The Village of Turkey Creek will no longer elect its chief of police after residents voted in an election on Saturday, March 24, 2018, to give the mayor and council the power to appoint someone to the position.
This election was first prompted when the the village began to face financial woes as it pertained to its police department.
The break down of the election reported on the Louisiana Secretary of State's website shows that a total of 83 (28.3%) votes were cast in the election. There were 56 votes cast in favor of having an appointed chief, while 27 votes were against doing away with an elected chief of police.
Now that this historic decision has been made, the village's chief of police will be one who is appointed by the mayor, who is currently Heather Cloud, and its council, which is at this time comprised of Joey Ducote, Neal King, and Curry Stewart.
The present chief, Glen Leggett, will finish serving out his current term, which is set to expire this year, before the mayor recommends and the council approves the village's first appointed chief of police.
Following the election, Mayor Cloud said, "I appreciate our current and past Elected Chiefs, and at the same time I am very happy with the election results. Rest assured that the council and I will be very choosy in appointing a qualified individual to both protect and serve our people, and our people will be pleased."
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Elizabeth West