He also introduced local and state officials present for the session.
“It has been my pleasure; it has been my honor to serve you during the past year,” he said in wrapping up the session.
In addition to the City of Crowley, sponsors for the night’s meeting included Fenstermaker, LaMATS, Cenla Environmental Science, Cleco, Mader Engineering, LAMP, RMI, Cox and Crews and Associates.
The meal was prepared and served by Fezzo’s Seafood, Steakhouse and Oyster Bar.