Term limits at the center of BREC controversy

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By Emma James
Baton Rouge Business Report

While the outcry over Collis Temple Jr.’s reappointment to the BREC board has quieted down since the Metro Council meeting last week, some say a lawsuit would be the quickest way to settle the issue of how a term limits ordinance affects the appointment of public officials to parish boards and commissions. Baton Rouge attorney Stephen Babcock says those best able to present a case against the city-parish would be the other nominees for the position, such as frontrunner Elizabeth Querbes, on the grounds that they were aggrieved by the Metro Council’s decision. Querbes, a senior vice president with Morgan Stanley, says though she was surprised by Temple’s reappointment to BREC, she is not currently considering a suit and would reapply for a position on the recreation board should one become available. “The intent of term limits is to provide an opportunity for candidates from all over the region to apply their creativity, talent and time to different boards and commissions,” says Querbes.

The Metro Council reappointed Temple to the BREC board with the justification that he did not finish out his full term last year. Babcock says the term limits ordinance is retroactive and could be applied to Temple, who was in the middle of his third and final term when he was removed as chairman in July for missing too many meetings. The intent of the ordinance would require Temple to sit out a full term before applying for reappointment. “Somehow I don’t believe the Metro Council cares about what the ordinance intended,” Babcock says.

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