[StBernard] Recall effort against St. Bernard Parish President Craig Taffaro ends in failure

[Westley Annis]

Recall effort against St. Bernard Parish President Craig Taffaro ends in
failure
by Chris Kirkham, The Times-Picayune 
Tuesday August 18, 2009, 4:09 PM

A recall effort launched against St. Bernard Parish President Craig Taffaro
in February has failed.

Organizers of the recall petition failed to gather the 8,014 signatures -
one-third of the active, registered voters in St. Bernard Parish when the
petition was filed - needed to get the measure on the ballot within 180
days, as required by law. 

Taffaro said Tuesday the recall did not affect the work of parish
government. 

"The recovery will continue with the same momentum as it had in February
when the recall petition started," he said. "It has never slowed down. We
invite everyone who wants to partner in the recovery to join us." 

Chalmette resident Paul Molinary, one of the people spearheading the effort,
said he was far short of the required number of signatures. He could not
immediately provide the exact number of signatures he had received. 

Molinary and Bradley Cantrell, the other name listed on the initial petition
with the Louisiana Secretary of State's Office, had complained that
Taffaro's administration was moving too aggressively in demolishing homes
damaged by Hurricane Katrina. Several of their properties had been targeted
for demolition. 

Cantrell joined six other residents in filing a federal lawsuit against the
parish in April, claiming their homes were wrongfully demolished. 

"We did what we were really concerned about: we slowed them down when they
were tearing down houses, and (Cantrell) filed that federal lawsuit,"
Molinary said. 

The recall petition was filed with the Secretary of State's Office Feb. 17.
The 180-day period expired Monday.