I've served this district. Now I'm asking you for the job.
When Councilman Gene Richard passed away, his family asked the mayor to appoint Lester Bimah to the District B seat, and the City Council confirmed him. He served the district into 2026 — but the resolution that seated him kept him off the ballot in the election that followed. On November 3, District B finally gets to choose.
Unfinished business
“I was asked to finish Gene's work. I wasn't allowed on the ballot for the election that followed. This November is the first chance the people of District B have had to choose — and that's how it should be.” Lester Bimah
District B lost Councilman Gene Richard in 2025. He gave this district years of his life, and the seat he left behind had to be filled. Gene's family asked the mayor to appoint me to it, the mayor did, and the City Council confirmed the appointment unanimously.
I took the job knowing the resolution barred me from running in the special election to fill out the term — and then that election was never held, because only one person qualified for it. So no one in District B has been asked for a vote in a contested council race in four years.
I served these streets. I learned what this district needs, I started on it, and I didn't get to finish. I'm asking for the job the right way this time: door to door, and on the ballot.
This is a positive campaign. You will not hear a word from me against anyone else on this ballot. I'd rather earn your vote by telling you what I'll do and then knocking on your door to say it in person.
The record
- The vacancyThe District B seat of the late Councilman Gene Richard
- AppointedBy the mayor, at the request of the Richard family — confirmed by the City Council September 16, 2025, Resolution 2668, on a 4–0 vote
- ServedOctober 7, 2025 through February 18, 2026, District B
- Barred from the ballotThe appointing resolution made him ineligible for the special election that followed
- On the ballot nowThibodaux City Council, District B — Tuesday, November 3, 2026
Three commitments
Short list, on purpose. These are things a councilman can actually deliver, and things you can hold me to.
Drainage in District B
Not a study — a list, in priority order, with a name attached to every item. Acadia Woods. The Cardinal Drive area. The Blake Court area. The Jackson and Seventh Street intersection. And that isn't the whole list; it's where I'd start.
Water doesn't stop at a city limit, and neither can the fix. The Cooperative Endeavor Agreements between the City of Thibodaux, Lafourche Parish, Terrebonne Parish and the North Lafourche Levee District are how four separate budgets get pointed at one drainage problem instead of four partial ones. Keeping those agreements alive and moving is real council work, and it's the work I want.
Road safety at Percy Brown
The intersection of Percy Brown Road and North Acadia Road has been a problem for years, and everybody who drives it knows it.
There's a roundabout proposed for it. I support it, and I'll push to see it funded and built rather than studied for another four years. Intersections like this one are where a council seat either produces something you can see from your car or it doesn't.
Our kids
Forty years of coaching in this parish taught me what a field, a court and a coach are worth to a kid who has nowhere else to be. Our recreation programs and the facilities they run on are worth fighting for in a budget, and I know how to make that case.
Safety belongs in the same conversation. I want cameras covering our school zones — the crosswalks, the pickup lines and the blocks our children walk every morning. Not a ticket program, and not a network pointed at the rest of the district. Just the ground around our schools, so that when something happens there, nobody is guessing.
Fifty-five years in Thibodaux
Neighbor, husband, father, businessman — and to about three generations of this town, just “Coach.”
Lester Bimah has lived in Thibodaux for 55 years. He and his wife Laverne have been married for 20 years, and between them they have four children, ten grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. He spent his career in the automobile business, most recently as managing partner at Barker Honda in Houma.
He coached men's soccer at Nicholls State from 1981 to 1989 and was inducted into the Nicholls Athletics Hall of Fame. He has served as an usher at St. Joseph Co-Cathedral for 34 years and on the advisory council of St. Joseph Catholic Elementary. In 2018 the Thibodaux Firemen's Fair named him Grand Marshal.
In 2025, when Councilman Gene Richard passed away, the Richard family asked that Lester be appointed to the District B seat. The mayor made the appointment and the City Council confirmed it unanimously. He said yes, and he served.
- Nicholls StateHead Men's Soccer Coach, 1981–1989 · Nicholls Athletics Hall of Fame · Past President, Colonel Athletic Association
- St. JosephUsher, Co-Cathedral, 34 years · Advisory Council, St. Joseph Catholic Elementary
- Thibodaux Firemen's FairGrand Marshal, 2018
- Thibodaux City CouncilDistrict B, 2025–2026
- Barker HondaManaging Partner, Houma — retired
Lester's own cell phone. He expects the calls — that's the point.
Put a sign in your yard
This campaign is neighbors, a list of doors, and a candidate walking them. There's no consultant and no big budget — which means what you do actually moves it.
A yard sign on a District B street does more here than any ad we could buy. Two hours on a Saturday puts a whole street in front of Lester. And if you'd rather just be kept in the loop, that helps too — check the box and you'll hear from us a handful of times before November.
Every form goes straight to the campaign. Nothing is sold, shared, or handed to anybody.
Dates to put on the refrigerator
Check your registration, find your polling place, and request a mail ballot at voterportal.sos.la.gov. Not sure whether you're in District B? Call Lester and he'll tell you.