New leaders to face challenges

New elected officials are preparing to take office in 2016 and face the challenges ahead, especially the economic ones. St. Mary Parish President-elect David Hanagriff will be sworn in Jan. 11, taking over from Paul Naquin, who led the parish for almost a decade.
Naquin, D-Baldwin, will be going back to the parish council in the District 9 at-large seat. Naquin became parish president in April 2006, serving one unexpired term and two full terms.
Naquin joined the parish council in 1991, serving two terms in District 2 and one and a half terms as an at-large councilman.
Hanagriff, D-Centerville, served two terms as District 3 parish councilman.
The economy is strongly affecting the parish right now through declining sales taxes and increased layoffs, Hanagriff said.
“We haven’t seen the bot-tom yet,” Hanagriff said.
As a result, Hanagriff plans to focus on consolidating government where possible for at least his first six months in office in an effort to cut costs, conserve and prepare for what’s still to come, he said.
Parish officials will have to adapt to whatever the economy does, Hanagriff said.
Earlier this month, Hanagriff also said parish leaders need to continue to work to provide more housing in St. Mary Parish so that more of the parish’s workforce can live here.
Naquin said he is working closely with Hanagriff to make sure Hanagriff has a smooth transition into the parish presidency.
Naquin took office as parish president shortly after hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and he dealt with the aftermath of those storms. In 2008, hurricanes Gustav and Ike hit the region. Ike especially dropped a lot of water in St. Mary Parish, Naquin said.
Since those hurricanes, the parish has gotten close to $50 million in grant money for coastal protection, which Naquin sees as one of the biggest accomplishments area leaders made while he was parish president, he said.
The job of St. Mary Parish president is designated as a part-time position, but Naquin made a full-time commitment while in that job developing lots of valuable contacts on the local, regional and national levels, he said.
Naquin plans to spend more time with family as a councilman, but he’ll still be doing the same type of work he did as parish president, he said.
Though many new elected officials are yet to take office, one area official has already been sworn in.
Lewis Pitman, R-Loreauville, took office Monday as 16th Judicial District, Division D judge. The district covers St. Mary, St. Martin and Iberia parishes.
Voters elected Pitman to finish Judge James McClelland’s term after McClelland died of ALS in March.
Pitman served five years under McClelland as his public defender attorney for St. Mary Parish’s drug court program. Pitman served as a public defender for a total of 18 years handling “practically every type of case,” he said.
Pitman also operated private law practice at the same time.
“In the last five years, while Judge McClelland was on the bench, I learned from him how to become a very good judge,” Pitman said.
When McClelland made the decision to retire as judge March 1, Pitman knew he wanted to run for judge and continue the work McClelland started, he said.