Early voting for the April 6 municipal elections will run March 23-30 in voter registrar offices and other sites in Allen, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Jeff Davis and Vernon parishes. There are no elections in Cameron Parish.

Voters can cast ballots 8:30 a.m.-6 p.m. daily except Sunday, March 24, and Friday, March 29.

In Calcasieu Parish, voting will be in the courthouse, 1000 Ryan St.; West Calcasieu Business Center, 500 N. Huntington St. in Sulphur; and the Moss Bluff Library, 261 Parish Road.

Voters should bring a driver’s license, Louisiana special ID or some other generally recognized picture ID.

Municipal elections are slated for Lake Charles, Vinton and Jennings, with a special councilman race in New Llano. Special elections are being held for justice of the peace and constables in Allen and Beauregard parishes.

Beauregard and Calcasieu have propositions for fire protection, school improvements and road maintenance.

Here’s a look at the local ballots for Southwest Louisiana:

Allen Parish

• Ward 1 justice of the peace — Rodney Botley, Ricky Mahaffey and Stephen B. Manuel.

• Ward 1 constable — “Blackie” LeBlue and Earl Morrow.

Beauregard Parish

• District 2 constable — Kenneth “Ken” Evans and Leonard “Pard” Stark.

• Voters in Fire Protection District 4 will be asked to continue a fire department facilities improvement millage.

Calcasieu Parish

• Lake Charles City Council District A — Kecee Lewis, Mary Morris and Marshall Simien Jr. (I).

• Lake Charles City Council District B — Luvertha August (I) and Lionel H. Taylor.

• Lake Charles City Council District G — Mark Eckard (I) and Khalid Taha.

• Vinton council  (five at large) — Bliss Bujard (I), Harold Douga (I), Richard Huval, William “B.B.” Loyd (I), Kevin Merchant (I), Paul Patin and Marcus Renfrow.

• Vinton police chief — Ricky Fox (I), Chad Ivery Perry and Arthur Phillips Sr.

The ballot will also include several propositions in Calcasieu Parish. Lake Charles voters will decide whether to allow the city to work with a developer to build a hotel at the Civic Center and pay part of the costs with tax revenues generated from hotel operations or use the money to pay for other public improvements in the area.

• The Calcasieu Parish School Board is seeking a $13.2 million bond issue for School District 25 in Iowa and a $10 million bond issue for School District 26 in Vinton.

• School District 30 in Sulphur is seeking separate bond issues to acquire and improve land for buildings and playgrounds and renovate and improve the football stadium and athletic facilities at Sulphur High. The first is for $4.6 million; the second is for $5.2 million.

• Calcasieu Parish voters will be asked to approve a 10-year, 4.06-mill tax to maintain roads and drainage. It will generate $6.7 million a year.

• Another measure calls for a 10-year, 3.49-mill tax to run and maintain the Juvenile Detention Center and Juvenile Probation Office. It will generate $5.7 million a year.

• A 10-year, 2.48-mill tax renewal is being sought for the Calcasieu Parish Health Unit. It will generate $4 million a year for maintenance and operation.

• The city of Sulphur is seeking renewal of 10-year, 5-mill taxes for street and fire department improvements. Each will generate $587,221.

Jeff Davis Parish

• Jennings mayor — Terry Duhon (I) and Marcus Peterson.

Vernon Parish

• New Llano councilman — Bruce Harris, Mayur “Mack” Patel and Terry Speicher.

For more information, contact voter registrar offices: Allen, 639-4966; Beauregard, 463-7955; Calcasieu, 437-3572; Jeff Davis, 824-0834; and Vernon, 239-3690.

(MGNonline)

David Mercer