The Associated Press
LAFAYETTE, La. (AP) - A former Scott police chief who only recently got out of jail after serving a year for malfeasance and filing false public records has filed papers to run for City Council.
Jerry Carpenter was convicted in December 1999 of planting of cocaine on three men traveling on Interstate 10. He was released from the parish jail on Aug. 1.
Carpenter has two opponents in the race, incumbent John Blanchard Sr. and Mark Moreau.
But Blanchard said he does not expect Carpenter to stay in the race.
“Let me say something is being looked into and by midweek something will be done,” Blanchard said. “If he’s not going to pull himself out of the race, something will be done to get him out.”
Under Article I, Section 10 of the state constitution, a convicted felon is not allowed to run for elected office unless he has received a pardon or unless the completion of a sentence was more than 15 years before qualifying.
Lafayette Parish Registrar of Voters Steve Bernard said he never received any notices that Carpenter had been convicted of a felony. People who are convicted felons are supposed to be stricken from the rolls of registered voters.
“I can only take off felons if I have been notified,” Bernard said.
As a first-time offender, Carpenter will be eligible for an automatic pardon after he has completed his entire sentence, including any probation, said Melissa Cook, spokeswoman for the state Department of Corrections.
Cook said her records indicate Carpenter has not received the automatic pardon first-offenders receive because he still must serve two years of probation.
A spokeswoman for Gov. Mike Foster’s office said Monday that her office has no record of Carpenter having received a pardon from the governor.
There may also be a problem with Carpenter’s residency.
A candidate for councilman must have actually resided in the district he’s seeking to serve for a period of one year prior to the date of qualifying.
Until Aug. 1, Carpenter was a resident of the Lafayette Parish Correctional Center, which is not in Scott.
Carpenter could not be reached for comment.