UPDATE: Logan Lannoo of Youngsville has been appointed to serve as interim council member, replacing Kayla Reaux, who recently resigned.
Lannoo, who is owner of the Destination Mouse travel planning service, has lived in Youngsville for eight years, according to the information he provided to the council in his application for the post.
Lannoo has a degree in respiratory care and experience in healthcare. He also was a corrections officer with the Iberia Parish Sheriff's Office, and is a member of the Rotary Club of Youngsville.
"ln particular, I would like to highlight my leadership strengths in relation to the council's current investigation of the Youngsville Chief of Police. As someone with experience in law enforcement, I understand the complexities of this situation and the need for a delicate approach. Additionally, my ability to build high-quality internal and external partnerships, my willingness to take ownership of and fix problems, and my forward-thinking approach will allow me to contribute meaningfully to this process," his letter states.
Reaux resigned her seat earlier this month following investigative reporting by The Acadiana Advocate about a crash she was involved in last fall. Body cam video from Youngsville Police showed she was uncooperative until Chief Rickey Boudreaux arrived at the scene to send her on her way. The council voted to hire a law firm to investigation Boudreaux. To read our story about that, click here. To read more coverage, click here. To read The Acadiana Advocate's first story on all this, click here.
Mayor Ken Ritter posted pictures of Lanoo's swearing-in, welcoming him to the team and thanking the other people who applied for the job.
"Thank you to the 10 other candidates that submitted their resumes for the City Council’s consideration. I was proud of the diverse group of candidates that offered themselves to serve our citizens," Ritter wrote. "I was particularly impressed that 6 of the 11 candidates were graduates of Leadership Youngsville! Please stay involved and stay engaged. You do not need a title to make a difference in our community. I sincerely appreciate your willingness to step up and answer the call to serve. You have my gratitude!"
Here's the post:
When an elected official resigns their seat, someone must be appointed immediately to represent their constituents. If there is less than a year left in their term in office, that person serves out the remainder of the term. If there is more than a year left in the term, an interim person is appointed to represent that district until a special election can be held to elect someone to serve out the remainder of the term. Because Reaux had more than a year left on her term, the council must appoint an interim council member and call a special election for a permanent replacement for Reaux.
If the council had not appointed someone by April 25, the governor would have appointed someone. In addition to selecting someone to fill Reaux's seat for now, the council also called a special election for this fall to fill the seat for the remainder of the term.
Here's a list of the other people who applied for the interim post:
Shannon D. Bares of Youngsville, Interim Appointed Councilwoman, Division E
Jacob Broussard of Youngsville, EHSQ Manager
Chris Dardar of Youngsville, owner and operator of Cafe 20.3
La Sonja Dunbar of Youngsville, lnsurance Agency Owner
Jacob H. Held of Youngsville, On Premise Business Development Manager, Coca-Cola
Robbie J. LeBlanc of Youngsville, Former Iberia Parish School Board Member
Eddie Lewis lll of Youngsville, Owner/ Operator of Eddie Lewis Cane Farms, LLC.
Michele Naquin of Youngsville, Charter Member of the Rotary Club of Youngsville, former President, District Conference Cornmittee for 2023
Nicholas Niland of Youngsville, Director of Quality at the Iberia Medical Center
Matthew Thomassee of Youngsville, Owner of Integrated Security and Investigative Specialists, LLC. and Thomassee Household Enterprises, LLC.
To read more coverage of this issue, click here.
