INDEPENDENCE, LA (WAFB) -
A resolution
by the Board of Alderman in Independence to ask the mayor to take a "leave
of absence" failed Monday morning.
A special
meeting was called to discuss the matter, which is related to Mayor Michael
Ragusa's arrest, but there were not enough votes for the resolution to pass.
"I'm
not asking him to resign; I'm just asking him to take a leave, said Larry
Cardaronella, Independence town alderman. "It would be like him taking a
vacation. He can get himself together and we can get our matters solved."
Ragusa
remains in place, but the controversy is far from over. He did not attend the
meeting.
Ragusa was
arrested and charged with battery of a police officer, resisting arrest and
felony public intimidation.
A spokesman
for the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's Office said the mayor was later released on
his own recognizance.
"The
message we are sending is that's its okay to get out there and make bad
choices. When an individual makes bad choices there are consequences," Alderman
Calvin Batiste said.
"We
have a town to run and the Mayor with his legal problems and other issues that
are going on to come down probably-- we just don't think its right for him to
govern right now."
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