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February 2, 2017
On a day of potential violence, a policeman’s prayer is answered
February 3, 2017
The Lafourche Parish Council emphatically responded to Parish President Jimmy Cantrelle’s week of personnel shakeups.
With Cantrelle absent from tonight’s special meeting, the council voted 6-1-2 to declare a vote of no confidence in his ability to lead Lafourche going forward, with Daniel Lorraine voting no and Michael Gros and James Bourgeois abstaining. Though the vote was essentially ceremonial, it highlighted the discord between Cantrelle and most of the council.
The council also made a concrete move in showing its support for Reggie Bagala, fired from his Parish Administrator position by Cantrelle on Tuesday. Bagala’s firing was followed by Director of Communications Doug Cheramie’s resignation this morning. The council hired Bagala as the council’s legislative internal auditor with a 7-1-1 vote, with Bourgeois voting no and Lorraine abstaining.
All council members were effusive in their praise of Bagala, who in December told District Attorney Cam Morvant Cantrelle had forced him to call council members to bargain for raises to key employees in exchange for approving the employee-favored health insurance plan. Bourgeois said he voted no because he did not approve of the process of Bagala immediately being hired at a special meeting while Loraine abstained because he did not want to challenge Cantrelle’s authority in firing department heads. Many council members praised Bagala’s love for Lafourche, integrity and knowledge of parish government. Council member Jerry LaFont said employees were distraught at witnessing Bagala’s removal on Tuesday.
“I had phone calls when they removed him from the building, employees called me crying, because they had so much faith and trust in this guy. And they’re like ‘Man, what are we going to do?’ That’s why we’re hiring him,” LaFont said.
The vote of no confidence resulted from not just Cantrelle’s firings but also who he has brought in to replace them. The parish announced in a press release today it had hired Tommy Lasseigne and Paul Robichaux as interim parish administrator and interim director of community services, respectively. While there were no harsh words for Robichaux, council members did express displeasure with Lasseigne’s appointment. Lasseigne resigned from his position as director of finance and human resources for Lafourche in October as the parish was preparing to vote on firing him. At its Aug. 24 meeting, the parish’s Civil Service Board reinstated a pay raise Lasseigne had taken from an executive assistant without going through proper procedure.
Council chair Corey Perrillioux said the parish had seen more civil service disputes in the near year Lasseigne was in charge of human resources than it had seen in any previous year. Other council members expressed their displeasure with Lasseigne entering back into the fold. The council voted 9-0 to ask District Attorney Cam Morvant for an opinion on if Cantrelle was acting within the parish’s home rule charter by appointing two interim directors without bringing any candidates before the council for approval. While Morvant did not offer an official opinion, he did send a letter to Cantrelle today warning him of the possible pratfalls of the appointments.
“I would like for you to be cognizant of the possibility that pending the issuance of the requested opinion, any actions taken by you with regards to appointing an interim administrator and an interim department head, and any actions taken by theses (sic) interim appointments may be null and void,” Morvant wrote. “Futhermore, you and the interim appointments may have legal ramifications.”
Lorraine was the most ardent defender of Cantrelle’s actions, saying the council was refusing to cooperate with him and not reflecting on its own shortcomings. He offered an amendment for the council to declare a vote of no confidence on itself, but the rest of the council struck it down. Lorraine said both the council and Lorraine should share the blame and start with a clean slate going forward.
“I think it’s time that this council, this administration, gets together, let bygones be bygones. Let’s start tomorrow. I don’t think it’s fair that you gotta put a resolution like this for just the administration and leave the council out,” Lorraine said.
The Lafourche Parish Council room, with Parish President Jimmy Cantrelle’s empty seat. Tonight, the council declared a vote of no confidence in Cantrelle’s ability to lead the parish.
Staff Writer
