Parish president candidates: Diversity is key to growth

Helping grow the St Mary Parish economy is the main issue facing parish officials and diversification is necessary to enable the parish’s economic success, the two candidates for parish president said Monday.
Gary Duhon and David Hanagriff, candidates for St. Mary Parish president, were the guest speakers at the St. Mary Industrial Group’s monthly meeting held Monday at the Petroleum Club of Morgan City.
The election for parish president will be held Oct. 24.
Duhon, 69, of Morgan City, grew up in Amelia and worked as a cattleman and rice farmer until 1978 when he started a construction company that he still operates today. Duhon currently serves on the Morgan City Harbor and Terminal District commission. Duhon’s wife, Carolyn, is a seventh-grade English teacher at Morgan City Junior High School. Duhon has five children, two stepchildren and 18 grandchildren.
Hanagriff, 45, of Centerville, currently serves as a District 3 parish councilman in his second term. Hanagriff is chairman of the parish council finance committee. He is co-owner and vice president of Hanagriff’s Machine Shop in Centerville, which his family has operated in St. Mary Parish for 105 years. Hanagriff is married to Angie Hanagriff, a schoolteacher in Franklin, and has three children.
Duhon served two terms as a St. Mary Parish at-large councilman.
“Our economy is the most important issue in this election,” Duhon said. “We must encourage the creation of new business, help existing businesses grow and encourage businesses to locate here.”
Hanagriff believes it is vital for St. Mary Parish to diversify its economy. The oil and gas industry’s success “built the infrastructure that built St. Mary Parish,” Hanagriff said.
“Without the oil and gas industry, we would not be where we are today, but we know we have to diversify,” Hanagriff said.
His family’s own business has survived more than 100 years due to its diversification serving all types of industry. Hanagriff believes he’s uniquely qualified, with his business background, to lead the parish, he said.
Because he’s a businessman, he wants to run parish government more like a business, Hanagriff said. If someone is given a task to accomplish, Hanagriff will hold that person accountable to complete the job, he said.
A strong focus on economic development is critical for the parish, Hanagriff said.
Duhon said, “My goals have always been and will continue to be job creation in St. Mary Parish. I want to help our businesses diversify. I want to promote job training by working with Young Memorial in Morgan City and South Louisiana Community College in Franklin.”
The St. Mary Parish President position differs from many surrounding parishes in that it’s designated as a part-time job, Hanagriff said.
Duhon wants to find funding to repair streets, roads and bridges in the parish and continue to support coastal restoration. Duhon hopes to increase available housing in the parish to allow more of the 40 percent of the parish’s workforce that lives outside the parish to move into St. Mary.
The parish’s waterways are among its greatest assets with the Atchafalaya River allowing direct access to the Gulf of Mexico. Parish government needs to support the needs of area industry to ensure business flourishes in St. Mary Parish, Duhon said.
Dredging of the Atchafalaya River is “probably one of the most important things going on in St. Mary Parish,” and the parish leaders need to continue to make that a priority, Duhon said.
St. Mary Parish also has a substantial agricultural industry and is one of the largest sugar producers in Louisiana, Duhon said.
Parish leaders need to work to minimize regulations that often hamper business growth, Duhon said.
Duhon and Hanagriff believe the parish can reduce parish millage rates and the number of tax entities in the parish. Hanagriff said two water and sewer districts in Centerville should have been consolidated a long time ago.
As a parish councilman, Hanagriff helped lower millage rates, he said. Parish government needs to make responsible decisions by lowering taxes when possible and raising them when necessary, Hanagriff said.
When Hanagriff’s district wanted a civic center, he helped form a cooperative agreement with the St. Mary Parish School Board for use of the alternative school in Verdunville as a recreation center.
Once U.S. 90, which spans the entire parish, becomes I-49, opportunities for St. Mary Parish will increase, Duhon said.
“We must continue to monitor and support I-49 South,” Duhon said.

This story was written by Zachary Fitzgerald of The Daily Review staff. Reach him at zfitzgerald@daily-review.com.