Murphy Painter, the former Louisiana Alcohol and Tobacco Control Commissioner, qualified today run for Ascension Parish sheriff. This will put him in a rematch with Sheriff Jeff Wiley, who beat Painter in 1995 to take over the office. Painter stepped down as head of the ATC in August 2010 amid allegations that he abused his office to perform illegal background checks. A report released earlier this year by the State Inspector General’s Office found Painter submitted more than 1,150 illegal searches of people. Painter has strongly denied wrongdoing and claims he was fired for not bowing to a demand from Gov. Bobby Jindal to give a liquor license to an entertainment square outside the Superdome. A third candidate, Louis Boudreaux of Donaldsonville, also qualified for the Ascension sheriff’s race.
Painter qualifies to run for Ascension sheriff
Sign up for the free Daily Report email – local news about the people, companies and issues that impact business impact business in Baton Rouge and beyond.
