While the big story coming from this week’s meeting of the Bossier City Council was how five of its members disgraced themselves, another intriguing story emerged over whether the city’s moribund Charter Review Commission operated legally.

The final reading of an ordinance to disband the Commission failed when only Republicans Chris Smith and Brian Hammons voted in support, while Republicans David Montgomery, Jeff Free, and Vince Maggio, plus Democrat Bubba Williams and no party Jeff Darby voted against. In the cases of Williams and Free, they reversed their votes from the first reading two weeks earlier; the others against had been absent.

Montgomery led the charge against, arguing that, even as the Charter didn’t address whether the Council could rescind a Commission once constituted, the intent was that the Council wasn’t to interfere with Commission operations until its termination voluntary or by its 18-month life, and rescinding did interfere because it could influence a panel to make proposals favored by councilors, under the threat of dissolution if it didn’t. City Attorney Charles Jacobs confessed it was a gray area that didn’t have a clear-cut resolution.

Smith and Hammons echoed GOP Mayor Tommy Chandler’s rationale for his proposing the ordinance: the circus-like atmosphere propagated by certain members of the panel that distracted from its accomplishing its mission as well as cast an unfavorable light on the city as a whole, to which Smith added that he had become subject to personal attacks and an ethics complaint over what he identified as differing views on term limits. The complaint would appear to come from his choice for the panel – each councilor nominated one and the mayor two for ratification onto the Commission by the entire Council – his father-in-law Preston Friedley. The state’s Ethics Code prohibits an immediate family member, including parents of s spouse, of an elected official from certain relationships with governmental agencies, although it was unclear how the Code prohibits an elected official from appointing an immediate family member to a voluntary city agency. Friedley resigned after a dispute broke out over his role of chairman and agenda-setting.

Jacobs said he couldn’t really know what the Louisiana Board of Ethics would rule or what penalty, which as a remedy could be to invalidate any decisions made by an illegal appointee, thus mooting everything the Commission had done. Hammons made an even more intriguing point, that because the Council had approved all nine appointees at once together, not only did this put all councilors on the hook possibly but also invalidated the entire slate of appointments. In essence, all that would have been legal is the Commission’s establishment, with already half its life gone without even a single valid appointment made to it that in order to move forward would require new (re-)appointments.

This puts the Commission in complete limbo unable to do anything, because it may have no legal appointees, until the case is resolved, with a year’s prescriptive period (which can be suspended) meaning the Board could take action after the Commission’s mandate expires. This means it might be best to disband and reconstitute the Commission, even if legal action is taken against that, as ultimately this would be the quickest way to get something like it going again.

Nevertheless, and even though there was nothing close to certainty that any successful litigation could derail the Commission or prevent the Council from starting it from scratch, Montgomery’s pleas that the Council avoid potential litigation by voting against rescinding won the day. Then the same five hypocritically (and predictably) threw that logic out the window by violating the charter and their oaths of office.

That came in a subsequent vote refusing to send to the ballot, under the city Charter, the petition certified Jul. 25 that mandates a referendum on a lifetime three-term limit on the mayor and city councilors. Of those who voted against it, this would make all but Maggio ineligible to run in 2025 city elections assuming a Dec. 7 vote came out in favor of it (although Williams has stated he won’t run for reelection).

But it violates the Charter not to pass the necessary resolution prior to the 30-day period after certification, or through Aug. 24. It’s not optional; the Charter orders that the resolution go forth. Unless the Council has a special meeting between now and then, by the act of Montgomery, Free, Maggio, Williams, and Darby they caused the city to violate its own charter and, if contested in court (which is certain to happen, according to petition organizers), will lose after spending untold amounts of taxpayer money defending a hopeless cause.

Even though a matter of when, not if, it’s the “when” is what counts for the graybeards and Maggio. This illegal tactic hopes to tie up the matter in court and the bureaucracy so that the installation of limits happens after city elections, which itself is unlikely as higher courts in the state won’t permit this to happen even if they have to postpone the initial city elections. And the graybeards+ know they will lose, but they don’t care whose money they spend and how much aggravation they cause if there’s the remotest chance they can ensure at least one more round of terms for themselves and their allies.

Note the breathtaking hypocrisy in all of this from the graybeards+. Regarding the decommission of the Commission, they wanted its retention because they claimed there was a chance, even if extremely slight, that the act could be illegal and successful litigation would ensue against dismissing it. But when it comes to embarking upon an unambiguously illegal act that, if perpetrated, would result only in wasting taxpayer dollars to fight a losing battle, that consideration evaporates. The reason behind their unprincipled behavior: they support continuing the Commission as a potential weapon to sabotage term limits, but oppose a ballot item sure to pass that amends term limits into the Charter.

By violating the charter, by violating the oaths of office they took to defend (among other things) the Charter, and by violating the trust of constituents who rightfully expect them to uphold the law and will have to pay for this scheming that they know is illegal, David Montgomery, Jeff Free, Vince Maggio, Don “Bubba” Williams, and Jeff Darby have demonstrated their manifest unfitness to serve in any office. Shame on them, and continued shame on them until they resign their offices over this unconscionable breach of duty.