LAPLACE — Organizers of the recall petition against St. John the Baptist Parish District Attorney Bridget Dinvaut say the lawsuit filed against them is not slowing down their effort to gather the signatures needed to launch a new election.

A recall petition directed at Dinvaut was filed in February with the Louisiana Secretary of State’s Office. L’OBSERVATEUR reported at that time that according to information from the SOS website — sos.la.gov — a copy of any recall petition must be filed with the SOS by the chairman of the recall committee prior to entering any signatures. Once the first signature is obtained, the recall petition becomes a public record with the chairman or vice chairman.

Listed on Dinvaut’s recall petition as chairman is Demond Lee of River Oaks Drive in LaPlace. Patricia M. Trosclair of Parlange Loop in LaPlace is listed as vice chairwoman.

Lee and Trosclair have been named as defendants, as well as the “Committee to Recall District Attorney Bridget Dinvaut,” in a suit filed June 12 by Keith Green Jr.

Green, a prosecutor chosen by Dinvaut to serve as her First Assistant District Attorney, filed the lawsuit after his efforts to obtain a copy of the petition — with the names of the people who have signed on so far — were futile.

Green said recall organizers haven’t complied with his requests for the document, which he says became a public document when the first signature was collected.

Green cited Louisiana Revised Statute 18:1300.5 in the suit, which says “upon the signature of the first elector, the recall petition, including the name, address and signature of each elector who has signed thereon, shall be a public record. The chairman, or the vice chairman when acting as the chairman, shall be the custodian thereof.”

According to the suit, Green is requesting the court issue a declaratory judgment establishing his right to receive a copy of the recall petition.

According to court documents, Green has been requesting a copy of the signed petition since Feb. 23.

Green could not be reached for comment as of press time Tuesday morning.

Lee has vigorously defended his claim that the petition is not yet a public record.

“It’s not public record until I submit the names into the Secretary of State’s Office,” Lee said.

Brandt Lewis, who said he is working as Lee’s recall campaign consultant, said he understands Green’s legal viewpoint, but recall organizers are “concerned about any retaliation or intimidation the District Attorney may impose” upon people if their names were turned over to Green.

According to the SOS website, a petition has to be signed by 33 and 1/3 percent of the qualified voters where a recall election is petitioned.

According to the St. John the Baptist Parish Registrar of Voters office, there are 29,028 eligible voters in the parish, which means the petition would need to garner 9,666 signatures to move to the parish’s registrar of voter’s office for certification.

According to Louisiana law, the petition has to be submitted to the registrar of voters for certification no later than 180 days after being filed, which means Aug. 8 is the deadline to acquire the needed signatures. Because Aug. 8 is a Saturday, officials said the petition would need to be turned in by Aug. 10.

Lee said he will not turn the petition in if it does not have the required votes, asserting the legal saga has not slowed down efforts to collect signatures.

Lewis said there has been door-to-door canvassing and volunteers reaching out to people on the West Bank and Reserve seven days a week to get signatures, adding the campaign has seen numerous signees become volunteers.

Lee said if anyone would like to sign the petition or volunteer in the campaign they can call him at 504-234-8552.

“While canvassing (volunteers are seeing) there are a lot of citizens who are clearly not happy with the way the D.A. assumed office,” Lewis said.

“This is not a gripe against the D.A. I welcome her in another vote where she assumes the position with 51 percent of the vote.”

A runoff election between incumbent Tom Daley and Dinvaut was scheduled Dec. 6 after they were the top two vote getters in a Nov. 4 primary where Daley secured 46.26 percent of the turnout (7,029 votes), compared to Dinvaut’s 34.31 percent (5,213 votes). A third candidate, Geri Baloney, secured 19.44 percent (2,954 votes) of the November ballots cast.

Daley withdrew from the runoff Nov. 10 after receiving news from his neurosurgeon that his cancer had returned, which automatically placed Dinvaut in the district attorney seat.

Lewis said the recall is an effort to let the residents choose their D.A. by majority vote.

While attempting to reach a comment on the suit from Dinvaut, Yvonne M. Britto-Bell, Dinvaut’s executive administrative assistant, said Dinvaut was not affiliated with the lawsuit in her official capacity as District Attorney and had no comment.