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Newly elected Erath Mayor Taylor Mencacci (left), and newly elected aldermen Jason Connor (middle) and Scott Bernard go over the voting totals that they track of during the election on Tuesday.

New mayor plans to run Erath like a business

Mencacci will begin his term in January

ERATH — Taylor Mencacci is a businessman, and he plans to run the town of Erath as a business.
Mencacci is the new mayor of Erath, beating long-time Erath politician John Earl LeBlanc. LeBlanc had been the mayor for one term but had been an alderman for 20-plus years before.
Mencacci, 36, has a full-time job in New Iberia. He is an administrator of Ambulatory Service Center. He manages 20 people at his day job. He plans to use his day-job managing skills to operate the town of Erath.
“The city is on a fixed income. We can not push for higher sales tax and get more sales tax,” he added. “It does not work that way. It is the same thing at the surgery center, where I work. It is a fixed price on what they pay us, and we have to control spending to make a profit. At the same time, we have to provide good service for the patients we take care of. It is the same thing for Erath. You can not cut expenses that will hurt people who live in the town. We will have to do it the right way and cut some costs, but at the same time, keep the residents of Erath in mind.”
Unlike LeBlanc who stayed in Erath and oversaw the town on a full-time basis, Mencacci will not be able to operate the town like LeBlanc did because he works in another city. That’s where he will count on the town’s supervisors to run their departments.
“We have directors and people in charge of city hall. We have a chief of police, waterworks director,” Mencacci added. “It is holding those supervisors accountable every day.”
Before throwing his hat into the mayor’s race, Mencacci was an alderman for one term. It was during this term as alderman that he decided he wanted to be mayor.
It was during his term as an alderman that he saw how the town of Erath was being run and how some aldermen and the mayor did not work together.
“When I was an alderman, I got much resistance from the mayor of not wanting to work with the aldermen,” said Mencacci. “From there on, I was not one to put up a fight. I decided to work peacefully with whoever is there. I decided then I wanted to be the mayor.”
When he first became an alderman, the thought of being mayor of Erath was never in the back of his mind, he said. A year into his alderman term, the idea of being mayor became larger and larger.
Mencacci said he did not like the way the town of Erath was being run. He heard from the residents who shared their concerns about the town.
There will be four new aldermen. Only long-time alderman Robert Vincent returns.
The new aldermen are Jason Connor, Scott Bernard, “Boo” Landry, and Mike Richard.
The four new aldermen ran on the platform of moving Erath forward. Mencacci plans to begin moving Erath forward in January when he and the aldermen are sworn in.
“We are bringing business experience. We also need to manage expenses in Erath,” he said. “The new aldermen who were elected bring their business minds to Erath. I believe that government is a business, and we need to run it like a business.”

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