For Cindy Poston Lavespere, Vernon Parish has always been home. Born in Leesville in 1966 to Bryan and Jonell Poston, Jr., Cindy grew up in a family with deep roots in Vernon Parish and a long tradition of public service. Her grandfather, Senator Bryan A. Poston, represented Vernon Parish in the Louisiana Senate for 28 years, and her great-grandfather, C.M. Poston, also served Vernon Parish in the State Senate in the early 1960s. Cindy was raised in Hornbeck, attending Hornbeck schools from kindergarten through graduation. At Hornbeck High School, she was a multi-sport athlete, competing in basketball, softball and track. She earned All-District and Co-MVP honors in basketball and was selected as both Homecoming Queen and Miss Hornbeck High School before graduating in 1984. Basketball helped open the next chapter of her life. Cindy attended Louisiana College, now Louisiana Christian University, on a basketball scholarship and played for the Lady Wildcats, competing with the team in two NAIA National Championship Tournaments. She pursued a pre-med curriculum and graduated in 1988. After college, Cindy returned home and taught science at Hornbeck High School. But an experience serving as a juror in a serious criminal case helped change the direction of her career. Sitting in the jury box and watching the attorneys, the witnesses and the judge at work gave Cindy a new appreciation for the justice system—and ultimately helped lead her to law school. She enrolled at Southern University Law Center in Baton Rouge and earned her Juris Doctor in 1992. From there began a legal career that would give Cindy experience on virtually every side of the courtroom. Her early career included public defense, civil practice and work in private law. She gained experience handling business, property, oil, gas and mineral matters while developing the broad legal background she believes is important for anyone entrusted with serving on the bench. Her experience would eventually include appellate work before Louisiana courts and the United States Supreme Court. But the defining work of Cindy’s career became prosecution and public service. In Monroe, she joined the office of District Attorney Jerry Jones, whom Cindy considers an important mentor in her legal career. She rose to become an administrative assistant to the district attorney, helping prepare and try cases, handling appellate work and prosecuting cases of her own. Over the course of her career, Cindy accumulated decades of criminal courtroom and trial experience, including 29 years as a prosecutor and a record of felony trial convictions. Her work extended beyond individual cases. Cindy became active in the Louisiana District Attorneys Association, serving on its ADA Board of Directors and closely following legislation affecting prosecutors, victims and the criminal justice system. She also helped write Louisiana law. Cindy drafted Louisiana's Domestic Abuse Battery statute, which became Act 1038 of 2003. She also drafted the Deadbeat Parents Punishment Act, which became Act 801 of 2004. Her work on domestic violence issues led to additional statewide responsibilities. Cindy was appointed by two Louisiana governors to serve on the Women’s Policy and Research Commission and was appointed to co-chair the Louisiana Domestic Violence Law Enforcement Training Task Force. She has also served on the Red River Delta Law Enforcement Planning Council. Through those experiences, Cindy saw the justice system not simply through the eyes of an attorney, but through the eyes of victims and families whose lives can be permanently changed by what happens in a courtroom. That perspective became fundamental to her approach to public service: protect those who cannot protect themselves, make sure victims are treated with dignity and respect, and make sure the courtroom is a place where the law—not personalities or politics—determines the outcome. After years away from Vernon Parish, Cindy had the opportunity to come home. She returned to the parish and eventually moved back into the house built by her great-grandfather—bringing her life and career full circle. She went on to serve in the Vernon Parish District Attorney’s Office and became the first woman to serve as First Assistant District Attorney of Vernon Parish. Cindy retired from her full-time position with the District Attorney’s Office in 2024 and has continued serving part-time as a First Assistant District Attorney and also is working part-time in the legal profession and serving her community. Cindy also serves as Town Attorney for Hornbeck, the community where she was raised and where her journey began. Throughout more than three decades in the law, Cindy has been a prosecutor, defense attorney, civil attorney, appellate attorney and legal adviser. She has tried serious criminal cases, represented private clients, worked with law enforcement, advocated for victims, drafted legislation and helped shape statewide criminal justice policy. That breadth of experience has also taught her something fundamental about the position she now seeks: a judge must maintain control of the courtroom while treating every person who enters it fairly, professionally and with respect. For Cindy, serving as District Judge would be the continuation of a lifetime of public service. She believes a judge should know the law, understand the courtroom, listen carefully, treat people with dignity and have the experience and judgment to make difficult decisions. A courtroom must be fair and orderly, victims must be heard and respected, defendants must receive the rights guaranteed to them under the law, and every decision must be based on the facts and the law. Cindy is the mother of two adult children, Samuel and Cameron, and is a member of Hornbeck First Baptist Church. Today, she is asking the people of Vernon Parish for the opportunity to put her lifetime of courtroom experience, public service and deep roots in the community to work as their next District Judge.