Lafourche building not renamed for Toups

Houma native chosen as Best of the Bayou Music Festival poster artist
July 27, 2017
Local couple given Healthcare Humanitarian Award by TGMC
July 27, 2017
Houma native chosen as Best of the Bayou Music Festival poster artist
July 27, 2017
Local couple given Healthcare Humanitarian Award by TGMC
July 27, 2017

“Can I get a second?”

Lafourche Parish Council Vice-Chair Luci Sposito received silence from her colleagues in response to her request. With that silence, the ordinance to rename the parish’s main government building died on the floor before a vote.


The ordinance, if approved, would have named Lafourche’s government complex in Mathews after deceased former Council Member Lindel Toups. Council Member Daniel Lorraine sponsored the motion, but none of the other members present gave it a second for discussion. Council Chair Corey Perrillioux and Council Member James Bourgeois were absent from the meeting.

The ordinance was the second time this year Lorraine has tried to name a government building after Toups, who served in the council from 1996 until 2016. In March, Lorraine introduced an ordinance to name the small public library branch in Toups’s hometown of Gheens after him. However, the council voted 3-5-1 against the measure after hearing opposition from the library board regarding the name change. In 2013, Toups made inflammatory statements disparaging Mexicans and library programs while advocating for the parish to use some of the library system’s saved money to help pay for a new Lafourche Parish jail.

During the March discussion over renaming the library branch, council members said they would form a committee to find a proper way to honor Toups’s legacy, one filled not only with controversy but also countless charity events and service to the community. Since then, no committee on the subject has met. Before Tuesday’s meeting, Lorraine said he would be persistent in finding a way to name something after Toups.


“I’m not going to stop until I get something,” Lorraine said. “But I’m not the type of guy that’s going to tell you that I’m going to form a committee and I’ve never had a committee meeting. You’ve got some councilmen up there that want to be a leader, but they don’t want to lead.”

Lafourche’s government complex