Local watchdog loves staying involved

From public official screaming matches to resident complaints to mundane government business, Deborah White has seen as much action at Iberia Parish Council meetings as the council members themselves.

For the last five years, she and her long-time partner Richard Boutte have sat in the same seat of the Iberia Parish Council chambers meeting after meeting, their names invisibly etched into the seats they so often occupy.

White’s name has appeared more frequently lately in parish news scenes as an outspoken opponent of the recently-defeated Parish Council pay raises. But her questioning of the status quo goes deeper than a pay raise, and her research has sparked a domino effect of involvement with quality-of-life issues for Iberia Parish residents.

White and Boutte attended their first Parish Council meeting five years ago after a large boat-building company was built next door to their home.

The constant sandblasting and paint debris flying into their yard prompted the two to research local ordinances that could end the disturbances.

White found a noise ordinance, then went to the Parish Council for help, she said.

After a back-and-forth struggle with the issue, the 16th Judicial District Attorney’s Office ruled that the ordinance was unenforceable, White said.

The couple were not satisfied, so they continued their efforts and discovered that some of the boat builder’s operations were regulated through the state Department of Environmental Quality.

“We got some relief, but not from parish government,” White said.

Parish officials blamed the problems on a lack of zoning in the parish and tried another route in the form of a compliance officer and a nuisance committee, on which Boutte served. The committee eventually dissolved.

White gained knowledge of government procedure through her ordeal, but also learned of countless other parish residents who had problems of their own.

“We had people living in the parish calling us with nuisance problems. Some-times they still do,” White said. “We’re stuck with this, but we didn’t want this to happen to other people in the parish. No one should have to go through what we went through.”

At her first meeting, White met Barbara Foco, another parish watchdog of sorts who was fighting the parish on its plans to build a waste management facility that converts sewage sludge and waste into compost.

She and Foco teamed up in their efforts to stop the Bedminster facility from coming to the parish because of concerns over lethal contaminants that facilities of that kind have brought to other communities.

“This went into the air and made people sick,” White said. “We didn’t want this in the parish. We don’t want this in Louisiana.”

They got involved with Help for Sewage Victims, a noprofit that investigates the effects of sewage sludge. Iberia Parish then became home to the Louisiana chapter of the national group, with Foco serving as president.

Since Foco’s death this year, White has been named the newest Louisiana chapter president by the national director.

Her constant questions posed to the Department of Environmental Quality also earned her a seat a few years ago on a state listening panel set up to discuss environmental concerns throughout Louisiana.

“It gave me an opportunity to look at the bigger picture, not just what was going on here with us,” White said.

What started as self-interest in stopping the noise surrounding her home, White’s interest in the workings of the parish has not slowed since.

“We really got interested in what’s going on in our parish, started observing the things taking place,” White said. “We started making ourselves heard.”

Her and Boutte’s letters to the editor and call-ins to radio shows have continued to fluster even veteran council members as recently as a few weeks ago.

“It’s OK,” Boutte said. “We’re not here to make friends.”

But not all council members feel White and Boutte are negatively affecting the council’s image.

“I think it’s always healthy to have citizens in the community closely monitor what their public officials are doing,” said Parish Councilman John Berard.

“A couple of the parish councilmen have called Deborah White anti-government. I don’t agree with them at all. I think she’s just anti-corruption and wrong-doing.”

White has offered praise to the parish on at least a few occasions, including the May passage of parish-wide zoning and the growing Iberia Parish Mosquito Control program.

For White, though, staying involved is not just crucial because so few people are.

She has been disabled for 10 years following a work-related injury.

With her fifth back surgery approaching, researching the Home Rule Charter and speaking out have proven therapeutic, she said.

“It’s mentally helped me,” she said. “It helps me focus. It’s something I can do and be involved in. There aren’t enough people in this parish who participate in what’s going on.”