Abbeville City Council sets special election for District A seat

Circumstances, one tragic and another legislative, have affected the upcoming transition for the local government in the city of Abbeville.
Following the untimely passing of Councilman-elect Neal Richard, the City of Abbeville has called a special election for the District A seat. The council also voted to cancel the July 7 meeting and to hold a special city council meeting on July 14, which will allow more time for the June 27 elections to be certified. The council made both moves during Tuesday’s meeting.
Richard, who died suddenly on June 10, won the election for the District A seat on May 16 with 77% of the vote. He would have begun his term on July 1. Mayor Roslyn White called for a moment of silence for Richard and his family prior to the start of Tuesday’s meeting.
“This is a huge loss for our city,” White said. “He would have been an amazing council person.”
The special election to permanently fill the District A seat will be on the Nov. 3 ballot. Should a runoff be necessary, that would take place on Dec. 12. Qualifying will be held Aug. 5-7.
“The council will be asked to fill the seat on an interim basis,” City Attorney Bart Broussard said.
According to the Louisiana Secretary of State’s office, the city has 20 days to fill the seat from the day it becomes vacant. That day will be July 1, the day Abbeville officials’ terms begin. Councilman Tony Hardy, who did not seek re-election, will continue to serve District A until the end of his term.
Mayor-elect Anita Levy and the new city council will be sworn in during a ceremony on June 30. The new council will be tasked with appointing someone to serve in the seat on an interim basis. That is expected to take place during the city council’s first meeting in July, which will now a week later than originally scheduled. Broussard said this would give the state more time to certify the runoff results. The winners of the runoffs can participate in the swearing-in ceremony, but cannot take any action until the state certifies the results.
“We have two runoffs that haven’t been decided,” Broussard said. “On the 14th, we would certainly have a sitting council, duly elected.”
White reminded those in attendance on Tuesday that in past election years, this would not have been an issue. Last fall, the Louisiana Legislature voted to move elections from March to May, due in large part to issues with redistricting the state’s U.S. House map.
“This is a highly unusual situation,” White said. “Normally, our elections are held in March. The state moved our primary to May 16 and set the general (runoffs) for June 27. That impacts us, because our terms start on July 1. It takes some time for the for the secretary of state to certify election results.
“It’s highly unusual that we are this close to the term transition.”
White reiterated that the other aspect of the transition cuts more deeply for those who knew and loved Richard.
“Please keep his wife, family and friends in your prayers,” White said. “This was a very tragic loss for them. It is a loss for our whole community. I don’t know anybody who met Neal and didn’t love him. I looked forward to everything he was planning to do for the city of Abbeville.”