After the abrupt resignation of JP Councilman-at-Large Chris Roberts, the JP Council began the process of nominating Roberrts' replacement until the Fall election. The interim councilman will be precluded from seeking election to that seat, but not another council seat, in the election.
Traditionally, the two At-Large seats have been split among the East and West Banks - Councilwoman Cynthia Lee-Sheng resides on the East Bank while Roberts resided on the West Bank.
Lee-Sheng is seeking the Parish Presidency in the Fall and Roberts was term-limited so both seats will be open for the Fall election and jockeying for them has already begun in earnest.
District 1 Councilman Ricky Templet has announced he would seek the Division A seat held by Roberts before his resignation and District 2 Councilman Paul "Love Me Some Free Copelands" Johnston said he will run for the Division B seat currently held by Lee-Sheng.
Templet resides on the West Bank and Johnston on the East Bank which would mean, if both were successful, the At-Large seats would remain split among the East and West Banks.
Templet nominated former JP CAO Keith Conley for the interim seat to replace Roberts. Conley has said he was considering running for one of the At-Large seats but would not specify whether he would run in Division A against Templet (likely) or Division B against Johnston (highly unlikely). Both Conley and Johnston are clients of Jefferson Parish's Minister of Propaganda Greg Buisson.
So, if anything, it was a smart political move by Templet to nominate Conley, even if it breaks with the East/West Bank tradition and would be horrible for Jefferson Parish. The Conley nomination takes out Templet's chief rival for the seat.
Now the questions are: does Conley/Buisson file a lawsuit to overturn the preclusion of the interim from seeking the seat or does Johnston go back on his word and run against Templet allowing a clear path for Conley to seek the Division B seat.
Let me just get this out there from the jump - Keith Conley elected ANYTHING in Jefferson Parish is a bad thing for JP residents, a very bad thing.
But. this entire process was flawed.
Buisson client, and Mike Yenni loyalist, Dominick Impastato nominated restaurant owner Larry Katz while fellow Buisson client Jennifer Van Vrancken nominated Lisa Jackson. Like Conley, both katz and Jackson reside on the East Bank and that is where the similarities end as neither had a show and were nominated simply for the theatre of showing they were nominated.
Katz quit the process early while Jackson, after filing her paperwork, enclosed a letter withdrawing and endorsing Conley.
No, this seat was Conley's all along.
And that makes this flawed process sad.
But, since we are stuck with Conley, let's examine his record.
I have written about Conley in the past. If you want a refresher, click here or here or here.
Conley was a JPSO Deputy before he "retired" after being named in a cover up of an assault on a Mardi Gras Parade attendee. Conley, the JPSO and several other Deputies were the target of several civil suits that resulted in over $330,000 paid to the victim.
Conley was named Assistant City Attorney by then-Kenner Mayor Ed Muniz. Subsequently, Concley was named Clerk of Court. All the while, despite being one of the highest paid City of Kenner employees, Conley continued his private practice as a Personal Injury Attorney.
Conley and his wife filed for bankruptcy discharging over $800,000 in debt. Shortly after filing, Conley "found" several thousand dollars which he chose to donate to the Mayoral campaign of Mike Yenni instead of paying off his creditors.
After Yenni was elected, Conley was named Kenner City Attorney. Again, while one of the highest paid city employees, Conley continued his private practice and also worked with the law firm of Yenni's bff Michael Brandner (he of the 2nd most stupid legal ads - sorry Juan LaFonta is 1st). Despite the "double-dipping", Yenni repeatedly defended Conley saying "There's nothing in the charter that doesn't allow him from doing it." While that may be true, I think if you're a Full-Time City Attorney you can't spend your days trying your own cases and, as I've said many times, just because it's technically not illegal or unethical, that doesn't make it right. Yenni and I have differed on this point many times.
While City Attorney, Conley was appointed Interim Code Enforcement Director and given a healthy pay raise. Again, he continued with his private practice and with Brandner.
Conley resigned both positions and was rumored to be seeking an elected office.
Despite endorsing another candidate for the Council-At-Large seat, Yenni worked to position Conley for that seat and then publicly endorsed Conley and raised funds for his campaign. Conley became one of the "Consensus Team" designed to pass Yenni's flawed agenda.
After Yenni was elected JP President, Conley resigned from the Council, quit on the voters who elected him and joined Yenni's Transition Team. He was subsequently rewarded with the CAO position and a salary well north of $100,000.
While CAO, Conley was part of the cover up of the Harahan-River Ridge stench scandal which has caused health problems for residents, a loss of property value, and multiple lawsuits against the parish.
Conley resigned from JP government in December 2018 to seek either a JP Council-At-Large seat or, possibly, the Parish Presidency should Yenni not seek reelection.
So, in a nutshell, Conley is a failed JPSO Deputy who was drummed out of the JPSO after being involved in the cover up of an assault; he's a political opportunist who would rather give money to his friends and secure a politically appointed position than pay his bills; quit on the voters that elected him after he helped his friend, Mike Yenni; joined Yenni at the parish and was involved in another cover up which has led to health issues for thousands of JP residents; and is now appointed to the JP Council and hopes to parlay that into an elected position.
So, again I ask, is this really the best the JP Council could do?
It also brings into question the judgement of Ricky Templet.
Yes, it was a good political move for Templet to nominate Conley but, for someone that is seeking a parishwide seat himself, Templet certainly didn't consider the best interest of the residents of Jefferson Parish.
And that is disappointing.
Just as disappointing is the fact that the other 5 council members also thought so little of the residents of JP that they put out this flawed dog and pony show in the hopes that we wouldn't notice.
Well, some of us did notice and some of us will remember.
So, while this process was smoother than the last interim council pick (which needed to be made by Governor Edwards), neither pick was a victory for JP residents. \
Just politics as usual at our expense.
