Chase Melancon named chair of Ascension Parish Council, Alvin 'Coach' Thomas vice chair

Chase Melancon, who represents the St. Amant area of District 6, was selected as chair and Alvin "Coach" Thomas, whose District 1 is entirely on the west bank in the Donaldsonville area, was chosen as vice chair during the Jan. 5 Ascension Parish Council meeting held at the courthouse in Donaldsonville.

Melancon's nomination by Teri Casso was the only one made.

"I want to thank each and every one of my colleagues," Melancon said. "I truly appreciate the support and I'm very excited. I do want to give Mr. Cagnolatti the proper shoutout for 2022. There are very few, if any of us, who have put in as much time as Mr. Cagnolatti and a lot of that goes unseen. He deserves every pat on the back he can get. I appreciate it very much, and look forward to 2023."

In voting for vice chair, the council voted to a 5-5 tie between Cagnolatti and Thomas. Council secretary Cinnamon McKey then requested nominations again.

Casso nominated Cagnolatti and Travis Turner nominated Thomas. After a second roll call vote, Aaron Lawler changed his vote to Thomas, which gave the Donaldsonville area member the one-vote edge.

"I look forward to going into the new year, 2023. Looking forward to some great things happening in the Parish of Ascension," Thomas said.

Cagnolatti was chair in 2022, while Casso served as vice chair.

The current council members are approaching the end of their current term, which is 2020 to 2024. An election is set for October of this year.

Gonzales Weekly Citizen and Donaldsonville Chief, part of the USA Today Network of Louisiana, cover Ascension Parish and the greater Baton Rouge area. Follow at facebook.com/WeeklyCitizen and facebook.com/DonaldsonvilleChief.