Josh Guillory
| Joshua Slavone "Josh" Guillory | |
 | |
| In office January 6, 2020 – January 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Joel Robideaux |
|---|---|
| Succeeded by | Monique Blanco Boulet |
| Born | January 8, 1983 Alexandria, Louisiana |
| Spouse(s) | Jamie Guillory |
| Children | Three children |
| Alma mater | University of Louisiana at Lafayette Southern University Law School (Baton Rouge) |
| Occupation | Attorney |
Military Service
| |
| Service/branch | United States Army |
| Battles/wars | Operation Iraqi Freedom |
Joshua Slavone Guillory, known as Josh Guillory (born January 8, 1983), is the former mayor-president of Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, an elected position that he assumed on January 6, 2020.[1] Lafayette is the fourth largest city in the state. After a single term, however, Guillory, a Republican, was unseated 52 to 48 percent by the Democrat Monique Blanco Boulet, daughter of the late Governor Kathleen Blanco.[2]
Background
A native of Alexandria in Rapides Parish, Guillory graduated from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and Southern University Law Center in Baton Rouge. An attorney by profession, Guillory served for five months in the United States Army in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Guillory and his wife, Jamie, have three children.[1]
Political career
On November 6, 2018, he ran unsuccessfully in the primary for Louisiana's 3rd congressional district seat. In that race, Guillory carried the endorsement of Rudy Giuliani, the former mayor of New York City and the attorney for former U.S. President Donald Trump. Giuliani's paramour, Jennifer LeBlanc, left the employment of Representative Higgins, reportedly on good terms, but she opposed Higgins' re-election. Giuliani and LeBlanc hosted a fund-raiser for Guillory, who called Higgins "a phony and a hypocrite," having cited Higgins' vote to raise the debt ceiling. "At some point, we have to take fiscal responsibility seriously. I will not vote to increase our national debt. We have got to get our spending under control." Guillory claimed that Higgins had put party politics above his constituents.[3]
In the seven-candidate field in the primary, Guillory, with 13 percent of the ballots, lost to Higgins, who won the seat outright with 56 percent of the primary ballots to score his second term. Despite the harsh rhetoric Guillory raised against Higgins, the congressman the next year endorsed Guillory for the mayor-presidency.[4]
In the mayoral campaign, Guillory led a five-candidate primary field with 31 percent of the vote. Guillory was forced into a runoff with the No Party candidate, Carlee Alm-LaBar, who drew 28 percent of the vote in the primary race on October 12, 2019. The third-placed candidate, Republican Simone Champagne, a conservative who formerly was a state representative for Iberia and Vermilion parishes, finished with 24 percent. In the general election on November 16, Guillory defeated Alm-LaBar, 43,130 votes (56 percent) to 34,047 (44 percent).[5] Alm-LaBar carried the backing of Moderate Republican former U.S. Representative Charles Boustany, a retired Lafayette physician, and Lafayette Tax Assessor Conrad Comeaux.[4]
In the early months of his administration, Mayor-President Guillory focused on the coronavirus pandemic and falling gasoline prices, which were estimated to cost the city at least $10 million in lost revenues, a loss of a projected 10 percent.[6] Guillory in 2020 faced the implementation of a home-rule charter amendment that requires a separate Lafayette City Council and Lafayette Parish Council, rather than City-Parish Council that has governed since 1996.[7]
In July 2020, Guillory led the politically correct city council into unanimous approval in a late-night session to remove from City Hall the statue of Confederate General Jean-Jacques-Alfred-Alexandre "Alfred" Mouton (1829-1864), a member of one of Lafayette's most respected old families who was killed in the Battle of Mansfield in DeSoto Parish in the American Civil War. Guillory did not indicate where the statue would be relocated.[8]
In July 2022, Guillory checked himself into a rehabilitation treatment program in Texas for a three-week initial treatment of alcoholism and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. He held a press conference on August 15, 2022 to address the Lafayette City Hall press corps to answer questions and provide an update following his successful completion of his initial treatment plan.[9] Prior to checking himself in, Guillory and his family pre-arranged a logistic path of communication with his staff so that he would continue to be available to carry out his duties as Mayor-President while focusing on his recovery efforts.[10]
Guillory now hosts a political program on radio station KPEL in Lafayette.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Joshua Guillory. Mylife.com. Retrieved on May 4, 2020.
- ↑ Claire Taylor (November 18, 2023). Monique Blanco Boulet defeats Josh Guillory in Lafayette mayor-president's race. Retrieved on April 16, 2024.
- ↑ Elizabeth Crisp (July 21, 2018). A day with one-of-a-kind U. S. Rep. Clay Higgins: 'Dog the Bounty Hunter', motorcycles, tattoos, more. The Baton Rouge Advocate. Retrieved on May 4, 2020.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Bernadette Lee (October 28, 2019). Congressman Clay Higgins Endorses Josh Guillory. KPEL Radio. Retrieved on May 4, 2020.
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, October 12 and November 16, 2019.
- ↑ Andrew Capps (April 21, 2020). Mayor-President Josh Guillory: COVIS-19, oil slump will leave Lafayette $10 million short. The Lafayette Daily Advertiser. Retrieved on May 4, 2020.
- ↑ Claire Taylor (November 16, 2019). Josh Guillory elected Lafayette Parish mayor-president. The Baton Rouge Advocate. Retrieved on May 4, 2020.
- ↑ Rob Kirkpatrick (July 22, 2020). Lafayette City Council Votes to Support Removal of Mouton Statue. KPEL Radio. Retrieved on July 24, 2020.
- ↑ Staff Editorial (August 18, 2022). With complete frankness, Lafayette mayor tackles his fight with alcoholism. The Advocate.
- ↑ Claire Taylor (August 15, 2022). Mayor-President Josh Guillory, back at work, defends decision to lead LCG while in rehab. The Acadiana Advocate.
