Lafayette Mayor-President Josh Guillory has asked the Louisiana Attorney General's Office to weigh in on whether the Lafayette City and Parish Councils have the authority to appoint an interim mayor-president while he is in rehab, our media partners at The Advocate report.
In a letter dated Wednesday, Guillory seeks an expedited opinion on whether he is "unavailable" to do the work of mayor-president while in rehab for 21 days.
Guillory checked himself into a rehab center over the weekend for 21 days of treatment for a possible dependency on alcohol and post-traumatic stress disorder.
City Council Chairwoman Nanette Cook told The Advocate Thursday she and the parish council chair had been in discussions and researching the issue. City Attorney Greg Logan advised them that Guillory is not "unavailable" and cannot be replaced and mentioned fines and possible jail time if they appointed a replacement per a Louisiana law about the illegal holding of a public office.
"Based on the information that's available to me at the current time," City Councilman Glenn Lazard, an attorney, told The Advocate Thursday morning, "I disagree with the advice and the opinion given by City-Parish Attorney Greg Logan."
To read the Advocate's complete article, click here.
Here are the documents involved, so you can read them for yourself:
