Pomes claims that the St. Bernard Port is doing, and we quote, “an amazing job.” Pomes apparently has not read the Parish’s lawsuit against the St. Bernard Port.
No, this isn’t some type of joke or taking something Pomes said out of context. Pomes really said this at a recent Council meeting in an effort to defeat a resolution put forth by Councilman Everhardt to take away the St. Bernard Port’s taxing authority.
Take a listen for yourself:
Perhaps someone needs to remind Pomes that the Parish filed a lawsuit against the St. Bernard Port to stop the LIT facility. Maybe if Pomes understood the gravity of that, he might not make such ridiculous comments.
Pomes talks out of both sides of his mouth when saying he is against the LIT facility. Pomes claims to oppose the development of the LIT facility by the Port of New Orleans, but at the same time Pomes supports the St. Bernard Port and refuses to take any shots at the St. Bernard Port.
This doesn’t make any sense because the Port of New Orleans and the St. Bernard Port are on the same side trying to defeat the Port litigation filed by the Parish.
Pomes had to know that the Port litigation seeking to stop the LIT facility was not only against the Port of New Orleans, it was also against the Port of St. Bernard.
Let’s take a look at the Parish’s lawsuit:
Pomes had to know that the Parish had actually sued the Port of St. Bernard for its role in bringing about the LIT. Then why would Pomes go on public television and claim that the St. Bernard Port is doing an amazing job?
Perhaps its because Pomes really believes that the St. Bernard Port is doing a great job moving forward with the LIT facility. And perhaps that is why Pomes takes the side of the St. Bernard Port every step of the way, even if that means sacrificing the Parish’s efforts to stop the LIT facility.
It wasn’t just that the St. Bernard Port was named a defendant in the Port litigation. The lawsuit sought to undo the actions of the St. Bernard Port in facilitating the LIT development in St. Bernard Parish. The St. Bernard Port’s role in bringing in the Port of New Orleans down to develop a container facility is something that this President and this Council refuse to acknowledge. But we will have more on that later!
Let’s take a look one part of the lawsuit originally filed by the District Attorney on behalf of the Parish:
“CEA” refers to a “Cooperative Endeavor Agreement.” The lawsuit alleges that there were several agreements between the Port of New Orleans and the St. Bernard Port going all the way back to 2004 and that those agreements ultimately led to the proposed development of the LIT facility in Violet.
If that doesn’t make it clear enough, then let’s take a look at another part of the lawsuit:
Essentially, the Parish was asking the Court to “undo” the agreements between the Port of New Orleans and the St. Bernard Port that were working against the people of St. Bernard. If the Court “undoes” these agreements, then the LIT development essentially comes to a halt.
In other words, the Parish’s lawsuit claims that the St. Bernard Port was doing such a bad job that its actions should be undone. Yet at the same time, our Parish President is claiming that the St. Bernard Port is doing an amazing job!
No wonder the Parish is having difficulty finding an attorney on the Port case: Pomes cannot help himself but sabotage the Port litigation every step of the way.
Can you imagine being an attorney for the Parish and having to explain why the Parish sued the St. Bernard Port when the Parish President claims that the St. Bernard Port is doing an amazing job? The Parish Attorney was sitting right next to Pomes when he made these statements. The Parish Attorney didn’t offer a correction or clarification of what Pomes meant by this statement. Isn’t that what you pay attorneys to do, to do damage control?
Pomes reckless comments forfeit the high ground by casting doubt on the sincerity of the Parish’s original allegations in the lawsuit.
How could Pomes think the St. Bernard Port was doing an amazing job when the only reason the Port of New Orleans is developing the LIT facility is because of the St. Bernard Port? Perhaps its because Pomes isn’t really against the Port.
Perhaps this is why Pomes and the Council (except Everhardt) sought to get rid of the District Attorney from the lawsuit. After all, it was the District Attorney’s office who filed the original lawsuit against the St. Bernard Port. Perhaps Pomes just doesn’t want to go after the St. Bernard Port for its role in bringing about the LIT facility.
And, perhaps this is why no less than three law firms have already backed out of representing the Parish in the Port litigation since Pomes has taken office. It’s just a matter of time before this fourth law firm backs out of the Port litigation.
And no one can blame any of these law firms. How can any lawyer effectively represent the Parish when the Parish President is taking the side of the the person your client is suing?
These are of course rhetorical questions, but questions that a more responsible Parish President would have asked himself.
