Here’s where we are on Home Rule Charter in Avoyelles.

The petition was certified by the Registrar.

This action sets into motion a series of events that the Louisiana Constitution says must occur. Following a successful petition, the Constitution forces the police jury to call for an election of commissioners to write a home rule charter.

Our police jury voted to ignore the Louisiana constitution and the will of the people by voting 5-4 to not allow the people to vote on commissioners to write a Home Rule Charter. It should be mentioned that this is only to write or draft a charter, not implement it. The voters will have to read the charter and vote for or against it in another election.

“We the People” then filed a writ of mandamus with the court forcing the Police Jury to comply with the law. The Police Jury discarded the advice of the District Attorney and held a special meeting to try and get permission from the Attorney General to hire (using public money) an out of parish lawyer. At the time of this writing, we are awaiting the trial where the judge will decide on the matter.
It should be noted that 4 police jurors have voted to follow state law and the Louisiana Constitution and 5 have not. The 4 jurors complying with the law are Bobby Bordelon, Darrel Wiley, Jacob Coco and mark Borrell.

It should also be noted that the Police Jury has spent public money to fight the will of the people and does not want to allow the voters to decide if they want to change government styles by a majority vote. This did not have to cost the taxpayer a penny if done correctly. Our Police Jury does not want to allow a charter to simply be written. Our Police jury does not even want to give the voters a chance at looking at a charter to see if we like it. They are using your taxes to fight against you being able to choose. Can you imagine why no other police jury would even consider this as an option?

I have been quiet on the issue for the last couple of months because the petition was successful it set into motion a series of events that must take place by law.

The voters tell the politicians how they want their government to be ran, and the elected officials must adhere to the will of the voters. The very idea of a public petition is so that elected officials cannot refute the results, the voters are the only ones allowed to decide.
26 parishes have successfully changed their local governments to a Home Rule Charter without the Police Jury fighting the will of the people. Avoyelles Parish’s Police Jury (5-4) has made history by ignoring current law and defying the Louisiana Constitution. They have forgotten that in a democracy, the people are the catalyst for change and that the people tell the government what to do.
We will see what the courts say next week and move forward from there with more information and updates on the effort.

J. Callegari