Jefferson Parish’s second-in-command seat is about to become a two-person operation. Parish President Cynthia Lee Sheng has nominated longtime parish veterans Cherreen Gegenheimer and Mark Drewes to share chief operating officer duties, an uncommon split for the parish’s No. 2 job that would reshuffle oversight of roughly 2,400 employees, as reported by NOLA.
According to NOLA, Sheng has submitted a new organizational chart that creates two co-chief operating officers, each in charge of about half of the parish’s departments. The Jefferson Parish Council is slated to take up the proposal at its Feb. 4 meeting.
Who the nominees are
Deputy Chief Operating Officer Cherreen Gegenheimer is a familiar name in parish government circles. She has worked across multiple administrations in roles that have included chief administrative assistant and film-industry liaison. She is listed as Deputy Chief Operating Officer on the Jefferson Chamber’s board page, and parish department materials outline her previous responsibilities. The Jefferson Parish Clerk of Court’s site notes Jon Gegenheimer alongside Cherreen, highlighting their family ties in local government.
Mark Drewes' record on infrastructure
Mark Drewes has been running the parish’s Public Works operations after rising through that department over many years. Council video transcripts and meeting presentations show him closely involved in Jefferson Parish’s long-range water and drainage planning, including the AMI smart-meter rollout that is part of a 20-year infrastructure program. Regional task forces have also tapped Drewes for his Public Works experience, a point noted by business and state-focused outlets.
Why Sheng wants two COOs
Sheng has argued that cutting the job in half will make it more manageable. Instead of asking a single chief operating officer to oversee 46 departments, her plan would assign roughly 23 departments to each co-chief, which she says will lead to more direct oversight of day-to-day work. The timing is not accidental, either, coming as the administration deals with recent departures among senior managers and ongoing searches for key accounting and finance leadership roles.
The parish’s executive pay plan places the chief operating officer salary range at roughly $128,735 to $199,711 a year, according to reporting on the administration’s personnel plan, so the structure carries real budget implications along with the organizational change.
What happens next
The Parish Council meets on Wednesdays in the council chambers and posts its calendar and agendas on the official parish website. The Feb. 4 meeting is scheduled to include a vote on the new organizational chart, after a December session formally pushed related items to that date. That makes the upcoming meeting the next public test of the dual-COO model and Sheng’s specific picks for the roles.
If council members sign off, Gegenheimer and Drewes would take on shared responsibility for day-to-day operations while the administration continues recruiting for the vacant finance positions.
Where this leaves parish operations
Former COO Steve LaChute, who logged about a decade in the role, announced his retirement earlier this month, leaving the leadership gap Sheng is now trying to fill. The proposed twin-COO structure is being pitched as a way to keep big-ticket efforts, including drainage upgrades and the smart-meter rollout, on track while senior staffing changes continue behind the scenes.
Residents watching parish government can expect the Feb. 4 council meeting to spell out whether the split leadership model moves forward and, if it does, how the two top administrators will divide their day-to-day responsibilities in practice.
Sources: reporting by NOLA; Jefferson Parish Council meeting information at Jefferson Parish; Jefferson Parish council video transcripts (see Nov. 5 and Dec. 10 sessions) at Jefferson Parish Council video and Jefferson Parish Council video; local coverage of the COO retirement at WDSU; background on Gegenheimer from the Jefferson Chamber and parish department materials at Jefferson Parish Parks & Recreation; Drewes' regional roles reported by Biz New Orleans.
