LAPLACE, Ill — Albert “Ali” Burl III won a court ruling Monday allowing him to run for the state House of Representatives in District 57, even though he openly admits he lives in District 81.
When he filed paperwork to run for the open District 57 House seat on Aug. 10, Burl declared his domicile is in Garyville, a town that sits entirely inside District 81. Garyville was also in District 81 before the recent redistricting process.
But it’s that redistricting, or reapportionment process that now allows him to run in District 57, a judge in Edgard ruled Monday.
Three of Burl’s opponents challenged his candidacy, but Burl, a longtime member of the St. John the Baptist Parish School Board, argued that a provision in the Louisiana Constitution makes him eligible to run in District 57 in the first election after redistricting.
Article 3, Section 4(A) of the Constitution says candidates must live in the district they seek to represent for at least a year prior to running. Article 3, Section 4(B) says, “However, at the next regular election for members of the legislature following legislative reapportionment, an elector may qualify as a candidate from any district created in whole or in part from a district existing prior to reapportionment if he was domiciled in that prior district for at least one year immediately preceding his qualification….”
Burl argued that because any portion of District 81 became part of District 57 in the last redistricting, he can seek election in District 57. Others argued the special provision only applies to new districts created during reapportionment, not adjustments to the borders of existing districts.
But on Monday, Judge Sterling Snowdy agreed with Burl and approved his candidacy.
Russ Wise, a No Party candidate, split a $600 filing fee with Democrat Sylvia Taylor to challenge Burl’s candidacy. Republican Shondrell Perrilloux paid another $600 to file a separate case and the two lawsuits were consolidated. Wise said afterwards that he would accept the decision.
“I’m not going to appeal it, and I’m pretty well satisfied that justice has been done,” said Wise, a fellow school board member who says he’s been friends with Burl for over a decade.
“He read the law and understood it better than the other candidates,” said WWL-TV Legal Analyst Clancy DuBos. “The judge ruled the law is especially broad in this case.”
► Get breaking news from your neighborhood delivered directly to you by downloading the new FREE WWL-TV News app now in the IOS App Store or Google Play.
