Three Teche Area residents are included in the list of 56 people nominated to fill nine vacancies on the Louisiana Ethics Board.

From New Iberia, retired business owner Warrdell Gerhart and lawyer Jeff Landry were named. Ted Kahn of Jeanerette, compliance supervisor for the Chitimacha gaming commission, also is on the list.

According to state law, Gov. Bobby Jindal will choose seven board members, subject to Senate confirmation. Each of the appointees must come from a different congressional district. The House and Senate will each have one pick for the board.

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From the 3rd Congressional District, the three local nominees are up against five others who were nominated from Houma, Thibodaux and Gonzales.

The nominees were selected by a committee composed of presidents of nine private universities around the state, said Mary Ann Coleman, president of the Louisiana Association of Independent Colleges and Universities.

Jindal and the Legislature are expected to receive the official list Monday, and will have 60 days to choose the board members from the list of nominees, according to The Associated Press.

Gerhart, retired owner of Iberia Credit Bureau and Information Services of Louisiana, said although he has no background in ethics laws and does not know what the position would entail, he intends to find out.

“I’m vaguely familiar with what I think the governor has in mind with the ethics commission, but I am interested to learn what the commission is all about,” he said.

Locally, Gerhart has been involved with the Greater Iberia Chamber of Commerce, the Iberia Parish School Board, the Industrial Development Foundation and also served on the state I-49 Task Force under two governors.

The Ethics Board is responsible for conducting investigations in ethics cases presented, and it is then up to an administrative law judge to decide if a violation has occurred.

The nine vacancies came after members complained that a new law reduces the board’s responsibilities. And, a new financial disclosure law requires board members give extensive details about their sources of income, according to The Associated Press.

Ethics Board members are prohibited from having a contract with the government and also cannot be a registered lobbyist or served as a public employee for six months before being appointed, said Coleman.

She said the nominees are required to fill out a questionnaire to see if they are eligible and if they would be interested in serving.

Kahn, former police chief of Jeanerette, said he has a variety of experience in ethics and asked to be put on the list of nominees after a “coalition” of people from Iberia Parish said he should serve on the board.

Kahn served for 13 years on the Port of Iberia Commission, eight years as a Jeanerette city councilman, five years as the police chief for Jeanerette and also as president of the Louisiana Association of Chiefs of Police.

“As a law enforcement officer and politician, I had to be well-versed on ethics,” he said. “I think my varied background would make me a valuable asset.”

Landry was not available for comment.