Durel supporter raises ire

Democrats eye censure
By KEVIN BLANCHARD
Advocate Acadiana bureau Published:
Dec 8, 2006


Lafayette Parish Democratic Executive Committee member Glenn Armentor may face censure for his Dec. 15 fundraiser to re-elect City-Parish President Joey Durel, a Republican.

Fellow committee member Stephen Handwerk said Thursday he has been told a petition will be given to both the parish committee and the Democratic State Central Committee demanding a censure of Armentor for endorsing a Republican candidate.

Armentor, a prominent attorney and political player, has organized what he calls a non-partisan fundraiser for Durel. Former Chairman of the Louisiana Democratic Party Mike Skinner is one of several co-hosts for the Dec. 15 event.

Mike Stagg, the Democratic candidate who failed to unseat Lafayette Republican U.S. Rep. Charles Boustany, has called for Armentor’s resignation.

Stagg wrote on the blog of the local committee’s Web site, www.lafayettedemocrats.org, in an entry titled “Lafayette Democrat Surrenders,” that Armentor’s endorsement is “the kind of lemming-like behavior that has come to characterize the leadership of the party here (in Lafayette).”

In announcing his fundraiser, Armentor praised Durel’s leadership and vision, calling Durel one of the best mayors in Lafayette’s history.

Stagg took issue with Armentor “gushing about Durel as if he’s the local incarnation of Harry Truman,” saying Durel has failed to provide leadership on several issues, including the controversy over renaming a major street in town after Martin Luther King Jr.

Stagg is not a member of the Lafayette Parish Democratic Executive Committee. Stagg declined to be interviewed for this story.
Armentor could not be reached Thursday afternoon, though two messages were left seeking comment.

Committee member Anthony Fazzio responded to Stagg on the same blog that Armentor’s endorsement “ensures that Democratic principles are at least considered,” in a Durel administration.

Fazzio pointed to Durel’s spearheading of the Lafayette Utilities System telecommunications business — standing up against big corporate interests — as an example of Durel’s support of “Democratic Party ideals.”

It’s not clear whether Armentor’s endorsement technically violates any state party bylaws.

Those bylaws call for censure — or public condemnation — of any party official who “publicly endorsing or publicly supporting” any non-Democrat in an election with a Democratic candidate.

Because qualifying for the November 2007 election won’t take place until the summer, there are no “candidates” in the race.
But the spirit of the rules seems to have been violated, Handwerk said.

In a time when prospective candidates are mulling a possible run and gauging their potential support, having major Democratic fundraisers support a Republican incumbent hurts the party’s recruiting efforts, Handwerk said.

“That is really shooting us in the foot,” Handwerk said.

At the same time, Handwerk said, Armentor offering the “olive branch” to Durel is an opportunity for dialogue about local issues — like the MLK Drive matter.
“It doesn’t always have to be a pit bull fight,” Handwerk said. “But if it backfires in our face, then game on — we’ll find someone (to run against Durel).”
The Lafayette Parish  Democratic Executive Committee meets next on Dec. 19.

If the petition to censure Armentor makes the agenda, just three of the 14 members need to agree in order for a censure recommendation to be forwarded to the executive committee of the Democratic State Central Committee.

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