When the race for Iberia Parish Sheriff began, there were six candidates. Now only two are left in the running: Tommy Romero and Murphy Meyers.

In the October election, Tommy Romero received 35% of the votes while Murphy Meyers received 23% of the votes.

Both candidates have about 40 years of experience in law enforcement, but they both have very different ideas for Iberia Parish.

Both candidates started their law enforcement careers at the Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Office.

After working as a deputy for 18 years, Murphy Meyers stayed in Iberia Parish, working as a state trooper. Meyers believes his lifelong residency in Iberia Parish makes him the better candidate.

“Every day that I’ve worked, I was in Iberia Parish trying to take care of problems, trying to solve crimes and take care of individuals that just desperately need it,” Meyers said.

Tommy Romero believes the diversity in his career makes him the more-suited candidate. After working for the Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Office, Romero spent 15 years working undercover for state police in narcotics.

“My path in law enforcement, my career took me down many different roads versus Mr. Meyers,” Romero said.

A hot topic of debate between the two candidates is how they plan to reduce crime.

“I’d like to see a reduction in crime. We’re going to attack that by increasing patrol, making the deputies more responsive to the community,” Meyers said.

Meyers said his plan is to add more officers on the road and create smaller patrol sections. Romero disagrees.

“When it comes to fighting crime more efficiently, I think we can do it with the manpower we have. I don’t think we need to add more people to the department,” Romero said.

Romero said he wants to bring in high-tech crime-fighting technology to reduce crime.

Both candidates told News 10 they also want to focus on solving the thirteen unsolved murders in Iberia Parish. They each also plan to introduce incarceration programs at the parish jail to teach inmates job skills.