Knox wins runoff for 93rd District state representative seat

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - Alonzo Knox was elected Saturday (March 25) to Louisiana’s House of Representatives, filling the New Orleans-based District 93 seat left vacant after Royce Duplessis was voted into the state senate last November.

Knox, a former US Marine and owner of Treme’s Backatown Coffee Parlour with his wife Jessica, took 54 percent of the vote to defeat Sibil “Fox” Richardson. Knox tallied 1,718 votes to Richardson’s 1,443 in a race in which only 3,161 ballots were cast, according to the Louisiana Secretary of State’s website.

Knox is a former legislative aide with experience both in Washington D.C. and in Baton Rouge. He served as Director of Community Engagement for the New Orleans Police and Justice Foundation and co-founded the Friends of Treme (which produces the annual Treme Fest). His list of endorsements included VOTE, Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson, former city councilmember Jackie Clarkson, the Louisiana Restaurant Association and The Gambit weekly newspaper.

Richardson served four years for her role in a bank robbery and has worked as a prison reform advocate and motivational speaker. She was endorsed by Duplessis, Congressman Troy Carter, and New Orleans City Council members J.P. Morrell, Helena Moreno and Lesli Harris.

Only one of two New Orleans judicial races were decided in Saturday’s municipal primary.

First City Court Judge Marissa Hutabarat defeated two rivals to win the Division B seat at Orleans Parish Civil District Court. Hutabarat took 56 percent of the the 25,530 votes cast in the race to eliminate Stephanie Bridges (28 percent) and David “Jeff” Dye (16 percent).

In the race to fill the Section A vacancy at Orleans Criminal District Court, created when Judge Laurie A. White retired in January, two candidates advanced to an April 29 general election runoff.

Simone Levine and Leon Roche each advanced with 34 percent of the vote, while Diedre Pierce Kelly (32 percent) was eliminated. The three candidates in the race were separated by just 558 votes.

In St. Tammany Parish, voters advanced Jimmy Inman (40 percent) and Cody Ludwig (39 percent) to a runoff for the District D seat on Covington’s city council. Ben Guidry (18 percent) and Rene Ferrer (3 percent) were eliminated in the primary.

St. Tammany voters also approved a 10-year millage renewal to help fund Fire Protection District No. 13, by a margin of 85-15 percent.

Washington Parish voters elected Democrat Tate Kennedy as Justice of the Peace for Ward 7, by a 63-37 percent margin over Republican Greg Thomas.

In Lafourche Parish, voters elected Reggie Ledet to the Division E seat on the Port Commission, by a 61-39 percent margin over Dean Savoie. Lafourche voters also approved six propositions on millage and sales taxes.

And in Terrebonne Parish, Brien Pledger (54 percent) defeated two fellow Democratic rivals for the District 1 seat on the parish council, besting Lionel “Tony” Lewis (37 percent) and Faron “Fee” Richard (10 percent).

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