Lafayette Consolidated Government's chief administrative officer is among a recent wave of public officials to convert from the Democratic Party to the GOP. Scott Angelle, John Alario, John Smith and now Dee Stanley. Lafayette Consolidated Government's chief administrative officer is among a recent wave of public officials to convert from the Democratic Party to the GOP. (Angelle announced his decision in October, while state Sens. Alario and Smith jumped ship last week). Stanley, who had been a lifelong Democrat, made the move without any news or announcement. Records with the Lafayette Registrar of Voters office indicate Stanley officially became a Republican Nov. 19, though he says his mind was made up well before that. "I made the decision over the summer," he says, adding that he submitted the form to change party affiliations with the registrar's office in August, but was told it wouldn't take effect until after the Nov. 2 election.
Stanley dismisses any suggestion that the party switch may portend a run for political office next year. He says he has no immediate plans to run for office, fully intends to be working in support of City-Parish President Joey Durel's bid for a third term next fall, and that his party switch was purely a matter of personal choice. "It doesn't have anything to do with national politics or local politics," he says. "I looked at my voting record and how I have voted over the past 10 or 15 years and that factored into that as well, but it was just more a decision of personal choice."