An effort to recall District 11 Metro Councilwoman Alison Gary, formerly Alison Cascio, has failed. The deadline to submit the required signatures for the recall to be put on the fall ballot has passed, and a spokesman from the Louisiana Department of State, Sailor Jackson Jr., says the secretary of state’s office has not received any signatures or information from the group running the recall effort. Signatures of least one-third of all voters in the district—7,875 of the 23,626 registered, according to the Registrar of Voters Office—were needed for the recall to make the ballot.
Hunter Bridges and Charles Bowden submitted the recall petition to the secretary of state on March 22, and they had until Sept. 18 to get the signatures. They initiated the effort because, in their view, Gary has not adequately represented her constituents since taking office in 2009. A full list of their grievances regarding Gary is outlined at www.recallcascio.com. Bridges did not return a call for comment.
Gary says she’s obviously glad the effort has failed, but adds that she has not paid much attention to it. “It’s just kind of been business as usual for me throughout this whole thing,” she says. “A lot of what they put out there was politics and rhetoric, and I really wasn’t going to let myself get caught up in it.” Regarding the question of whether she will seek re-election next fall, Gary says, “As of right now, I’m going to, yes—I’m in for sure.” —Steve Sanoski
