In the wake of Saturday’s vote to incorporate St. George, several neighborhoods located inside the boundaries of the new city have taken the first steps toward seeking annexation into the city of Baton Rouge.
As of mid-morning, volunteers with One Baton Rouge, which has opposed the St. George incorporation effort, had prepared annexation petitions for six neighborhoods that voted against the measure in Saturday’s election, according to M.E. Cormier, lead organizer of One Baton Rouge.
Cormier declines to identify the specific neighborhoods but says they are located in precincts that voted against the measure and are next to the boundary of the city of Baton Rouge. An analysis of the precincts has shown those in the eastern half of St. George heavily favored incorporation, while those on the western side largely voted against it.
Cormier also says volunteers in some of the neighborhoods have already begun collecting signatures door to door. State law requires 50% of residents plus one in an area that is seeking annexation must sign a petition in order for the request to be considered by the Metro Council.
The council has never denied an annexation petition, Cormier says.
“Some 46 percent of voters in the St. George area opposed incorporation,” Cormier says. “That is not insignificant. Those particular neighborhoods and precincts want to be one Baton Rouge.”
Metro Council administrator Ashley Beck says her office has not yet received any petitions but has gotten several calls requesting information. On Monday, St. George organizer Drew Murrell said he, too, has gotten calls—but from neighborhoods that are outside the boundaries of St. George and want to be annexed into the nascent city.
While some were focused today on annexation matters, attorneys working on behalf of the St. George opposition were meeting to discuss possible legal strategies for blocking the incorporation from taking place, sources tell Daily Report.
It is not clear when lawsuits might be filed, but businessman and philanthropist John Engquist says he and others in the business community will support legal efforts to oppose St. George. “Two thousand people should not be able to decide the fate of everyone in Baton Rouge,” Engquist says. “This fight is just starting.”
Legal challenges are expected to focus, among other things, on the fact that the entire parish was not allowed to vote on the incorporation issue. Existing state law calls only for voters within the proposed city boundaries to vote on incorporation. State Sen. Yvonne Dorsey-Colomb, however, proposed a carefully worded bill in the Legislature earlier this year that would apply only to East Baton Rouge Parish and, if enacted, would have required parishwide approval on St. George incorporation.
Cormier says she is somewhat aware of the legal plans taking shape and intends to be a named plaintiff in at least one lawsuit. She says more than a dozen others have also expressed an interest in putting their names on a lawsuit.
“I will be one of the plaintiffs as will many others,” she says.
