Cherry Picking on Councilman Shelvin?

The Lafayette INDependent, which is typically anything but independent unless you are a friend of Steve and Cheryl May, ran a very in depth story on Lafayette Parish Councilman Brandon Shelvin and his recent financial troubles.

There is much truth to the story, but is there also speculation? Is he unfit now to manage our tax dollars? He may be.

But what about the campaign finances of other councilmen and the City-Parish President. Are the large contributions from the likes of Allied Waste and other quasi-government/private contractors hindrances to their abilities to property manage our tax dollars?

The Independent, particularly the Mays and Walter Pierce, are anything but independent. It is one thing to show your agenda in the editorial pages, but more and more, the agenda of these elitists types spills over into the actual "news" sections.

One must wonder if the IND is going to use Shelvin's troubles to further push the security fee increase on Downtown bar owners. They sure as hell haven't acknowledged the fact that one of the local non-profits also attracts vast criminal elements.

City-Parish Councilmen in the News

Yesterday, Lafayette Judge Glenn Everett issued a warrant for the arrest of Lafayette City-Parish Councilman Brandon Shelvin. This was a result of Shelvin failing to appear in court Monday morning regarding a suit filed by Hancock Bank.

According to the warrant, Shelvin is supposed to be booked into the Lafayette Parish CC, and will be questioned by an attorney for Hancock Bank.

No, he is not being arrested for failing to pay a debt. He is to be arrested for ignoring a court summons.

Councilman Shelvin has apparently compliled personal debt due to his private used car business. Shelvin has been a delight as a parish councilman after years of race-baiter Chris Williams holding down the District 3 post. District 4 Councilman Kenneth Boudreaux seems to be the race-baiter in this new crowd.

Meanwhile, on KPEL 105.1 FM this morning, City-Parish Council Chair Jay Castille gave the impression he does not favor allowing Lafayette Parish residents a vote on whether to continue with parish consolidation, or to repeal the charter and de-consolidate.

Castille had been pegged as the “swing” vote on the measure, which needs to pass 6-3 in order for de-consolidation to be placed on the ballot in November. The majority of his constituents are “parish residents” (outside Lafayette City Limits), as is the case with Councilmen William Theriot, Jared Bellard and Purvis Morrison. Theriot, Bellard and Morrison are expected NO votes, while the 5 councilmen with majority City of Lafayette residents are expected YES votes.

This means Castille will likely cast the deciding vote.

How much time has Jay been spending with Bruce Conque and Mayor Joey Durel lately? Is that Lafayette Chamber of Commerce PAC up and running yet?