Kenner Official and Spouse Sue City Council Over Letter on Aviation Board Pick

Kenner's deputy chief administrative officer and her husband have taken the Kenner City Council to court, claiming council members broke Louisiana's open meetings law over a letter concerning a seat on the New Orleans Aviation Board.

Natalie and Richard Newton filed the suit this week as private citizens in the 24th Judicial District Court in Jefferson Parish. It stems from an August letter that council members sent to New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno about who should serve as Kenner's representative on the board, which oversees the administration and strategic development of Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport.

The Newtons argue the letter was "not lawful" because it was written and sent outside a public meeting, "without public notice, comment or a recorded public vote." They are asking for a $500 civil penalty for each of the four council members who sent it, along with attorney's fees and court costs if they prevail.

In a statement Wednesday, the couple's attorney, Joe Rochelle, said the case is about making sure elected officials follow the laws they are trusted to uphold. "When elected officials circumvent the public process, citizens have every right to hold them accountable and demand transparency," he said.

Council members Joey LaHatte and Danny Riehm rejected the claim in interviews Tuesday and Wednesday. They said the council had already voted in public and the letter simply informed Moreno of the result. LaHatte compared it to voting at a meeting and then posting on Facebook about how the vote went. He said he learned of the suit early Tuesday and called it shocking, particularly because it came from the deputy chief administrative officer in the mayor's office.

Riehm called the lawsuit an "absurdity," a "total joke" and "frivolous." He said he believes the mayor's office misunderstands a 1985 airport expansion agreement, which he and LaHatte say they followed exactly. LaHatte described the filing as "a complete lack of institutional control" on the part of Mayor Michael Glaser, since one of his top aides brought it.

The suit names LaHatte, Riehm, Joe Stagni and Thomas Willmott as defendants, along with the City of New Orleans, the New Orleans Aviation Board and attorney Barry Ranshi, the council's preferred appointee. It follows a response from Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill to a complaint on the matter, in which she wrote that the letter was "not the product of deliberation or action taken at a meeting open to the public." Riehm and LaHatte said they believe that opinion was issued without all the proper information.

The dispute has its roots in June, when the council recommended Justice of the Peace Kevin Centanni, former Chief Administrative Officer Michael Quigley and former Police Chief Steve Caraway for the board, and Glaser approved them. In August, the four council members adopted another resolution replacing Caraway with Ranshi and sent that choice to Moreno. The lawsuit says Moreno did not object and the New Orleans City Council approved Ranshi, although it states Glaser vetoed the choice. Riehm said any veto is invalid because the appointment follows the airport expansion agreement, not the city charter.

Riehm said Kenner's presence on the board matters, pointing to poor airport drainage and flooding concerns after Hurricane Francine. He also worried the conflict could discourage people from serving on Kenner's volunteer boards in the future. Stagni declined to comment, citing pending litigation. Willmott, Glaser's office, Moreno's office and Ranshi did not immediately respond.