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Louisiana Supreme Court settles challenges involving 2 Port Allen city government races
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PORT ALLEN — The Louisiana Supreme Court on Thursday upheld lower court rulings that said candidates for Port Allen mayor and a city council seat cannot seek those offices because they failed to meet residency guidelines.
West Baton Rouge Parish judges had removed City Administrator Lance Joseph from the race for mayor and said Shelton Berry couldn't run for a city council seat.
The judges determined that Joseph's true residence is in Plaquemine, where he enjoys a property tax break on a home he owns with his wife, and said that because Berry voted in a Baton Rouge election late last year, he couldn't demonstrate that he has lived in Port Allen for a year.
Justices rejected both challenges in unsigned orders Thursday. The vote against Joseph was 6-1 and the vote against Berry was 4-3.
Louisiana's 1st Circuit Court of Appeals had previously turned down the two candidates. In the Joseph case, the appeals court marked that the residency rule made sense.
"We cannot help but observe the dichotomy of having a mayor and his family living in a neighboring parish where they would be insulated from the policies and decisions of his administration," the court wrote in a footnote. "... there are many legitimate political and governmental purposes served by a one-year domicile requirement, including accountability and accessibility."
In the mayor's race, the decision leaves independent Terecita Pattan and Democrat Clyde Robertson Sr. on the ballot. In the council race, April King, who challenged Berry's residency, is unopposed.
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