ABBEVILLE, La. (KLFY) — The name Francis Plaisance isn’t unfamiliar to the community, as he is no stranger to public service, serving the community for over 50 years.

Plaisance has worked with the Louisiana Cattle Festival. He has been a minister; ordained in 1968. He has investigated child abuse and neglect for the state for 20 years and retired in 2005. He served on the city council for 16 years, from 2006-2022. He was Mayor Pro Tem for 12 years. 

“I just felt like after the mayor’s race, I’ve pretty much retired, but I just felt like I could serve some more; serve my public and in this capacity. I had experience in it. So, I thought, well, here’s an opportunity perhaps to get back in and continue working and doing the work I was doing before,” said Plaisance. 

Following the March 29 special election, Plaisance returned to continue serving the residents of District B and Abbeville after winning by one vote. 

“Election night was really interesting because we were counting the votes, and it came to the very end of the vote counting and that’s the time when two more votes came in and they were both for me and so I ended up with one more than my opponent. So, it was pretty exciting and a different experience,” he said. 

After winning District B seat Plaisance was sworn in on April 15. He highlights four main goals he would like to focus on: taking care of city employees, the police and fire department, street improvements and infrastructure. 

“Of course, my primary concern is to take care of District B, and it has been well taken care of over the years by my predecessors, and I like to see that I’ll be able to continue that and keep those folks taken care of,” he said. “It’s an exciting time for me and I really appreciate the opportunity to once again work with the city administration and work with our constituents to move Abbeville forward.” 

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