Crawford resigns Justice of Peace seat to run for council

St. Tammany News

Rebecca Crawford, a Pearl River Justice of the Peace, announced her candidacy Tuesday for St. Tammany Parish Council District 6.

Crawford submitted her resignation as a JP officer to Louisiana's Secretary of State's office.

She plans to qualify Tuesday for the Parish Council race Oct. 20, as a challenger to incumbent Gary Singletary, who is expected to rerun for the east St. Tammany seat.

A 1968 graduate of Slidell High School, Crawford has performed marriages and notaries out of her business Hickory Auto Tile Transfer Service on Louisiana Highway 41 in Pearl River for nearly two decades. Because she's performed marriages for 18 years, state law allows her to continue to perform the ceremonies and notarizations despite her resignation, she said.

Crawford said she's campaigning to make a difference.

"People are dissatisfied," she said. "They need a change. People know me. They know they can believe in me."

Crawford has been married to John Howell for 12 years. She has one daughter, Angela Chauvin, 38, and helped raised Howell's daughter, Constance Howell, 25.