Fresh breeze invigorates Mandeville City Hall

A month ago, Edward "Bubby" Lyons was leading the leisurely life of a north shore retiree while federal prosecutors closed in on Mandeville Mayor Eddie Price.

In rapid succession, Price resigned and pleaded guilty to fraud and tax evasion. Lyons was appointed interim mayor on the strength of his experience as mayor of Houma and president of Terrebonne Parish in the 1980s.

On Monday, Lyons reported for work at City Hall. He moved into Price's spacious office, stripped of the accumulated mementos of 13 years. He was handed the keys to Price's city-owned luxury SUV, along with another Price legacy -- the damage the former mayor's seemingly endless series of missteps wreaked on the reputation and psyche of the wealthy lakeside community of 12,000.

Running a city -- filling potholes, balancing budgets, brokering compromises with other officials -- is familiar to Lyons. E-mail and cell phones are not. A spry 80 years old, Lyons has compared Mandeville City Hall to a "listing ship" after more than a year in crisis mode.

In his first few days on the job, Lyons has reassured city staffers with his folksy, down-home persona and no-nonsense attitude. The change in mood is palpable, he says.

"They're smiling around here now. They've been through some trying times," Lyons said. "I might have had a positive effect."

Lyons, the father of five, will be at the helm in Mandeville for at least five months before residents go to the polls in a March 27 primary election to choose a permanent mayor. Lyons has promised not to run in the election to serve the remainder of Price's term, which expires in 2012.

"He has attacked the issues from the first day on the job, and he hasn't let up. I was confident that's exactly what he would do," said Councilman Jerry Coogan, who had Lyons in mind within days of Price's resignation and who on Oct. 17 voted with the rest of the City Council to choose Lyons over five other candidates. "Morale at City Hall couldn't be higher. They've got a little hop in their step, a little gleam in their eye."

--- 'A class act' ---

Growing up in Houma in the 1930s, Lyons was part of the first generation to speak primarily English rather than Cajun French. He was both Houma's last mayor and Terrebonne Parish's first president, overseeing the dissolution of the city government in favor of parishwide rule in 1984.

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