Affirmed

By: TONY MARKS
Editor

The decision of the honorable Judge Chuck West to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the candidacy of Ryan Leday Williams and Renee Brown to run for mayor of Ville Platte was affirmed by a three-judge panel at the Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeal.
The appellate court, in its decision stated, “While Williams and Brown admittedly split their time at different residences, they are not prohibited from having more than one residence.”
The court further cited precedence from the state supreme court that found “‘Courts must be cognizant of the realities of modern life, in which the demands of a career and other factors often require people to spend a large amount of time at different locations.’”
Christopher Ludeau, attorney for Williams, said in a statement, “I’d like to thank Judge West and the 3rd Circuit judges for their time and consideration. These qualification cases are intentionally designed to come at you hard and fast, and I thought all of the judges did an excellent job evaluating all of the evidence and testimony we threw at them at trial.”
“As for the case, I know both Ryan and Renee personally, and I know them to be valuable members of our community. To see their candidacies challenged was disappointing, but that’s the beauty of our legal system. Mr. Cortez Fontenot perceived what he thought was a situation where these individuals were disqualified, and he brought it before the court, as he’s legally allowed to do. However, the beautiful part for Ryan and Renee was that they were afforded the opportunity to defend themselves.”
“At the end of it all, the facts and evidence showed Ryan and Renee were qualified. Personally, I am happy to have helped Ryan reach this outcome. He’s a good man with good intentions, and it was a pleasure helping him maintain his candidacy throughout this process.”
“Pending a decision on whether Mr. Fontenot wants to seek writs to the Supreme Court, I am hopeful this finally closes the chapter on this part of the race. Now all four candidates can proceed with focusing on their campaigns and trying to better our community.”
Brown commented about the decision, “I think it’s great for Ville Platte. It’s up to the residents of our town to decide whom they want to work and represent them.”
Fontenot was contacted but did not give a comment.