Will hold meeting on Jan. 28 after 3 nominees fail to get needed votes
The St. Charles Parish Council was unable to name a temporary appointee to serve District 2 after three nominees for the vacant seat failed to get the needed votes at Tuesday’s meeting.
Mary Clulee, Carl Cantrelle and Pastor Kendall Pierre were all nominated to fill the vacancy created when former Councilman Shelley Tastet resigned for health reasons on Dec. 29. Councilman Clayton “Snookie” Faucheux nominated Clulee, while Councilman Paul Hogan nominated Cantrelle and Councilman Terrell Wilson nominated Pierre.
In order to fill state requirements, a nominee needed five votes. However, Council Chairwoman Wendy Benedetto was not allowed to vote, meaning that a nominee needed to get yes votes from five of the seven remaining council members.
Clulee, who is the wife of Luling businessman Neal Clulee, received three yes votes from Faucheux, Councilman Larry Cochran and Councilwoman Julia Fisher-Perrier. Neal Clulee was chosen as the parish’s nominee to the New Orleans Aviation Board, a move that has led an ongoing lawsuit between the parish council and New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu.
Pierre, who is the Pastor of Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Ama, also received three yes votes – from Wilson, Cochran and Fisher-Perrier.
Cantrelle, also from Ama, received four yes votes at the meeting from Hogan, Fisher-Perrier, Councilwoman Carolyn Schexnaydre and Councilwoman Traci Fletcher. Cantrelle ran against Tastet for the District 2 seat in 2011 and received 37 percent of the vote.
The council has 30 days from Tastet’s resignation on Dec. 29 to fill the vacancy and has set a meeting for Jan. 28 at 5 p.m. They must come to a decision on the temporary appointee at that meeting.
Whoever is appointed to the position will serve on the council until a special election in April. The appointee will be able to run for the council seat and the winner of the election will serve on the council through January 2016.
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