Williams v. Board of Ethics for Elected Officials

457 So. 2d 772, 1984 La. App. LEXIS 9594
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedOctober 9, 1984
DocketNo. 83 CA 1019
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 457 So. 2d 772 (Williams v. Board of Ethics for Elected Officials) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Williams v. Board of Ethics for Elected Officials, 457 So. 2d 772, 1984 La. App. LEXIS 9594 (La. Ct. App. 1984).

Opinion

CRAIN, Judge.

After a thorough review and evaluation of the record, we are convinced that the evidence supports the facts found and the reasons assigned by the Board of Ethics for Elected Officials which we hereby adopt.

Appellants’ position that he cannot be held to have violated the Code, because he did not intend to, has been decided adversely to him by the Louisiana Supreme Court in Glazer v. Commission On Ethics For Public Employees, 431 So.2d 752 (La.1983).

We affirm at appellant’s cost.

AFFIRMED.

OPINION OF THE BOARD OF ETHICS FOR ELECTED OFFICIALS

OPINION NO. 82-46

DATED: June 29, 1983.

FILED: June 29, 1983

RE: Investigation of alleged violation of the Code of Ethics by Cade Williams, Registrar of Voters (Tangipahoa Parish) Docket No. 82-46.

On February 17, 1983 the Board of Ethics for Elected Officials (the “Board”) conducted a public hearing, in the parish of Respondent’s domicile, for the purpose of exploring the following:

CHARGES
I.
That Cade Williams has violated Section 1112A of the Code of Governmental Ethics (LSA — R.S. 42:1112) by having personally called a June 29, 1982 Special Session of the Tangipahoa Parish Police Jury at which he expected the Police Jury to discuss the appointment of himself as the Registrar of Voters.
II.
That Cade Williams has violated Section 1112A of the Code of Governmental Ethics by having voted against a substitute motion to appoint Mrs. Sonja O. Lea as Registrar of Voters at the forementioned [sic.] June 29, 1982 Special Session of the Tangipahoa Parish Police Jury, which motion was a substitute motion to an original motion for the appointment of himself as Registrar of Voters.
III.
That Cade Williams has violated Section 1112A of the Code of Governmental Ethics by, at the forementioned [sic.] June 29, 1982 Special Session of the Tangipa-hoa Parish Police Jury, having voted for himself as the Registrar of Voters.
IV.
That Cade Williams has violated Section 1113A of the Code of Governmental Ethics (LSA-R.S. 42:1113A) by having accepted nomination to the position of Registrar of Voters for Tangipahoa Parish, which appointment was subject to the approval of the Tangipahoa Parish Police Jury, of which he was a member and the president, without first resigning from said police jury.

During the course of the public hearing conducted by the Board, the Board received into evidence in addition to other exhibits a joint stipulation to the following pertinent:

FACTS

A. Prior to July 3, 1982, Cade Williams served as a member and president of the Tangipahoa Parish Police Jury having been elected from District No. 1.

B. On June 29, 1982, Respondent called a special meeting of the Tangipahoa Parish [774]*774Police Jury for the purpose of nominating a person to be appointed by the Governor as Registrar of Voters for the Parish of Tan-gipahoa in order to fill a vacancy to be created by the June 30, 1982 anticipated retirement of the then Registrar, Mrs. Theonne Kuykendall.

C. At the time this special meeting of the Police Jury was called by the Respondent, Respondent reasonably expected himself to be considered by the Police Jury for nomination to the position of Registrar of Voters.

D. A special meeting of the Tangipahoa Parish Police Jury was held on June 29, 1982.

E. At the meeting that the Police Jury held on June 29, 1982, the Jury received from Mrs. Theonne Kuykendall, Registrar of Voters, correspondence advising the Police Jury of her intention to resign as Registrar of Voters effective close of business June 30, 1982.

F. At the meeting on June 29, 1982, a motion was made by Juror Noto, seconded by Juror Giardina, that Respondent be appointed to the position of Registrar of Voters.

G. At the June 29, 1982 meeting of the Jury, a substitute motion was thereafter made by Juror Landry, seconded by Juror Cutrer, that Sonja Lea, an employee of the Registrar'of Voters’ Office, then serving as Chief Deputy, be appointed Registrar of Voters.

H. At the June 29, 1982 meeting of the Jury, a roll call vote was taken on the substitute motion by Juror Landry at which time Respondent voted “nay.”

I. At the June 29, 1982 meeting of the Jury, the motion of Noto passed with a recorded seven “yea” votes and three “nay” votes.

J. By correspondence dated June 29,1982, Respondent notified the Governor of the State of Louisiana that “effective on the receipt of [his] commission as Registrar of Voters for the Parish of Tangipahoa, ... [he] will resign as Police Juror, District # 1 of Tangipahoa Parish.”

K.By gubernatorial commission of July 3, 1982, Respondent was appointed Registrar of Voters for the Parish of Tangipahoa and thereafter reported to work effective July 5, 1982 and has served continuously as Registrar of Voters since that date.

OPINION

The controlling provisions of the Code are Sections 1112A and 1113A which provide respectively as follows:

“1112. Participation in certain transactions involving the governmental entity A. No public servant, except as provided in R.S. 42:1120, shall participate in a transaction in which he has a personal substantial economic interest of which he may be reasonably expected to know involving the governmental entity.”
1113. Prohibited contractual arrangements
A. No public servant, excluding any legislator and any appointed member of any board, or commission, member of such public servant’s immediate family, or legal entity in which he has a controlling interest shall bid on or enter into any contract, subcontract, or other transaction which is under the supervision or jurisdiction of the agency of such public servant.”

“Participate” as used in Section 1112A, above is defined at Section 1102(15) of the Code as follows:

“1102. Definitions

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Related

Tebbe v. COM'N ON ETHICS FOR PUBLIC EMP.
540 So. 2d 270 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1989)
In re Patterson
496 So. 2d 463 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1986)
In Re Beychok
484 So. 2d 912 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1986)
Williams v. Board of Ethics for Elected Officials
460 So. 2d 611 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1984)

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Bluebook (online)
457 So. 2d 772, 1984 La. App. LEXIS 9594, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/williams-v-board-of-ethics-for-elected-officials-lactapp-1984.