Business Report Editor Stephanie Riegel says one of the more interesting subtexts of the St. George saga came earlier this month in the final days of the petition certification process, when the Metro Council began looking for a replacement for now-retired Registrar of Voters Elaine Lamb.
“Lamb had announced her retirement several weeks earlier, and presumably she had hoped that by the time she stepped down in midsummer, the certification process would be a piece of Baton Rouge history,” writes Riegel in her latest column. “As it turned out, however, the issue of Lamb’s replacement came at one of the most crucial and politically charged moments of the 18-month quest to bring the St. George issue to a vote. Perhaps the timing was mere coincidence. The way the situation played out, however, raises questions about politics, race and the machinations of the Metro Council in Baton Rouge.”
Amid all the drama that the St. George incorporation effort has produced, the Metro Council began vetting the resumes of more than two dozen hopefuls who applied for Lamb’s position. The list included at least two candidates with considerable experience in elections, notes Riegel. Also among the candidates was Metro Councilman Ulysses “Bones” Addison, who served on the council in the mid-2000s but has no experience in the field.
“Addison was rumored to have the inside track for the job—and those rumors came from credible sources,” Riegel writes. “Several council members called journalists on the QT to say as much, and council member John Delgado even went public with the allegation, telling The Advocate, ‘The fix is in.’”
For his part, Addison said at the time he wanted the job and was working the phones but that he didn’t have all seven votes he needed.
“Still, rumors spread through downtown political circles that Addison was a shoo-in, and concern grew as the day of the vote approached,” Rigel writes. “Fueling the panic was the alleged reason for Addison’s supposed position on the inside track: He’d cut a deal with the St. George supporters on the council to certify the petition in return for the lifetime appointment.”
Read the full column. Send your comments to editors@businessreport.com.
