Fifteenth Judicial District Attorney Mike Harson on Monday filed suit against three former Lafayette Housing Authority board members, claiming the trio violated several provisions of the state's open meetings law during an Oct. 26 board meeting.
Fifteenth Judicial District Attorney Mike Harson on Monday filed suit against three former Lafayette Housing Authority board members, claiming the trio violated several provisions of the state's open meetings law during an Oct. 26 board meeting.
The Advocate reported Tuesday that Harson is seeking fines from Joe Dennis, John Freeman and Leon Simmons, all three of whom were removed from the board in November - the second time this year - by City-Parish President Joey Durel for open meetings violations. They are again appealing their dismissal. Durel claims the board members did not follow state law when they went into executive session Oct. 26.
Dennis has publicly denied that an executive session took place - despite that members of the media, including this reporter, waiting outside of the LHA office for about 35 minutes while the three board members were in executive session.
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The Advocate story noted that the open meetings law calls for fines of up to $100 per violation, and Harson listed four separate violations in the lawsuit. Read The Advocate story here.