The former secretary-treasurer of the East Carroll Parish Police Jury has filed a lawsuit in the 6th District Judicial Court against the parish’s governing body claiming unlawful removal from office and emotional stress, pain and suffering from public discussion in what should have been a private executive session.

Louisiana has been a Republican stronghold for more than a decade, but it wasn’t until July 1 that GOP voters officially outnumbered Democrats for the first time in state history. Republican Party leaders say the data finally reflect the state’s decided conservative lean, but a top Democratic official says his party’s declining numbers are evidence of a campaign to remove their members from voter rolls.