Lafayette's next Mayor-President, Monique Boulet, will be sworn in at the beginning of the new year.
Boulet served as the CEO of the Acadiana Planning Commission and said transitioning to the political spectrum wasn't originally on her radar.
"It's not something I thought about growing up. I think I watched my parents," said Boulet.
Boulet's mom was former Louisiana Governor, Kathleen Blanco, and her father, Raymond Blanco, also known as Coach, was an academic administrator and football coach at UL Lafayette.
"My parents were both public servants, but they changed lives. They helped people and I found that all over the parish in the campaign. People who they touched, and you know it's through doing good work and putting good things in place. I think probably it was their example more than anything and then being at the point of life where I could contribute, and I could do those things," she says.
Boulet said timing was everything for her when she decided to run for Mayor-President. She will be the first female in the position, similar to how her mother was the first female Governor of Louisiana.
"I saw my mother go up against big odds and was successful and so learning how to do that and just learning how to look long just to the end and not get caught in the small hurdles and the big hurdles that you have to go through."
There are two key issues Boulet wants to focus on as soon as she takes office, including reviewing all of the open-ended legal proceedings.
"Some of those we are going to look at. We're going to kind of do an inventory and see what can go and what needs to stay so that's one of the first things," said Boulet.
She also plans to look over the finances to see how money was being spent.
"There's a lot of projects that have started, that the funding, I'm not sure exactly where it is and how it is. I want to understand the financial situation and really try to keep the good things going that are in place, but also what is the next step and what can we do."
Boulet is still building her administration, but her goal is to build a team the community can have confidence in.
"I'm going to surround myself with really good people. People who want to make a difference. People who want to be true public servants and I think we're not looking to participate in partisan politics. We really are looking to build a strong community for everybody."
Boulet has been in communication with Mayor-President Josh Guillory. She's thankful he and his staff are making the transition a smooth one.
"It's been going well. Josh Guillory and I have spoken several times and he's been very open and helpful. Anything we need, they have provided."
Boulet will officially begin work as Mayor-President on January 1, serving the parish she's lived in most of her life. She said the people are who make Lafayette so special.
"It's the people. It's the way we think. It's the way we do things. I think we do things a little bit better than anywhere else honestly. We tweak things. We think about how that can be better, and you see it in our food, in our music, you see it in the way we work, in our workforce. You see it across the board and I really think that's our niche."
Boulet's public swearing-in will be held at 3pm on January 3 at the Cajundome.
