Election day is quickly approaching. This week, News 10 continues to look at the race for Lafayette Mayor-President by meeting with each candidate.

Carlee Alm-LaBar is no stranger to the political arena. From the non-profit and voluntary sector to the professional realm, she stated that she’s spent the majority of her career working for Lafayette and Acadiana.

“Working in local government can be tough, but change is absolutely possible. I’ve been on the inside and I know how to do it,” said Alm-LaBar.

Her track record inside and outside of government aligned with the urgency of draining and job challenges is what motivated her to run for office.

“We really need to be working with stakeholders from the federal and state level all the way down to coordinating with other parishes in our region, and obviously, working within our parish with residents and elected officials. We have a lot of work to do and we have to be coordinating,” she added.

In 2010, she worked with then Mayor-President Joey Durel as an assistant. She then became a Chief Executive Officer and Director of Development and Planning.

She said she believes the skills gained here are an advantage she can utilize when addressing issues like the job economy.

“We can work with folks in the medical field, in the oil and gas sector, in the education sector, in the I.T. sector, to talk to them about what are the companies that they do business with who might want to place jobs here,” said Alm-Labar.

From her experience in public administration, she believes she is a true representative that can tackle heavy issues without increasing taxes.

“Lafayette voters have spoken that we really need to learn to live within our means. I have great experience working within local government to look for efficiencies in ways we can do things better,” she added.

Alm-LaBar also spearheaded the ‘Fix the Charter’ amendment which created dedicated councils for the city and parish.

“There’s an opportunity to revisit those budgets and make sure parish government is only paying for core parish responsibilities and that city-government is focused on what city taxpayers are paying for,” said Alm-Labar.

To learn more about Alm-LaBar, visit here.