Abbeville residents look into how to recall their councilman Wayne Landry

Less than a week after being re-elected as Abbeville’s District D councilman, Wayne Landry may face a recall effort.
Residents from District D visited the Registrar of Voters Office Thursday in the courthouse to get educated on the process of how to recall a politician. Registrar of Voters Mike Bertrand said he is preparing paper work and gathering Baton Rouge phone numbers in order for the residents to call.
Once everything is lined up and the documents have been received from the state, the residents will need 33 1/3 percent of the signatures in the district to ask for a special election to be held in order to recall Landry.
Many residents in Landry’s district are not happy with Landry after he and two other Abbeville councilmen (Joe Hardy and Francis Plaisance) voted not to grant Abbeville Parks and Rec Director Jerry Smith permanent status with the city. The city council reviewed Smith’s six-month evaluation given by Abbeville Mayor Mark Piazza, which was considered favorable. The council reviewed the issue during executive session of a special meeting held Tuesday.
When the city council came out to vote to keep Smith or not, Hardy, Plaisance and Landry voted not to keep him. Councilman Francis Touchet Jr. and Brady Broussard Jr. voted to keep Smith.
The Abbeville Meridional placed phone calls into Landry on Wednesday and Thursday about his vote. He has yet to answer his phone.
Shakelia Shelvin, who has six children playing in Abbeville’s youth leagues, said there are many Abbeville residents upset with the three councilmen, who voted to dismiss Smith.
She said not one of the three councilmen, who voted to dismiss Smith, has ever attended a youth event such as a basketball game or a football game.
“I am very upset by what they did,” said Shelvin. “Wayne is a man of God. I can’t understand why he would vote this way. He is only hurting the children of Abbeville.”
Since the getting rid of A.A. Comeaux Youth League by the city council four years ago, Abbeville has now had three parks and recreation directors. Prior to Smith, Jerry Martinez was the director for a year.
Shelvin said what she and others do not understand is why Smith was dismissed, after getting all positive reviews from the councilmen. Her theory as to why is because it was “political” and not because of the job Smith was doing with the youths.
“No one seems to care about our children. They are the ones who are getting lost in all this. Because of that, we want someone in office who cares. That is why we want to recall Wayne Landry," she said.