The gist: Scrutiny of the mayor-president may be turning into big-time investigations. Here’s a rundown of headlines to catch you up.
Patience can still be a powerful tool for reporters. The Daily Advertiser’s Andrew Capps had the foresight to gather up a list of attorney-turned-M-P Josh Guillory’s existing cases after his election — and the patience to sit on the list for 2.5 years before finding any news value in it.
33 cases. The Advertiser reported last week that dozens of the mayor-president’s former cases are no longer publicly accessible, in all probability due to expungements. The nature of expungements — permanent removal from court records — makes it difficult to know how many Guillory personally handled. The Current first reported the mayor-president’s expungement work, likely done while in rehab.
That [Capps] off a month of headlines for the embattled mayor-president, with much of the news centered on his efforts to make more money:
- Aug. 10 – LCG launched an infrastructure boom; Josh Guillory and his wife launched an equipment company (The Current)
- Aug. 15 – Mayor-President Josh Guillory, back at work, defends decision to lead LCG while in rehab (The Acadiana Advocate)
- Aug. 17 – Josh Guillory turns to side hustles for more income (The Current)
- Aug. 22 – Lafayette mayor has practiced law, likely even from rehab. Failed to disclose new practice (The Daily Advertiser)
- Aug. 24 – FBI said to be probing LCG drainage contractor, potential relationship with Mayor-President Josh Guillory (The Current)
- Aug. 29 – City Council may take mayor-president up on suggestion to conduct special audit, investigation of drainage contracts (The Acadiana Advocate)
- Aug. 29 – Josh Guillory expungements: 33 of Lafayette mayor’s cases removed since taking office (The Daily Advertiser)
What to watch for: Whether LCG will be left holding the bag (millions of dollars at stake) as a battle brews between the state’s Office of Facility Planning and Control and the Guillory administration over capital outlay funding for its drainage projects. Hint: LCG doesn’t own some of the land where the work was done, as is required by its cooperative endeavor agreement with the state.