Former Alcohol and Tobacco Control (ATC) Commissioner Murphy Painter.
For any subscriber or casual visitor to our blog who believes that Inspector General Stephen Street, Jr., has even a modicum of integrity or decency, that individual will almost certainly reassess that belief upon viewing the following video (Installment 4) of our fascinating series of interviews with former Louisiana Alcohol and Tobacco Control (ATC) Commissioner Murphy Painter:
Former ATC Commissioner Murphy Painter on allegations entailing extreme underhanded and unethical conduct on the part of Louisiana Inspector General Stephen Street, Jr., and past members of his office.
Folks, we’ve got plenty more to come, and we KNOW you’re going to want to tune in for Episode 5 coming to you real soon!
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Now, on Monday, February 14, 2022 at approximately 2:00 p.m., a phone call was made by a long-time friend of SMPG Council President Chris Tauzin to him……….
Tauzin allegedly then proceeded to inform the caller, “It doesn’t matter at this point! The hole is too deep, and nobody can change that now. I don’t care if the President of the United States tried to intervene at this point. The hole is simply way too deep.”
The full SMPG Council is scheduled to meet on Tuesday, March 1, 2022, and we certainly plan to attend and videotape the little “dog and pony” show that the Council plans to conduct. We believe that efficiency should dictate that Tauzin open discussion of Broussard’s item as follows: “We are going to dispense with public comment and comments by Council members on the Duchamp Road rezoning request because, as I have stated, ‘the hole is too deep.’ Parish President Cedars is adamantly opposed to Mr. Broussard’s operations, and that fact has been well-documented. Therefore, I will entertain a Motion to Deny at this time. Motion to Deny by Councilman xxxxxx, seconded by Councilman yyyyyy. All those in favor vote green, and all those opposed vote red. The board is lit green by every member of this Council. It’s unanimous: Mr. Broussard’s application is denied!”
The SMPG Council came as close as possible to following the script above considering that “dispensing with public comment” would be a clear and unequivocal violation of Louisiana’s Open Meetings Laws (and that part of the script was obvious sarcasm).
It’s also a violation to convene a quorum of members behind closed doors, yet every meeting we’ve attended, the entirety of the membership comes from behind closed doors one minute prior to the meeting, and tonight’s (Wednesday, March 2, 2022) meeting was no exception. All of the members, attorney Allan Durand, and Parish President Chester Cedars all emerged one minute before the meeting.
What was blatantly obvious is that Broussard’s zoning variance had been discussed behind those closed doors, and the Council Members were likely told to keep their mouths shut! No doubt either Durand or Cedars (or both) told the Council Members that making statements such as Tauzin allegedly made on February 14, 2022 at around 2:00 p.m. can only hurt SMPG’s cause in a court of law.
The meeting started promptly at 5:00 p.m., and Sound Off Louisiana founder Robert Burns turned on the ignition of his car to begin heading back to Baton Rouge at exactly 5:13 p.m.! Furthermore, there were six (6) perfunctory items which were conducted prior to Broussard’s matter. That should provide insight on just how much time Broussard’s matter took up on the agenda (six minutes, 49 seconds to be exact – five minutes of which was Broussard making public comment).
The only flaw in the SMPG Council’s otherwise superb dog-and-pony show? They obviously didn’t rehearse it well enough behind closed doors to actually articulate a Motion when that time came (notice we gave the guidance of “Motion to Deny” above, but apparently they’re simply not bright enough to follow that simple script)! Not to worry though, Parish President Chester Cedars came to the rescue (after the 7-0 vote had been cast!) in inquiring, “What is the Motion?”
Here’s the full 6:49 video:
Consideration of Broussard Zoning Variance in its entirety at the March 2, 2022 SMPG meeting. CLICK HERE for Broussard’s public comment.
We are extremely certain that there will be more features to come on this whole matter, but that’s enough comedy from one governmental entity for this one episode!
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Louisiana ACLU Legal Director Nora Ahmed, who was the guest speaker at the Baton Rouge Press Club on Monday, February 28, 2022.
While admitting that many bargaining chips are utilized as part of the redistricting process, Louisiana ACLU Legal Director Nora Ahmed, who was the guest speaker at the meeting of the Baton Rouge Press Club (BRPC) of Monday, February 28, 2022, flatly rejected the notion that the life of Ronald Greene should be used as a bargaining chip in that redistricting process. Let’s take a look at what she had to say in that regard:
Ahmed makes her sentiments known entailing redistricting and any utilization of the life of Ronald Greene as a bargaining chip in that process.
Ahmed was also emphatic that Gov. Edwards should veto both maps recently passed by the Louisiana Legislature, but she admitted to being unsure if any members of the Louisiana Legislative Black Caucus (LLBC) would join in any Republican-led efforts to impeach Gov. John Bel Edwards if Edwards fails to make such a veto. Let’s take a quick look at what she had to say in that regard:
Ahmed’s response to Sound Off Louisiana founder Robert Burns’ question of whether any members of the LLBC would join in any impeachment efforts of Gov. Edwards if he fails to do as the ACLU has insisted and veto the recently-passed redistricting maps.
The next few days should be interesting! CLICK HERE to see Ahmed’s presentation in its entirety.
If you would like to be added to our Sound Off Louisiana email list to be notified of future posts, simply go to our home page and scroll to the bottom (mobile devices) or to the top of the right-hand column (desktops). Supply your email address within the subscribe box. You’ll then receive an automated email from Word Press, and all you have to do is click on the blue “confirm follow” bar contained within that email, and you’ll begin receiving great posts such as the preceding one above.
