NEW ORLEANS, LA — Councilmember Lesli Harris issued the following statement in response to Attorney General Liz Murrill's threat to remove Mayor Helena Moreno, District Attorney Jason Williams, and five members of the New Orleans City Council from office under state "usurper" statutes. Separately, Councilmember Harris further clarified her position regarding the calling of a special election and appointment of an interim Clerk of Court. Finally, Councilmember Harris has provided a list of next steps to promote unity.
“The Attorney General's threat to remove elected officials is an unhinged abuse of power and a threat not only to democracy but ultimately the rule of law as a whole. Attorney General Murrill has warned Mayor Moreno, District Attorney Williams, and five of my colleagues on this Council with removal from office under state 'usurper' statutes. This is intimidation, plain and simple.
Make no mistake, leadership in New Orleans is under attack, not only through this recent threat from the Attorney General, but throughout this entire legislative session.
Calvin Duncan won his election to the Criminal District Clerk of Court with nearly 70 percent of the vote, and Governor Landry signed a bill to eliminate his position days before he could even take office. That is not reform. That is retaliation against a city that refuses to fall in line. Critics have rightly noted that these efforts are less about efficiency and more about bringing New Orleans, a predominantly Black, Democratic city, to heel. We see the pattern. Our residents see it. And we will not be silenced by it.”
Councilmember Harris continued to explain her rationale on opposing two resolutions at Monday’s Council meeting.
“Many of you saw that I voted no on the Council's resolutions regarding the consolidated Clerk of Court Office on Monday. This is absolutely not because I agree with Baton Rouge.
First, I want to be clear about the timeline that preceded this vote.
● On Thursday, May 7, DA Williams sent a public letter encouraging the Council to take action and call a special election.
● On Friday, May 8, Mayor Moreno sent a letter encouraging the Council to take a similar action and a special meeting on the issue was noticed for Monday, May 11.
● Also on Friday, May 8 we received a competing legal interpretation of the effect of Act 15’s “abolishment” from Attorney General Murrill.
● I then received information in bits and pieces over the weekend. There was no formal legal briefing or Council executive session to discuss these competing legal opinions.
I think it is very important to note that even if the 20 day deadline to call a special election started May 1st, which some debate started on May 4th, the Council still had almost two weeks to take such action rather than rush a special meeting without having the time to be fully informed.
I also find it incredibly concerning that the elections of May 16th have faced several very public disruptions, from the halting of the Congressional races by the Governor to the removal of Clerk Calvin Duncan from his office as Clerk of Criminal District Court. Instead of allowing the May 16th elections to proceed before stepping in, which still would have been within the 20 day time period, the Council voted to call a special election and appoint an interim clerk - adding to conflicting messaging and overall uncertainty around Saturday’s elections.
Additionally, I strongly believe that calling a special election while we are awaiting the results of state and federal litigation was ill-advised.
To me, our vote on Monday was rushed and I believe we should have waited closer to the expiration of the 20 days for a court’s interpretation of Act 15 and/or a formal legal briefing.
My position is simple. Act 15 is still in active litigation—its validity is not yet settled. Until a Court’s final ruling, I believe that two Clerk of Court offices for Orleans Parish exist. While state legislation has attempted to combine them, Again, I refuse to let the state use our own actions to legitimize what they have done.”
Finally, Councilmember Harris called for action to protect New Orleans voters by assisting Clerk Calvin Duncan’s suit against the State with an amicus brief and for us as leaders of New Orleans to unite against repeated and blatant power grabs from the state.
“Calvin Duncan won his election. The people of New Orleans gave him 68 percent of their vote, and no act of the legislature can, or for that matter should, erase that mandate.
I am publicly calling on the City Attorney to file a friend of the court (amicus curiae) brief in the pending federal litigation challenging Act 15, because New Orleans deserves a seat at the table in this fight. We must do everything in our legal power to help maintain our two clerk seats.
New Orleans, Black elected officials, and more specifically Black women elected officials are under attack. The legislature has taken away Calvin Duncan’s seat and now legislation is headed to the Senate for concurrence to remove the seats of 8 judgeships - not to mention the redistricting fight.
I have been repeatedly sounding the alarms on the harmful legislation coming out of Baton Rouge with statements issued since the beginning of April.
Furthermore, I believe that Congressman Troy Carter said it best at Monday night’s redistricting Town Hall: We should fight behind closed doors and stand united in public. I want to expand on that. The house is on fire and we need to be united to protect our home and our people.”