Pearl River, Louisiana, Mayor James Lavigne was on good form at Tuesdays town hall meeting. His words, had he been part of the federal government would have guaranteed his resignation. Of course Pearl River is a town that few people have heard of, a sleepy community in the southeastern part of Louisiana with a population just over 2000. The saying ‘What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas’ comes to mind. That same mindset has become ingrained in many small communities. The major ‘fish’ in their small pond feel that almost any action is acceptable if it furthers their cause.
Mayor James Lavigne is up for re-election so this little gaff on Tuesday may come at a high price. What happened? Lavigne refused to take a question from a local resident, and when the resident persisted, Lavigne responded:
I hope the Ku Kluxers get you too!
Will this be a career shortening blunder? Only time will tell.
By Thursday Lavigne had clearly seen the error of his ways, no doubt due in part to an article published on NOLA.com, and some rather terse comments on that same site. Lavigne offered a somewhat half hearted and disingenuous apology for his outburst.
Blogger News did not bother to try and contact Lavigne for his comments as our previous attempts to contact him on the subject of missing area resident Zachary Pittman have not been successful.
We at Blogger News have had Pearl River under our magnifying glass for several weeks now. The picture that is emerging is not an encouraging one. Our main interest is in discovering what happened to missing 26 year old Zachary Pittman, but as we shake the trees, many other stories are starting to emerge. Certain surnames keep popping up, among them is Lavigne.
Simon Barrett
28 users commented in " Pearl River Mayor James Lavigne Opens Mouth And Inserts Both Feet! "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackDo we know what the question was that made him respond that way? simon maybe the best way to get his attention is for locals to go to the meetings and ask about zac.
Will this be a career shortening blunder? Only time will tell.
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No it won’t. Some things never change in SE Louisiana. 😉
WOW! I wonder how many people in this small community are African American and how many are white. I’m white and I’M offended. I can only imagine how an African American citizen would feel. This man has NO business being in a public office. Shameful! TRULY shameful! I hope Jessie Jackson and Al Sharpton show up on this mayor’s doorstep. That’ll give him a quick attitude adjustment! LOL 😀
Disgusting.
But I’m not really surprised, sadly.
Wonder if the question was about Obama and if he was in the same political party? Seems he got upset by whatever that question was. jmo
I just read the nola.com article what the heck?
He was angry that he couldnt get Harper off the ballot( running against him) among other things. A MUST READ… JMO
Looks like he got mad because the Alderman of his town wouldn’t support him trying to kick one of his opponents out of the race for Mayor.
http://thesttammanynews.com/articles/2010/07/16/news/doc4c3f83fa5d0bc261472912.txt
Does anyone know the race of the person he said that to?
Does anyone know the race of the person he said that to?
Do some research into the klan and that area, OMG its like time stood still down there. JMO
tobias – read the article on nola.com….OMG! The fact that he says “I hope the Ku Klux gets you TOO” makes me wonder who has the klan ALREADY gotten and was it at this mayor’s request? Perhaps the mayor is PART of the Klan. The word “TOO” raises a LOT of questions! This mayor needs to step down and a full blown investigation of his office needs to take place immediately. And while they’re at it, perhaps they should investigate his son!
shayshay – I’d very much like to know the race of the person he said that too as well!
The blacks would live in Slidell, not Pearl River. When I went there in my teens I don’t remember seeing any black people so I looked up their demographics..
As of the census[2] of 2000, there were 1,839 people, 708 households, and 513 families residing in the town. The population density was 737.7 people per square mile (285.2/km²). There were 788 housing units at an average density of 316.1/sq mi (122.2/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 95.38% White, 1.36% African American, 0.92% Native American, 0.49% Asian, 0.65% from other races, and 1.20% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.07% of the population
And there ya go, he will be re-elected.
OMG Vaquera, my apt. complex has more diversity than there…
This mayor seems to be above the law locally but I wonder if it would do any good to contact the United States District Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana. These statements warrant an investigation, both civil and criminal and he should have to answer to it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_District_Court_for_the_Eastern_District_of_Louisiana
I DEFINITELY agree with whoever said that his son should be investigated. I am zacharys pittmans first cousin and the fact that pearl rivers MAYOR can’t even act like a civilized human being worries me. I think it is very sketchy that this case won’t even be looked at by anyone of authority…. Maybe because the mayor IS the authority and if something were to come up it MIGHT just point fingers right in his or his SONS direction!!! My family will get to the bottom of this.. If “authority” thinks they are just going to give up like that they are Seriously mistaken. They will NOT cover this up for much longer I promise….
Have ya’ll tried going to the State police and talking with someone there or the State’s Attorney office?
Vaquera
To answer your question yes I have called the state police and they told me all they could do was to assist the sheriffs office. I also called the attorney gernerals office, they told me I had a protocal to do. That would be a list of chain of command. I have gone down the chain of command. They (the Sheriff of St Tammany parish) has told me they are doing everything they can. I dont rely on LE anymore. My family and new friends are trying to find Zachary and what happened to him. One day we will know, the truth will come out, I will not stop. Thank you everyone for your support and prayers. My family and I appreciate it.
Visit the nola.com Pearl River forums. You can read what goes on in Pearl River that no news reporter will print.
http://www.nola.com/forums/pearlriver/
It has always been like this not only in Pearl River but all over St. Tammany. It is all about who you know, your last name, and how much money you have. none of this surprises me. I wasn’t born and raised here and I have seen so much cover-up and one way justice that none of this is surprises me. Good luck in getting anything done here…..
From the article above:
“Pearl River is a town that few people have heard of, a sleepy community in the northern part of Louisiana”…..
When did it move? Last time I looked, Pearl River was located in St. Tammany Parish which is located in southeast Louisiana. Oops! Somebody needs a proofreader. Or a good map. LOL
On a serious note:
“Lavigne responded: I hope the Ku Kluxers get you too!”
Are you serious???? This is what the mayor of the town said? Has he been taking lessons from Ray Nagin (open mouth, insert everything?).
The Times-Picayune article of the Lavigne’s antics and a picture can be found here:
http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2010/07/pearl_river_mayor_unable_to_en.html
Edited by BNN Editor – Jan Barrett
OK Myrtle, Simon made a mistake. He is definitely not from around here and doesn’t know the area very well but he is learning. I, on the other hand was born in New Orleans and had lived in Slidell for well over thirty years before moving to Mississippi and I do know the area fairly well. I have not had the chance to read this article until now or I would have caught that. It is corrected now. It was an honest mistake.
Also who are you asking about what the mayor said? If you read nola.com you would have seen it there about what Lavigne said. BTW… I have edited your comment about the former Mayor of New Orleans. I don’t think it is proper to be calling him or anyone else that.
Have a good night.
Jan Barrett
Jan, *I* didn’t call the former Mayor of New Orleans that, *HE*, Mayor Ray Nagin, called himself what I QUOTED.
Certainly you may edit however you please, but I didn’t make it up. His Honor himself, Mayor Nagin, made the comment when making a speech in honor of an anniversary for “The V***** Monologues” celebrated in New Orleans. The ‘Chocolate City’ comment originated with him also.
You can’t make up this kind of stuff. It was common for mouths to gape open widely during one of his speeches.
Myrtle I understand what you are saying and I know it is true, but I don’t like it and that is why I deleted it. I think it is insulting and even though he has called himself that I still don’t like it.
Sorry if I implied that you made the quote up because that is not what I meant. I guess I worded it wrong. I just don’t like the quote.
I am truly sorry.
Jan Barrett
I just listened to Sunday’s show (July 18) and couldn’t comment under the article about it because it’s closed, but I just wanted to say it was a good show. Very interesting insight into both the Anthony hearing on Friday (the 16th) and about the people in Putnam County. I don’t believe Haleigh was taken by a loving family member for protection because they didn’t take the brother, too. Of course that would be the best case scenario.
Not much information on Zachary, which is too sad.
Just wanted to say thanks for Sunday’s show.
I recently posted on another blog and will do so on this one as well. Here it goes:
The man the Mayor was speaking to was a Caucasion male for all of you who want to know!
Second of all, the Mayor and his wife; are far from racist! This is true; as I know them on a personal basis. These two people would do anything for the community of Pearl River.
Also, I can say (from a personal point) that the Mayor and his wife are always willing to lend a helping hand to help anyone out.
Before that night even took place, you should have seen some of the things that others were doing to the Mayor and his wife. Am I defending his words? No! Am I telling you he didn’t mean it as it came out ? Absolutely! Do I think he deserves to be put back in office ? ABSOLUTELY!
Keep in mind these same people that are all but “tormenting” the Mayor also “tormented” the “Fire Chief” Robbie Crowe! Does something smell fishy ?? YOU bet it does!
Again, this is only my opinion but plz unless you know the Mayor personally and unless you know how he works for the town; I think it’s sad for you to speak up against a man you don’t know.
In reading the replies most need to understand this. The mayor who rules like a dictator never had any one publicly standup to him and question his leadership before. Thanks to nola.com forums, citizens are allowed to express their opinions. These citizens exposed corruption in his leadership. The “get out the Ku Kluxers and hang them” was his response to all who exposed his corruption on the public forum. The “hope they get you too” was his threat directed at me at the public town meeting. What was not mentioned in the news articles- he ordered the police chief to arrest me when it “was him out of order” and making threats!
The Question I wanted to ask was about “when his appointments to the Fire Board terms expire”. To update this, it was proven he illegally changed the appointed terms, to extend their terms, giving them time to hide corruption by this appointed governing board. What he did was in violation of state statutes and the entire board was ordered by the District attorney to be removed and replaced or face charges in court… The PR Fire board members was illegal, terms expired and no oath of office, for two years!
If this link still works you can click on it and see how bad the mayors appointed FB members were doing. If not, copy and past it in your browser. This webpage was created by one of the members who tried to put the blame on others for what they did!
http://pearlriverfire.wordpress.com/curious-case/
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