The cold war to date that has evolved between Monroe’s City Council majority Democrats and independent Mayor Friday Ellis erupted to hot – and at taxpayer expense – as the majority councilors admitted to their intentions, but just in time for their bargaining position to erode over the issue of a new fire chief.

Twice Ellis has nominated experienced individuals to the post, and twice the majority has turned him down for changing reasons that on the surface seem more like excuses rather than serious objections. Multiple attempts by Ellis asking for Council majority input on the matter were ignored almost entirely. But then Ellis made an end run by encouraging what would become statute giving Republican Gov. Jeff Landry the power to appoint the chief.

That touched off a special Council meeting earlier this month with the issue revisited at the last regular meeting. At both, the Council majority – Democrats Rodney McFarland, Verbon Muhammad, and Juanita Woods – initiated a long shot law suit to overturn legally the statute, Worse, that measure allowed the Council to bypass city counsel and hire legal help from the outside, guaranteeing extra, needless expenses imposed on taxpayers because it is constitutionally correct for the state to override portions of charters it grants local governments and it was done in a procedurally correct manner.

It also petitioned the governor not to make the decision, which drew much comment. Muhammad spoke, disclaiming that the majority’s obstinance had nothing to do with race; all three are black and both Ellis nominees to succeed the retired black chief are white. But almost immediately after he added that a chunk of the electorate that put Ellis, who is white, in office twice “look like me” yet on this issue “we don’t get nothing [sic].” Surely regardless of their race people want a quality fire chief, so why is he implying that the appointment is a distributional question concerning groups within the community that appears to hinge on race?

Woods spoke, saying regardless of race she wanted the “most” or “best qualified” candidate and one “respected” by the department rank-and-file. Then why did she vote against an extremely popular internal candidate, and then reject the highest-scoring candidate on the civil service exam? And she claimed additionally that the process “excluded certain people.”

McFarland stated Council charges of obstructionism were overblown because the Council majority almost always voted with Ellis. But excepting the vast majority of extremely minor policy issues, over the past year on several of the most consequential policy issues the majority has opposed Ellis policy amid its exhortations of not being a “rubber stamp.” Regardless, he claimed rather than these rejections fomenting conflict, Ellis had and also voided “trust” by backing the new law.

The Council also passed measures designed to clip a mayor’s wings with appointments. A resolution disallowed the mayor appointing officials under investigation, which seemed to eliminate any internal candidate for fire chief since the Council currently is investigating the entire department. An ordinance would mandate appointments be made within 90 days of vacancy and within 30 days of a rejection. Of course, if this passes a second reading Ellis can veto it successfully as long as the minority Republicans on the Council back him, who voted against it on first reading.

Then, days after the meeting, Landry upset the majority’s applecart. He transmitted a letter to Ellis that said unless the city made a selection by Sep. 13, he would. That gives Ellis all the cards, because it would seem more likely he would pick a candidate over which the Council majority would have input than if Landry did.

So, the Council majority will sue, lose, and waste money while Ellis likely will get his pick as fire chief. Going through all this isn’t worth it to put out in the open the majority’s true intentions: obstruct Ellis if his policies don’t serve its goal of resource redistribution to favored constituencies. But now that’s confirmed, using its own words.