Election claims create buzz

Saturday March 20, 2004
By Stephanie Doster,
Mark Waller and Michelle Krupa Staff writers

The Kenner mayoral race is over and the day to challenge the results has passed, but some residents remain abuzz over allegations of election-day improprieties at the polling stations.

In a letter Wednesday to the Louisiana attorney general and secretary of state, Police Chief Nick Congemi, who lost the March 9 contest to City Councilman Phil Capitano by 871 votes, stopped short of challenging the outcome but nonetheless outlined some "apparent irregularities."

Secretary of State Fox McKeithen is looking into the allegations although he said they appear to be based on "rumors and innuendoes" and won't change the election results.

"But we're going to try to ascertain what the facts are, just because he wrote me this letter," McKeithen said. "None appear to be the type of allegation that would stand up in court."

Thursday was the last day to contest the election in court, McKeithen said. The 24th District Court in Gretna on Friday had no record of a challenge.

Congemi's letter said that on election day, his campaign's poll watchers noticed signs on tables, inside voting booths and attached to the booths announcing that Jeannie Black and Betty Bonura had withdrawn from the race. He also quoted his campaign manager, Alan Howland, saying Black's and Bonura's names had been taped over at a number of polling stations.

When the voting machine seals were broken March 12, Congemi said, his campaign manager saw evidence that 17 of the machines appeared to have been altered: Printed or hand-written notes were attached to seven machines, Black's and Bonura's names were marked out with a black marker in another, tape residue was found on eight machines and one machine, although broken, had recorded two votes.

Brian Freese, elections director for the Jefferson Parish clerk of court, said the only irregularity he found were the illegitimate signs, some of which were posted in the voting machines but were removed once discovered. He said his office posted Black's and Bonura's withdrawal notices by the sample ballots at the polling stations but that he does not know who delivered the other, improper signs. He said he removed those signs as election day progressed.

Capitano called the allegations "ridiculous."

"His complaint is that people should have been able to vote for two candidates that withdrew from the race," Capitano said. "I am trying to unite the city of Kenner. The citizens have spoken, and now I would ask that he also unite the city instead of trying to pull political tricks."