No end in sight for lawsuit pitting parish against Landrieu

Parish has already been without airport board rep for year and a half

By Kyle Barnett

February 28 at 10:48 am

When former St. Charles Parish councilman Marcus Lambert nominated local businessman Neal Clulee to serve as the parish’s appointee to the New Orleans Aviation Board, no one could have anticipated the ensuing struggle that would soon evolve.

A year and a half later the seat is still vacant, St. Charles Parish President V.J. St. Pierre has vetoed Clulee’s appointment to the aviation board only to have it overturned by the Parish Council and the City of New Orleans failed to appoint Clulee to the board in a 3-3 vote. The St. Charles Parish council then reaffirmed their selection of Clulee despite New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu’s request for three nominations.

That move caused Landrieu to file suit asking a judge to declare that he has sole appointing powers to the aviation board. However, Parish Council members continue to insist that a 1985 agreement gives them the power to appoint a representative. The lawsuit could have major repercussions for St. Charles Parish that include St. Charles being stripped of a parish representative on the aviation board and the loss of around $300,000 in yearly tax revenue that comes from the parish’s involvement on the board.

St. Pierre is also facing a separate lawsuit from Clulee that claims the parish president spread malicious information that kept Clulee from securing the airport board seat. Shortly after Clulee filed suit against St. Pierre, his wife, Mary Clulee, entered the Parish Council District 2 seat race.

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