ST FRANCISVILLE — Candidates Kenneth Fabre and Cy D'Aquilla are outlining their priorities as they compete to become the next district attorney for Louisiana’s 20th Judicial District, which serves East and West Feliciana parishes.

Both candidates bring decades of legal experience in the region, but each emphasizes distinct approaches to prosecution, juvenile crime and community engagement.

Fabre, who has practiced law for more than 30 years—including 21 years as a prosecutor—said he entered the race to protect the community following the departure of the district's longtime district attorney.

His platform focuses on violent crime prevention, victim advocacy for children and protecting private property rights and business. 

Fabre also wants to focus more on youth crime and truancy.  He has worked with churches and law enforcement to identify children at risk and mentor them, and he wants to expand a pretrial diversion program that already exists in the office.

"One of the things I want to enhance and focus on is to slow down juvenile delinquency and truancy coming into our law enforcement agencies and ultimately into the DA's office. Because if we can slow down juvenile delinquency, we will eventually slow down adult criminal activity," Fabre said. 

The other candidate, Cy D'Aquilla, has practiced law for 18 years, including nearly 17 years as a public defender in the Felicianas.

His priorities include fostering closer communication between prosecutors and law enforcement during investigations, expanding youth outreach and offering reform options such as community service when appropriate.

D'Aquilla describes his campaign as grounded, transparent and proven, emphasizing his courtroom experience and a commitment to prosecution without political bias. According to D'Aquilla, residents want fair decisions, clear explanations from the district attorney's office, and an even playing field.

"Grounded in that I'll make my decisions based upon the facts, the evidence, and the law, not political agenda, not personal agenda. Transparent means open-door policy. I believe a district attorney ought to be able to tell the public that they're serving, why they made certain decisions, and the public should be able to know that. And proven well, I've been a proven trial attorney here in the Felicianas for quite some time, and I expect to try those serious cases as a district attorney myself"

Fabre also emphasized accessibility as a major part of his campaign and said he has been knocking on doors five evenings a week. Da'quilla pointed to jury trial experience as a key qualification and said he would be ready to try cases on day one.