Former Metro Councilman Ulysses “Bones” Addison has decided to enter the race for the District 2 council seat he held for three terms from 2001-2012, taking on incumbent Chauna Banks and challenger Gregory Handy.
Addison, who said earlier this year he would likely not run, says he changed his mind Thursday, after learning that Banks had placed on the council agenda a proposed residency rule that would prohibit new Baton Rouge police hires from living outside city limits.
The ordinance will be introduced at next week’s council meeting, as the city continues to mourn the three law enforcement officers killed last weekend in a calculated attack by Gavin Long. All three officers, including two Baton Rouge Police Department officers and an East Baton Rouge Parish sheriff’s deputy, lived in Denham Springs.
“It is unconscionable that someone can be so insensitive—simply astounding,” Addison says of Banks’ proposed ordinance. “Our community is hurting right now, suffering, and she is trying to score political points. Does she think black people are going to rally behind her? Wow.”
Banks did not return a call Thursday seeking comment on the measure, and could not be reached for comment this morning.
Addison isn’t the only one outraged by Banks’ actions. Five council members in The Advocate this morning criticized both the proposed rule, on its merits, and the poor timing of its introduction to the council agenda. The head of the police union, meanwhile, reportedly said Banks’ “need for political gain is nauseating.”
Addison, like many seeking political office in Baton Rouge this season, says if elected he hopes to “be pulling things together and pulling people together.”
Since his term on the council expired, Addison has been working at his own marketing and consulting business. Last summer, he applied unsuccessfully for the then-vacant position of East Baton Rouge Parish registrar of voters.
—Stephanie Riegel
