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S T TA M M A N Y FA R M E R.N E T
ELECTION 2026 QUALIFYING
Fandal elected without opposition to full term as Slidell mayor
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W e d n e s d ay, F e b r u a ry 18, 2026
50¢N
152ND YEAR, NO. 19
NIGHT MOVES
Pair seek police chief post, crowded council at large field takes shape
BOB WARREN and ANDREW CANULETTE Staff writers
Slidell Mayor Randy Fandal won a new term in office on Feb. 13 when qualifying closed for the May 16 elections and no other candidate had stepped up to challenge him. “I want to thank everyone that had confidence in me last October,” said Fandal, Slidell’s former police chief who won a special election just last October to fill the remaining months for former Mayor Greg Cromer’s term. “I’m excited to be able to continue the Fandal work that’s in front of us and not have to worry about a campaign.” Fandal’s new term will begin in July. Two candidates will ask voters to make them Slidell’s next police chief. Brian Nicaud and Tommy Williams, both veterans of the department who most recently served as police reserves, qualified last week for the race. Five familiar names will be on the May 16 ballot for Council at Large seats in Slidell. Current at large councilman Jeff Burgoyne is seeking reelection, while Leslie Denham, David Dunham and Kenny Tamborella (all who are termlimited in their current district council seats) are aiming for one of two at large positions on the council. Tom Abney, who ran unsuccessfully against Denham for the District A seat four years ago, is seeking a city-wide spot in this election. There will be head-to-head races in the districts whose representatives were term-limited. In District A, Rene Arcemont and Landon J. Washington look to succeed Denham. In District B, which Dunham has repped for eight years, Fabian L. Hartley and Sean Fadely look to take over that spot on the council. And in District E, where Tamborella was a two-term council member, Shawn Jones and Dominick “Nick” Spadoni III are on the May 16 ballot. District C Council member Megan Haggerty, seeking a second term, drew an opponent in Belinda Parker Brown. John Grigg and Timothy “Tim” Rogers will vie for the District G seat being vacated by
PHOTO BY MATTHEW DOBBINS
From their black hats to their solid black beads, 550 Krewe of Selene members aboard 24 floats had a witchy good time celebrating their ‘Friday Night Fright’ parade theme as they moved through the crowds in Slidell on Feb. 13.
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When a tip of the hat at Mardi Gras means so much BY KADEE KRIEGER
friends watching from the store’s balcony tip their own hats back to the band. Among Carnival’s “It’s awesome and elaborate centuriesone of the things that old customs and we look forward to quirky parade-day INSIDE, 4A, 8A, 9A each Mardi Gras. It practices lies a subtle is such a great nod to tradition of mutual us, and us back to them,” said Cedrick respect between one of the area’s most Meyer, who along with his brother, beloved marching bands and one of the Christopher, is a fifth-generation family city’s oldest family-owned merchants. Revelers who routinely catch parades member at the store. “If people are with us who have never seen it, they really downtown in the final stretch of St. get a kick out of it,” he said. Charles Avenue may have witnessed St. Paul’s Marching Wolves Board this quick but touching gesture when Member and band mom George Ott said the Marching Wolves of St. Paul’s the band members are committed to School in Covington tip their hats as tipping their hats to the store, even if they pass Meyer the Hatter, a New Orleans institution for more than ä See HAT, page 9A 130 years. In turn, Meyer family and
Contributing writer
CARNIVAL 2026
PROVIDE PHOTO BY ST. PAUL’S SCHOOL
ä See ELECTED, page 2A
Landry, state officials mark bridge progress U.S. 190/Bogue Falaya span is open, La. 36 bridge due this fall
BY WILLIE SWETT Staff writer
Two bridge construction projects in St. Tammany Parish, one worth tens of millions and the other worth $2 million, were the center of attention from local and state officials on Feb. 12, including Gov. Jeff Landry. Landry was on hand to cut the STAFF PHOTO BY BRETT DUKE ribbon of the recently opened new Gov. Jeff Landry speaks as people gather for a groundbreaking U.S. 190 bridge in Covington, which promises to ease congestion in a ceremony for the La. 36 bridge replacement.
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busy corridor that the state says sees around 50,000 drivers daily. Later that day, the governor headed to Lacombe to help kick off construction of the soon-to-be-replaced bridge on La. 36 that is part of a new state initiative to build 62 bridges by the end of the year. A who’s who of local politicians gathered to hear Landry during a news conference at the new U.S. 190 bridge, which crosses the Bogue Falaya River at Claiborne Hill.
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“We have had a tremendous backlog of infrastructure improvements that we’ve needed in this state for quite some time,” the governor said. Infrastructure on the northshore “not only has not been maintained, but it hasn’t kept with that growth,” he added. A two-lane bridge has stood at Claiborne Hill for more than 50 years, said state Department of
ä See BRIDGE, page 2A
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