By T. Scott Boatright
Lincoln Parish Police Juror Theresa Wyatt made an appearance during Thursday’s Grambling City Council meeting to announce she is running to return to her District 1 seat in an election set for the fall of 2023.
“I’m nervous, and that’s not like me because I’m usually outgoing,” Wyatt said as she began her announcement. “But I’m nervous because I serve my office with boundless passion, and it’s reflected in my life and work I do. I’m here to announce my intentions to run for police juror again this year.
“Years ago leaders in our community worked out a plan where Grambling would be represented by both a police juror and a school board member and not be at large, because that was the trend back then. All the jurors and school board members were (elected) at large.”
She said that was the basis behind part of the timing of her announcement.
“It’s early, really early, but the 2020 Census has affected the dynamics of Grambling – District 1, District 2 (currently held by Hazel Hunter) and Milton Melton’s (District 10 ),” Wyatt said. “Things have shifted. Grambling now has a smaller enrollment than it once had. (GSU) faculty, staff all lived in Grambling. Now that has changed.
“I’m not here to campaign, I’m just here to tell you that within a short distance of time, because I’ve been asked to be brief, that there is a lot to consider with making this announcement.”
Wyatt said he is considered a rural juror because she lives outside city limits and that Hunter lives inside city limits.
“She plays two roles for the City Council because she pays tax to the city, she can talk about the budget and how you spend the budget and so forth. I can’t. I only come in at the invitation of Mr. Bradley, and it has to do with parish tax dollars.
“Rural jurors are basically concerned with health and safety. If you have property outside the city limits, if you drive your car outside the city limits, you are in parish territory. I work on those issues.”
Wyatt said she is announcing early because she believes protocol has not been kept well.
“The Census of 2020 changed the dynamics of Grambling,” Wyatt said. “I’m announcing early because signs are put in areas where at one time, we didn’t do that. We just put the signs in the areas that we serve.
“So don’t be concerned if you see a sign for someone else in District 1. I’m telling you today, I’m running, I’m running with passion and I’m going to do what I’ve always done – I’m going to serve you with passion. So we’ll talk later and I’ll campaign at a later date.”
The Lincoln Parish Police Jury came under heavy scrutiny in 2023 in regards to the turmoil over the ambulance and emergency contract with the city. And once again early this calendar year, members of the LPPJ were in the news again with the decision to not renew then parish-administrator Doug Postel’s contract despite heavy support for Postel from parish employees as well as local residents.
The upcoming police jury elections are expected to be tightly contended in a number of districts.
