Mayor Pro Tem Harold Doucet not running for re-election

Published 12:12 am Friday, January 24, 2020

Port Arthur District 4 Councilman and Mayor Pro Tem Harold Doucet announced in a Facebook post Thursday he would not run for re-election.

Doucet is otherwise eligible to serve one more term.

He thanked those who gave him the chance to serve on the council in the city where he was born and raised. Among his reasons for not running, the retired Army veteran said he wanted to spend more time with his wife and family.

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“I will be 70 years old in April, [and] most of the sand in the hourglass is at the bottom, so it’s only fitting and right that I devote the rest of the time to them,” Doucet posted. “This responsibility requires not ONLY addressing citizens’ concerns or complaints in the District but also preparing for council meetings. Preparing for council meetings requires a LOT of time for researching information, pertaining to items on the agenda, and a LOT of running around.”

Doucet added he never accepted the salary and auto allowance for council members, and that he plans to support those who are elected whether he voted for them or not.

“I have a better understanding of how the city got to this state,” he wrote. “I KNOW what actions have been taken to rectify the situation. I KNOW what the future plans are. I KNOW there are STILL personnel changes that will be made, in order to make the plan successful. I feel the city has finally got a MANAGER that REALLY care[s] about OUR city. I KNOW the CITY is a reflection of its LEADERS and CITIZENS. So, if the citizens don’t do their part, the plan will NEVER work.”

About I.C. Murrell

I.C. Murrell was promoted to editor of The News, effective Oct. 14, 2019. He previously served as sports editor since August 2015 and has won or shared eight first-place awards from state newspaper associations and corporations. He was born in Memphis, Tennessee, grew up mostly in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and graduated from the University of Arkansas at Monticello.

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