A Lafayette man seeking to have the revised charter sent back to voters has filed an appeal.
Lane Roy, the Lafayette attorney representing Keith Kishbaugh, confirmed he filed the appeal today. It was expected.
Earlier this month, a state district judge dismissed the lawsuit.
“We’ve asked for it to be expedited with the election coming up,” Roy said. “We think we’ll get that.”
Roy said the transcript of the hearing already is complete, which is one hurdle for an appeal to be heard, and he’s just waiting on the court to set a date for the Clerk of Court to get the record ready for the Appeals Court to review.
Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin is still weighing the decision to appeal, according to a spokesman with his office.
After a one-day hearing during which Judge John Trahan heard witness testimony and attorney arguments, he ruled from the bench. Trahan said the clerical errors made in the precincts can be corrected via City-Parish Council ordinance.
That agreed with the opinion that had been issued by several city attorneys – one of whom has been representing the city as its chief attorney for most of the years since the charter was passed – that the precincts could be changed using an ordinance.
Kishbaugh, who says he plans to run for a council seat, filed suit against Lafayette Consolidated Government along with the Louisiana Secretary of State and State Attorney General. They were seeking to invalidate an ordinance passed in March that corrected the errors. If they had won, a new election would have had to be called.
