Guess what!? Louisiana-styled politics, as usual, that is what!

I am referring to the article “New Iberia gets new CAO,” by Holly Leleux-Thubron, on the Oct. 12 issue of The Daily Iberian.

In my earlier years as a low-level federal bureaucrat, we called this regime-building. In this case, it is not only regime-building, but also a case of “monied people taking care of monied people”!

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I bet we could find several thousand people in New Iberia alone, more qualified than Mr. Pharr, and having “a lot of knowledge that would be beneficial to city projects,” as Mayor Curry allegedly stated! What makes him so qualified? The fact that his education was in the field of architect? His having no experience in writing up grants? His having done a lot of begging and borrowing in his career? Or could it be that of knowing the right people?

What of the point that this position was initially created to fill a temporary need for Cliff Aucoin when he was battling cancer? How did such a temporary need become a permanent position, especially now, after being vacated and unneeded for two years?

Please correct me if I am wrong. I presume that position is now probably a civil service position? If so, should not the vacancy been announced to the public, and applications taken from the public in general? In a government, “of and for the people,” that would be the logical and decent, and possibly only legal, way to have the position filled.

On top of all this, a position of roughly a hundred thousand dollars per year is quiet a chunk of “our” tax money being thrown down the drain for a position that should not even exist!

Mayor Curry should please play politics with the council to give me such a non-competitive job in her regime. I promise her several votes, in addition to my own, come next election!

Pun aside, if I could financially afford such a campaign, I would personally finance a campaign to have her recalled, as mayor of New Iberia!

Ray Gonzales

New Iberia