Months of often-venomous local campaigning will come to a close Saturday as voters go to the polls to pick from a wide range of candidates for public office, including a testy race for the open district attorney's post on the northshore.

In that race, Collin Sims and Vincent Wynne have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to blanket voters with mailers and TV advertisements bashing each other as they compete for the open 22nd Judicial District Attorney's post, which covers St. Tammany and Washington parishes. 

The DA's race is among a handful of campaigns across metro New Orleans in the off-cycle March 23 election. Polls across the region open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m.

In Jefferson Parish, voters will decide a race for an open seat on the 24th Judicial District bench and in Grand Isle, voters will decide races for mayor, police chief and members of the Town Council.

The ballot also includes the Republican and Democratic presidential primaries, though President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump have already unofficially locked up their parties’ nominations, as well as dozens of elections for Democratic and Republican state and parish committee posts.

DA race tops the ticket

When former northshore District Attorney Warren Montgomery died last November after a long battle with cancer, political watchers expected the race for the remaining three years of his term to become testy and they haven’t been disappointed.

Sims, who worked as Montgomery’s chief deputy and is now interim DA, and Wynne, a Covington attorney, have gone toe-to-toe in forums — where each has questioned the other’s work record — and in increasingly negative mailers.

Both candidates are Republicans.

While he isn’t in the race, former northshore District Attorney Walter Reed has become a key player in it.

Reed, for decades one of the region’s most powerful politicians, was convicted on federal corruption charges in 2017. Sims has repeatedly attacked Wynne’s association with Reed, noting that Wynne was a prosecutor under Reed. Wynne recently has tried to turn the table, and in a mailer points out that five of Sims’ current top prosecutors also worked for Reed.

Other local races

Meanwhile, three candidates in Jefferson Parish are vying for the Division D judgeship vacated by Scott Schlegel when he won a seat last year on the Louisiana 5th Circuit Court of Appeal.

Lindsey Valenti, Jackie Maloney and Jerry Smith III are all Republicans. Voters on the east bank of the parish, excluding south Kenner, will casts votes in that race.

In Grand Isle longtime incumbent Mayor David Camardelle, a Democrat, has picked up a challenge from Republican Jim “Jimbo” Adams. There are also races for each of the Town Council’s five districts, as well as police chief.

Grand Isle's elections play against a backdrop of change on the barrier island. The recovery from Hurricane Ida in 2021 continues, the population has been shrinking and affordable housing for residents has become harder to find as multimillion-dollar camps replace houses. 

In Mandeville, incumbent Mayor Clay Madden has two challengers, Jeff Lyons and Billy Rosenthal. Voters will also select three members to the Mandeville City Council.

Voters in Madisonville will also select a mayor and members of the Town Council.