LaSalle Parish voters sent Columbia resident Neil Riser back to the State Capital to serve as the State Representative for District 20 for another four years during the election Saturday, October 14. Incumbent Riser (R) won his second term as District 20 State Representative, easily beating challenger Kevin Bates (R) of Winnsboro. Riser received 63% of the votes in Saturday’s election, or 1,997 votes, in LaSalle Parish. Bates received 37% of the votes, or 1,152 votes. District-wide, Riser received 57% of the votes across the various parishes included in the district with Bates receiving 43% of the total votes.
Riser will continue to serve with LaSalle’s other delegates, State Representative District 22 Gabe Firment (R), who went unopposed during this election and State Senator District 32 Glen Womack (R), who also went unopposed.
Police Jury
Elections for eight positions on the LaSalle Parish Police Jury were held Saturday, with four of those seats being won and four headed for a November 18th runoff.
Districts 1, 4, 5, and 10 had outright winners while Districts 2, 7, 8 and 9 will see the top two vote recipients in each district faceoff in the runoff election just over a month from now.
District 1
The closest race of election night was held in District 1 where Al Cassels won by just three votes.
Cassels received 223 votes, or 50% of the total, while Jacob Ayers received 220 votes, also 50%. To be declared a winner, candidates must receive 50% plus one vote to win.
District 2
Jordy Poole won the most votes in this race with 48% of the total or 183 votes with Rod Douglas receiving 32% of the total or 120 votes.
Both men will face each other in the runoff election to determine who will hold the District 2 seat on the Jury.
The third man in the race, Rickey Nugent, received 20% of the total or 77 votes.
District 4
Only two men were vying for this seat Saturday, Tim Kirl and Buddy Powell.
When the final votes were tallied, Kirl won the seat with 60% of the total or 305 votes. Powell finished with 40% of the total or 203 votes.
District 5
Incumbent June Fowler faced challenger Willie Twiner for the District 5 seat with Fowler easily winning re-election.
Fowler received 79% of the total or 461 votes and Twiner received 21% of the total or 121 votes.
District 7
Five men were trying to win the District 7 seat Saturday with no one receiving a 50% plus one majority to claim the position.
Brandon Streetman was the top vote recipient as he garnered 32% of the vote or 192 votes.
Coming in a close second was Steve Cripps, who received 26% of the vote or 154 votes.
The two will face each other in the runoff election November 18.
The other three men in the race had percentages/ totals as follows:
Kevin McEntyre, 18%/106 votes; Leon Graham, 16%/96 votes; and Dusty Poole, 9%/53 votes.
District 8
The largest field of candidates was found in the race for District 8 Police Juror, where seven men were trying to fill the open position on the Police Jury.
When the final votes were tallied Saturday night, two men emerged as the top vote recipients and will face each other in a runoff election November 18.
Wacker Pritchard was the high man Saturday as he received 24% of the votes or 145 votes. He was followed closely by Jarred Pugh, who received 22% of the votes or 136 votes.
Other candidates and their percentage and vote totals were: Raymond Humphries, 20%/120; Vince Stapleton, 19%/115; Leonard Gurganus, 7%/42; Landon Lemay, 5%/31; and C.J. Hall, 3%/16.
District 9
District 9 Incumbent Brent Farley faced two challengers in Saturday’s election and with no one receiving a majority, the top two vote recipients will face off during the November 18 runoff election.
Farley received the most votes Saturday, gathering 36% of the total or 228 votes, however, Curt Ainsworth was close behind gathering 35% of the total or 225 votes. Just three votes separated the top two men.
The third man in the race, Jamie Hall, received 29% of the total or 182 votes.
District 10
Voters in District 10 overwhelming approved of the job Incumbent Casey Jones is doing as he easily won re-election over challenger Pop Brown.
Jones received 69% of the total or 211 votes and Brown received 31% of the total or 95 votes.
SCHOOL TAX
For the second time in a span of 18 months voters in LaSalle Parish rejected a proposition by the LaSalle Parish School Board for a onecent sales tax.
Although listed as a new tax, the one-cent proposed Saturday was to replace an expired tax that had been on the tax rolls for 15 years.
In April 2022, the Board placed a similar proposition on the ballot and it was defeated 57% to 43%.
After changing the language in the proposition from the 2022 proposition, the proposition was placed on the October 14 ballot with a 15-year term limit and provisions that allocated percentages to certain expenditures such as school safety, employee pay and construction/ maintenance.
However, when the final results were revealed late Saturday night, the proposition failed by a vote of 51% No and 49% Yes.
A total of 2,466 voters said no to the tax and 2,375 said yes, a difference of 91 votes.
It is unknown if the Board will try for a third time to pass a similar measure in the near future. Currently, the Board collects two one-cent sales taxes.
