Lafayette Parish Mayor-President Josh Guillory joined Jan Swift of Discover Lafayette to discuss his first year of service to the community. Guillory took office on January 6, 2020, and has faced unprecedented challenges this year as the coronavirus rolled in with its ensuing physical and economic chaos, the oil and gas market collapsed, several hurricanes hit our region, and civil unrest erupted after the fatal police shooting of Trayford Pellerin.

A young man who will turn 38 on January 8, 2021­­­­­­, Guillory is a graduate of the U. S. Airborne School and earned his wings in 2004. He comes from a family who proudly served, harking back to his paternal grandfather who was a WWI Vet, his maternal grandfather who was a WWII Vet, and his brother who served in the Air Force. Guillory served in Baghdad, Iraq as a Cavalry platoon leader. He credits his time in the military for teaching him how to make decisions, saying he was told in Officer Candidate School, "If you'll learn anything, you will learn how to make decisions!"

While working as a pharmaceutical representative and juggling the responsibilities of raising three young children with his wife, Guillory earned his law degree from Southern University Law Center while working full time and attending school at night. He credits his work in pharmaceuticals for equipping him to better understand medical issues associated with the pandemic.

Hospitals are once again at surge capacity, and immediately prior to our interview, Guillory hosted a press conference with hospital officials who reiterated that the community must follow COVID guidelines such as mask-wearing, washing hands, social distancing, and quarantining if exposed to someone with the virus. Guillory has realized that a small percentage of the people think everything should be shut down in order to get a grip on the pandemic, another small percentage think it is a hoax, and an overwhelming majority just want to strike a balance so that we can keep going. "Personal responsibility is the absolute # 1 tool in fighting COVID-19. We all know what to do and we should comply. Wash your hands like you are cleaning up after eating crawfish and putting in your contact lens," Guillory says.

"Personal responsibility is the absolute # 1 tool in fighting COVID-19. We all know what to do and we should comply. Wear your mask. Wash your hands like you are cleaning up after eating crawfish and taking out your contact lens," Guillory says.

Guillory has remained steadfast in his commitment to do more with less while not raising taxes and to focus on his core priorities of improving drainage, roads, and public safety.

Handling the pandemic has been an all-consuming priority and has also resulted in delaying the hiring of a few key hires such as permanent directors for LUS, LUS Fiber, and the Parks Department. While Guillory prefers to hire local, he also wants to ensure that the best possible candidates are vetted and the pandemic has made interviewing tough. The new Lafayette City Chief of Police is about to be named, and Guillory is proud that two local people were hired to oversee the newly created Drainage and Transportation, Roads and Bridges Departments, which were carved out of the former Public Works Department. This year's budget adds 11 positions to the Drainage Department, which fulfills Guillory's promise to prioritize improving drainage.

When asked to address the cuts made to arts and culture, Guillory stressed the importance of tapping into all stakeholder groups with an interest in maintaining the quality of offerings while also taking into consideration the constraints of the budget. With the recent defeat of the two tax propositions which would have allowed greater budget flexibility in spending operating fund (discretionary) dollars,