LPL Board of Control Monthly Meeting
19 May 2025
On the Agenda:
- Executive Session: Mejia et al. v. Lafayette Consolidated Government
- 2025/2026 Proposed Library Budget
AGENDA
SPEAKER FORM
proposed budget 2025/2026
budget narrative
proforma
meeting audio
Post-Meeting Update #3: Robert Judge’s Media Tour
On Wednesday, May 21, Robert Judge was interviewed by KADN News15, as a “response” to Councilman Rubin’s call to have him removed from the board. The interview, posted without edits in which you can clearly hear the reporter sympathizing with Judge (“I didn’t know it was this bad,” “that’s a shame, so sorry to hear that,”) was disappointing on a number of levels, not the least of which was the fact that although Judge accused Councilman Rubin of slander and reverse racism, Mr. Rubin was not offered an opportunity to respond, nor were we or any other advocate approached about Judge’s claims of “chaos” and making it “untenable for people to be at the board meetings or to want to serve on the board.” Most telling was Judge’s answer to the question of whether he would reapply to the board when his tenure is up in September. “I’ve done what I’ve been asked to do,” Judge replies. Indeed, we wonder who assigned him the task of destroying the Lafayette Public Library.
In response, LCAC has prepared a rebuttal, which you can read below:
ETA: News15 did finally give Councilman Rubin an opportunity to respond, though it was a 15-second clip to compare with Judge’s 20 minute unedited interview. KADN seems to be making editorial choices based on political affiliation rather than striving for fair coverage.
You can watch the full interview below:
In addition to his wide-ranging television interview, Judge also appeared on The Ross Report, the reincarnation of Carol Ross’ conservative daily talk radio show. Spouting the usual nonsense regarding the motives of library supporters and the anti-book banning movement, Judge used the appearance the reveal the true reason behind the sudden media blitz: LCG has stopped paying his legal bills, forcing him to raise money to pay for his own continued defense. Painting himself as a persecuted Christian man, he has apparently decided that after four years of unrelenting attacks against our library and its patrons, he is now somehow the victim.
Judge’s actions also reveal his motivation behind his surprise attack and vote hijack at last month’s Board of Control meeting: it was in his own best interest that he convinced the board to vote against going into Executive Session. In response, a member of LCAC has filed an ethics complaint with the Louisiana Board of Ethics.
Post-Meeting Update #2:
At Tuesday’s Parish Council meeting, council member AB Rubin called for Robert Judge’s removal once again.
From the Advocate article:
“I think it’s far time for us to get rid of him off the board,” Rubin said Tuesday at a Parish Council meeting. “We are responsible for putting him on there and I think it’s our responsibility to our library and constituents to take him off.”
You can watch the video of the meeting here. Councilman Rubin’s remarks are at about the 16:00 mark.
Post-Meeting Update:
Unfortunately, the board did NOT go into Executive Session to discuss the terms of the First Amendment lawsuit brought by Lynette Mejia and Melanie Brevis. Instead, as the agenda item was called, board member Robert Judge passed around handouts detailing his contention that board attorney Stuart Breaux has an ethical conflict of interest due to his representation of LCG as well as the board (tellingly, a copy was not given to Breaux).
Though Judge is known for his expert grasp of complex legal principles, members of the public seemed dubious, and requested a copy of the document given to board members, but were denied, in violation of Louisiana public records laws. We submitted a public records request, both verbally and via email, but did not receive a copy of the document until the next day.
Interestingly, board member Eric Baquet seemed to read from a prepared statement when making the motion to postpone the Executive Session, leading one to wonder if board members are discussing and coordinating action outside of public meetings – a serious breach of Open Meetings laws.
Both members of the public and the board’s attorney explained to the members that their failure to discuss the settlement does not mean the case is somehow paused; depositions and discovery will continue, adding to the now more than $100,000 bill for attorneys’ fees which would have been waived with the settlement agreement. Nothing doing, the board voted 5-1 (the only no vote was Rena Bradley) to postpone the Executive Session until after receipt of Judge’s ethics complaint ruling.
Notably, board member Erasto Padron was once again absent, making this his 7th missed meeting out of the last 8. It’s time for the board to admit Padron has effectively resigned.
Pre-Meeting Information:
The agenda for the May meeting of the LPL Board of Control has been released, and one item stands out immediately:
VIII. New Business
A. Executive Session Mejia et al. v. Lafayette Consolidated Government et al. Civil Action No. 6 :23-CV-00307 United States District Court, Western District of Louisiana
You may remember that in September of 2022, Robert Judge (board President at the time) implemented new restrictions on public comments at board meetings, including not allowing speakers to call out board members by name and posting armed sheriff’s deputies at the front of the room facing the podium. Four months later, Judge had those deputies remove community member (and LCAC co-founder) Melanie Brevis from the January, 2023 board meeting because she supposedly violated those rules in her public comments. Judge’s actions were in clear violation of Brevis’ First Amendment rights, leading Brevis, along with LCAC co-founder Lynette Mejía, to file a federal lawsuit against LCG, the board, and the Lafayette sheriff’s deputies who participated in the removal.
Fast forward two long years later, and it appears at least part of that lawsuit may be nearing an end, as the board will be considering a settlement to the case against LCG and board President Daniel Kelly (acting in his official capacity). The board will be debating the settlement in an Executive Session, which should be followed by public comment and a vote once the ES is adjourned. Our hope is that the board will vote to accept the settlement, but we will be sure to keep you updated with the latest information as we receive it.
In addition to the Executive Session, the other big item on the agenda is the proposed library budget for the upcoming fiscal year. The board must approve this budget before it moves on to the parish council, who will give final approval during budget meetings in August. For a detailed explanation of the budget numbers, you can also read the narrative, which explains income and spending in more detail.
The Board Refuses to Enforce its Own Rules
Nearly halfway through 2025, Library Board member Erasto Padron’s continued absence from meetings has become increasingly noticeable. Library records show he has missed five of the last six meetings: October and November 2024 (no meeting in December), and January, March, and April 2025.
According to Board of Control Bylaws (Article 2, Section 4), any member who misses four meetings within 12 months is automatically removed—no exceptions or formalities required:
Any Board Member who misses four (4) Board meetings in any twelve (12) month period shall be deemed to have resigned from the Board and shall be automatically deemed removed from the Board. In that instance, the President of the Board shall promptly notify the Clerk of the Council of the resignation. The Parish Council shall appoint a replacement member to fill the unexpired term of the resigned Board Member.
LCAC contacted board attorney Stuart Breaux questioning whether Padron would be removed, only to be met with the following response:
“I can confirm that Mr. Padron has not been deemed removed by the Board. Under the law, the Parish Council has the authority to appoint or remove Board members. The subject provision of the Bylaws has never been approved or ratified by the Parish Council. In the absence of such approval or ratification, the Board has no authority to appoint or remove members and, accordingly, the provision is not enforceable.”
In other words, the board is refusing to follow their own bylaws and consider Mr. Padron resigned! In response, LCAC has filed (yet another) complaint with the Louisiana Board of Ethics, and we will keep you updated on the results.
NE Pushback
It was only last week that Mayor-President Monique Blanco held a press conference to announce her administration’s plans to move the NE Library project to the Holy Rosary Institute property, which is currently in redevelopment to become a major community hub on the Northside of Lafayette. As a former Catholic high school for African American girls, the site holds immense cultural significance for the community, and, as the Mayor noted, “offers improved connectivity and walkability from nearby landmarks such as Clark Field, Domingue Recreation Center, and Dr. Raphael A. Baranco Elementary School.”
Unfortunately, but not unexpectedly, conservative leaders have begun the campaign to push back against the library’s cost as well as the site change. First up is City Councilman Andy Naquin, who posted a complaint to his personal Facebook account about the fact that the new site will be leased from the property owner, the Society of the Holy Family (a non-profit). This, despite the fact that the Board of Control’s conservative majority (led by former board President Robert Judge) has spent years delaying the construction by repeatedly insisting on opening the library in a leased space.
Another of Naquin’s issues, apparently, is the cost of the project. The lease, $1 per year for 99 years, is not only standard language for this type of non-profit partnership, it’s also a great deal from a fiscal standpoint. It’s important to point out that this is money which has already been raised from taxes approved by the voters FOR THE LIBRARY. We’re talking about money sitting in the library’s fund balance – $8 million set aside by Councilman Kenneth Boudreaux in 2019 plus an additional $7 million from the fund balance.
I’ll also note that Naquin has been conspicuously silent about the MILLIONS of dollars wasted by the previous administration on useless drainage projects and kickbacks for cronies; his sudden concern for “taxpayer dollars” when the money will be spent in an African American neighborhood is not just disingenuous; it speaks volumes about the historic (and let’s face it, ongoing) suppression of Black communities and Black voices.
Here is our official response to Naquin’s post:
The important takeaway here is that ultra-conservative, anti-library forces are once again drawing the battle lines for a project which, frankly, should already be completed and serving the community. Those of us who value this library and what it means to the Northside need to make our voices heard.
Ultimately, the Parish Council will vote on moving this project forward. Every one of us needs to contact our Parish Council and let them know we feel the NE Library should move forward as soon as possible at the Holy Rosary Institute site.
We’ve made doing so super easy, with a simple letter action you can sign and send to all five Parish Councilmen with just a couple of clicks. Or, if you prefer to write your own letter, you can use our handy guide. Either way, we urge everyone who loves our library and wants to see it reach an underserved community to let the Parish Council know today.
May’s Censorship News
- Lafayette library board sides with Robert Judge over attorney’s advice about settling federal lawsuit (The Acadiana Advocate)
- Library board ignores lawyer, may miss out on settlement (KATC)
- Lafayette Parish councilman wants Robert Judge removed from library board (The Acadiana Advocate)
- Lafayette Library Board of Control member responds to call for removal (KADN)
- Will Robert Judge seek reappointment to Lafayette Public Library board? (The Acadiana Advocate)
- Lafayette Library Board of Control member under fire from parish councilman (KADN)
- Lafayette library board member Robert Judge raising funds to defend himself in federal lawsuit (The Acadiana Advocate)
- Ethics complaint filed against Lafayette library board member Robert Judge (The Acadiana Advocate)