The Iberia Parish President is the elected chief executive of Iberia Parish, Louisiana, running the executive branch under the parish’s Home Rule Charter and its president-council form of government. The office directs daily operations, supervises every parish department, prepares the annual budget, and can veto ordinances passed by the Parish Council. It is a four-year position elected at-large, with a limit of three consecutive terms.
What the President Does Day to Day
The charter makes the Parish President both chief executive and chief administrative officer, answerable to the Council for how the government actually runs.1Iberia Parish Government. Iberia Parish Home Rule Charter That means direct supervision of every department, office, and agency under the executive branch, from finance and human resources to animal control, parks and recreation, homeland security, and the Acadiana Regional Airport.2Iberia Parish Government. Contact
The president appoints department heads, subject to the approval processes the charter and local law require. A chief administrative officer and chief operating officer sit directly under the president and coordinate operations across departments.
Budget and Capital Planning
The president prepares and submits the annual operating budget to the Parish Council, along with a multi-year capital improvements plan covering infrastructure and long-term projects.3Iberia Parish Government. Iberia Parish Council Agenda December 3, 2025 These documents set what services the parish can deliver and which projects move forward, so budget preparation is where the president’s priorities become most visible.
Veto Power and the Council Relationship
The president can attend any Council meeting and speak on any matter but does not vote on legislation.1Iberia Parish Government. Iberia Parish Home Rule Charter The real lever is the veto.
After the Council passes an ordinance, the Council Chairman signs it and forwards it to the president within three days. The president then has ten days to sign it or veto it. A veto must include a written explanation of the president’s objections. If the president does neither within those ten days, the ordinance automatically becomes law as though it had been signed.1Iberia Parish Government. Iberia Parish Home Rule Charter The Council can override a veto only with a two-thirds vote of its full authorized membership, a high bar that gives the veto real weight without making it absolute.
Who Can Run, and for How Long
The charter sets three qualifications for the office. A candidate must be at least 25 years old, must be a registered voter in Iberia Parish, and must have lived in the parish for at least two full years before qualifying for the election.1Iberia Parish Government. Iberia Parish Home Rule Charter
Louisiana’s constitution adds a separate bar: anyone convicted of a felony cannot qualify for or hold elected public office in the state unless they have received a pardon or more than five years have passed since completing their original sentence. This applies to Louisiana, out-of-state, and federal convictions.
Qualifying candidates also pay a $250 filing fee, which breaks down to $225 for the parish-level office plus a $25 supplemental fee that applies to Louisiana candidates outside party committee races.
The term is four years, with the president taking office on the second Monday in January following the election. The charter caps tenure at three consecutive terms. After three back-to-back terms, a person cannot run for the same office in the next election cycle but may be eligible to run in a later one.1Iberia Parish Government. Iberia Parish Home Rule Charter M. Larry Richard has held the office since January 2016.4Iberia Parish Government. M. Larry Richard, Parish President
Vacancy, Succession, and Recall
If the office becomes vacant through death, resignation, removal, or forfeiture, the Council Chairman serves as Acting Parish President. The acting president carries the full powers of the office with one restriction: they cannot appoint or remove department heads or employees unless a majority of the Council’s full membership agrees. If a sitting president is unable to perform the duties of the office for 30 consecutive days, the Council can appoint a three-physician committee to examine the president and, based on that report, declare the office vacant.1Iberia Parish Government. Iberia Parish Home Rule Charter
How a vacancy is permanently filled depends on timing:
- If one year or less remains in the term, the Council appoints someone to serve out the remainder, and that appointee cannot run for Parish President in the next election.
- If more than one year remains, the Council appoints an interim president and calls a special election under the Louisiana Election Code, and the interim president cannot run in that special election.
The bar on appointees and interim presidents running for the seat they temporarily hold is a guardrail against anyone turning a timing accident into an incumbency advantage.1Iberia Parish Government. Iberia Parish Home Rule Charter
Recall by Voters
Louisiana law lets voters recall any elected state or local official except judges. Residents start the process by filing a petition with the Secretary of State and then gathering signatures from registered voters in the parish. The required share depends on the number of registered voters in the area:
- Fewer than 1,000 voters: 40 percent must sign.
- 1,000 to 24,999 voters: 33⅓ percent must sign.
- 25,000 to 99,999 voters: 25 percent must sign.
- 100,000 or more voters: 20 percent must sign.
Organizers have 180 days from the filing date to collect and submit signatures to the parish registrar of voters. In areas with fewer than 1,000 voters, the window is 90 days.5Justia Law. Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 18 RS 18-1300.2 Hitting those thresholds in a parish the size of Iberia is a heavy lift, which is why recalls are rare in practice even though the option exists.