Mayor-President Josh Guillory wants one of his opponents to stop calling him corrupt.
In a Petition for Temporary Restraining Order filed Tuesday, Guillory tells the court that opponent Monique Blanco Boulet continues to "falsely accuse him of the crime of corruption." The third candidate in the race, Jan Swift, is not mentioned in the document.
We're reached out to Guillory, Boulet and Swift for comment. We'll update this story as soon as we receive it.
The petition, which you can read for yourself by scrolling down, says Boulet (who is referred to as "Monique" throughout the pleading) has used the word in media appearances and interviews, in social media posts and in a campaign commercial.
The petition refers to a state statute that makes "corrupt influencing" as a crime. The Oxford Dictionary defines "corruption" as "dishonest or fraudulent conduct by those in power, typically involving bribery."
"It is absolutely false that Guillory has committed the crime of corruption," the petition states.
The petition states that Boulet's "false criminal accusation" is defamatory and that she "has no evidence to support her false accusation."
"This is nothing but a smear campaign clearly influenced by (Boulet's) belief that she can only defeat an incumbent that has been accused of corruption. It is false, irresponsible, and desperate," the petition states.
The petition asks the court to order Boulet from accusing Guillory of corruption in any format, and asks that the order be made permanent. The petition also asks for attorney's fees.
Here's the (unedited) response we received from Boulet:
“Josh Guillory cannot defend his record of failure and corruption, so he is trying to silence others from talking about it. I will not back down from speaking the truth, standing up to this bully, and fighting to bring honesty and transparency to Lafayette Parish,” Blanco Boulet said in response to the merciless restraining order sought against her by scandal-ridden Guillory.
Just a few examples of Josh’s corruption previously cited by our campaign correctly in our advertising and other messaging (all of them are hyperlinked to sources form our webpage here: https://www.moniqueformayorpresident.com/news/boulet-launches-second-tv-ad-ahead-of-october-election-for-mayor-president [moniqueformayorpresident.com]) are below:
- Unlawfully seizing 400 acres of private property [theadvocate.com] to build a $60 million detention pond that will do little to prevent flooding.
- Being cited for more than two-dozen serious deficiencies [thecurrentla.com] in his internal audit, including violations of public bid laws and other state laws, leading to overpayments.
- Abusing tax dollars by taking police officers away from fighting crime [theadvocate.com] to act as his personal bodyguards and drivers — something no other Mayor-President has ever done.
- Starting a construction equipment rental business [thecurrentla.com] in an attempt to cash in on public funds within two months of beginning large drainage projects, then trying to cover up his association with the company by removing his name from public records.
- Awarding a $390,000 drainage contract [thecurrentla.com] weeks after receiving $10,000 in campaign donations from the company's owner. Then adding tens of millions of additional work without rebidding the contract.
Here's the petition:
