Secret Lunch with Charles Sharma, James Klock and Emilia Pardo

Please join us for lunch with Charles Sharma, candidate for Broussard City Council, District 2, and James Klock and Emilia Pardo, both candidates for Lafayette City Court Judge, Division B.

Charles, James and Emilia will each have an opportunity to discuss their backgrounds, their campaigns, and the issues they believe are important to the communities and institutions they hope to serve. Attendees will also have an opportunity to ask the candidates questions directly.

Our Secret Lunch will be held Friday, September 18, 2026, at Fezzo’s in Broussard, beginning around noon. It is an opportunity to meet the candidates, hear from them directly, and visit with other engaged citizens.

This event is free to attend; however, lunch is not included. Fezzo’s will provide full table service during the program, so attendees may order from the menu while we meet. Come early, grab a seat, and enjoy lunch and conversation before the program begins.

Reserve your seat below.

ABOUT THE CANDIDATES:

The biographical information below was provided by the candidates and supplemented, where applicable, with publicly available information.

Charles Sharma

Charles Sharma has called Broussard home for approximately 45 years. His family immigrated to the United States from the Fiji Islands when he was four years old. He attended Katherine Drexel and Broussard Middle School, graduated from St. Thomas More Catholic High School, and earned his degree from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Sharma and his fiancée, Ana, are raising their family in Broussard.

Professionally, Sharma has spent more than two decades in the oil and gas industry, beginning in field operations and later moving into management and safety leadership. He currently works as a Gulf Coast Safety Manager. Sharma says that experience has shaped his view of leadership around listening, responsibility, problem-solving and accountability.

Sharma has also been involved in community activities through Krewe de Acadian and other local efforts. Public campaign information notes his involvement with blood drives, health fairs and fundraisers benefiting the Broussard and Youngsville police and fire departments. He is also the founder of the BYOB Hamburger and Hotdog Festival and BYOB Boudin Cookoff.

Sharma says his campaign for District 2 is focused on thoughtful growth, support for local businesses and families, sidewalks and connectivity, community involvement, and making local government more transparent and accessible. He has emphasized that residents should feel their voices matter and that elected officials should listen, ask questions and remain accountable to the people they represent.

James Klock

James Klock is an Assistant District Attorney and felony supervisor with the 15th Judicial District Attorney’s Office. He also serves as an adjunct instructor of Business Law at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. His professional background includes experience on both the prosecution and defense sides of criminal cases.

Klock earned his law degree and a Graduate Diploma in Comparative Law from the LSU Law Center while also completing a master’s degree in finance. He previously earned an undergraduate degree in economics with a concentration in International Trade and Finance from LSU. During law school, he received awards for the highest grades in Torts, Louisiana Civil Procedure, and Louisiana Constitutional Law.

Klock began his legal career as a contract public defender in Lafayette City Court while operating a private practice that included criminal defense, family law, immigration, and civil matters. His public-defense work later expanded to felony cases in Lafayette and Vermilion parishes before he became a full-time Assistant Federal Public Defender. In 2022, he joined the Lafayette Parish District Attorney’s Office, where he now prosecutes felony cases and also handles conflict cases in Lafayette City Court.

His civic and professional involvement has included service with the Lafayette Bar Association, American Inns of Court of Acadiana, Louisiana State Bar Association House of Delegates, Louisiana District Attorney’s Association, Kiwanis Club of Lafayette, the I-49 Lafayette Connector Advisory Group, Junior League of Lafayette’s Community Advisory Board, and other local organizations.

Emilia Pardo

Emilia Pardo grew up in Lafayette’s Broadmoor neighborhood and graduated from Lafayette High School and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. She initially pursued nursing and, while in nursing school, volunteered with the Sexual Abuse Response Center, formerly known as Stuller Place. She says that experience working with survivors ultimately influenced her decision to pursue a career in law.

She has spent approximately 17 years working as a prosecutor, experience she says has required careful evaluation of evidence, preparation, and an understanding of how much each case matters to the people involved. She also currently serves as a magistrate in Scott City Court, where she hears matters, considers the facts and applicable law, and makes the decisions required in those cases.

After law school, she returned to Lafayette, where she and her husband, Anthony, are raising their two daughters. Her husband has spent his career in law enforcement. She has also been active with Junior League of Lafayette and cites her Catholic faith, family, and community involvement as important influences in her life.

She says her decision to seek the Lafayette City Court judgeship grew from her experience as both a prosecutor and magistrate. Her campaign has emphasized accountability, timely resolution of cases, applying the law without political or outside influence, and using City Court as a place where problems can be addressed before they become more serious.