Louisiana town elects felon mayor, but can he take office?

BATON ROUGE, La. — When Louisiana voters enacted new restrictions on felons running for office, they inadvertently ensnared the small town of Ball in a new mayoral feud.

Democrat Roy Hebron overwhelmingly won the November mayoral election in the central Louisiana town, ousting Republican Neil Kavanagh.

The problem for Hebron? He won on the same ballot that saw passage of a constitutional provision requiring felons to wait five years after their sentences before seeking office.

Hebron falls short of that standard since he was under corrections supervision for a hurricane-related fraud conviction through 2017.

Now, the decision over who will be Ball’s mayor has moved to court, after Kavanagh sued.

A judge stopped Hebron from moving into the mayor’s job, and the town’s waiting to see if it will have to hold another election.

Melinda Deslatte, The Associated Press

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