RIDGECREST — The Village of Ridgecrest won’t have an election this October, but Kevin Graham will be elected mayor.

Graham was the only person to qualify for the position, in which he has been serving an interim capacity since the board of aldermen appointed him to it January, so under Louisiana law no election is necessary.

Graham will be finishing out the last year of former Mayor Michael Roberts’ unexpired term, and Graham said he plans to qualify for and run for a full four-year term in 2010.

“I have already served three-and-a-half terms as an alderman,” he said.

“I have got a lot of plans, but they are going to take a lot of time.”

The new mayor’s main concerns are street improvement and increased police patrols, he said.

“Since I have taken over as (interim) mayor, I have hired an additional officer, and it has made a tremendous impact,” he said. “Hopefully, we can proceed forward with that.”

The additional officer brings the village’s police force to two.

He is already in the process of working to get the streets repaved, and Graham said he spoke with people connected to grant programs about the issue Friday.

“To do (the road work) to where 20 years down the road we still have good streets to drive on, it’s going to cost a minimum of $2 million,” he said.

That’s because there is no lateral support to hold the asphalt on the road, causing the ditches to cave, he said.

The village will have to take care of drainage issues and improve every ditch by placing a culvert in it before street work can be done, he said.

In addition to being mayor, Graham works at Graham’s Jiffy Mart and owns a disc jockey company.

In addition to the mayor’s seat being filled, Dwayne Sikes, who was the only candidate to qualify for the position, will fill the alderman’s seat vacated by Graham’s appointment.