The New Iberia mayoral race took a new turn during the qualifying period last week with the entry of Chris Jordan, local developer and businessman, who is challenging Mayor Hilda Curry for the position.

“I think I can make some positive changes,” Jordan said. “I think the current mayor has done a good job, but I have different talents for economic growth to help move New Iberia at a faster pace.”

Jordan said he will be emphasizing repairs to sewer lines on private property, to reduce wasteful spending from treating rainwater that has infiltrated the sewer system.

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“That’s going to be priority one,” he said. “It might not be popular ... but it’s the right thing to do.”

He said it might be possible to address it by hiring one contractor to make all repairs and to bill residents not qualifying for financial assistance in increments. He said with the $6.4 million surplus, he thinks the city can afford it.

“Anything to keep from wasting $1.4 million a year,” he said.

Jordan said that the current administration is conservative on spending, which he thinks is a “great thing,” but with a surplus as large as $6.4 million, “it almost sounds like we’re collecting too much taxes. That’s something I would definitely look at.”

He also said he believes people in the Public Works department deserve raises, that he wants to create more jobs, and that the city could be more “user-friendly” to the public.

“I’m not throwing any mud at (Curry),” said Jordan. “I’m just saying my idea’s a little bit different because I’ve been a person who makes things happen.”

If he became mayor, said Jordan, he would separate himself from his business for the term so as not to be accused of “influence peddling”. “That’s what I complain about now with politics,” he said. “That’s not what I’m about.”

Mayor Hilda Curry said she and her supporters will be “hitting the streets” in the next few weeks, conducting a grassroots campaign and “letting people know all we’ve accomplished.”

Some of those things are rewriting the charter, which will go into effect in 2009, settling the consent decree, with which the city is complying on schedule, starting an after-school tutoring and mentoring program for children at the parks, which she would like to expand, and beautifying the city.

The study for a rail grade separation will soon begin, and railroad crossings will be upgraded. Curry is working with the Optimist’s Club to put a park where the old Lewis Street bridge was and with the state Department of Transportation and Development to get welcoming signs at some entrances to the city.

Infrastructure, she said, is also a major focus.

“I believe we really have a plan in place for infrastructure,” she said, citing drainage studies with the parish on Armenco canal and a $4 million road program she said will begin next year.

The city has begun enforcing repairs to sewer lines on private property in the Front Street area; this, she said, will be an ongoing process throughout the city.

Curry also wants to focus on economic development and tourism through the $20,000 retirement grant the city received and the multipurpose center, for which she said the city will purchase land most likely within the next month.

She said she will continue to seek to grow New Iberia with residential development and possible annexation.

The city also recently received additional money for Hopkins Street, which will be used for lights and sidewalks. She said private investors have expressed interest in the area and that within the next year or so, the city would like to tie Main Street in with Hopkins via bike paths, walking paths and green spaces.

However, “The first and foremost objective is to have a safe community,” said Curry.

She said she feels confident that with increased communication with the newly installed Sheriff Louis Ackal, safety will improve.

A New Iberia mayor can hold a maximum of three consecutive terms.

The election will be held Oct. 4. Early voting will be held Sept. 20 to 27.