Rival withdrew after learning federal job made candidacy illicit

Christopher Paul, a Republican who signed up on 6 August to run for chief of police of Elizabeth, a village in south-western Louisiana, was arrested on 8 September on allegations that he raped two girls in 2005 and 2006. With the only other candidate out of the race, Paul is on course to be elected unopposed in the 3 November election.

Zachary LaCaze, who listed no party affiliation, was the only other candidate to qualify to run for Elizabeth police chief in the 3 November election. On 23 September, LaCaze announced that he was withdrawing after learning that his candidacy was illicit because he worked for the federal government. “My full-time job is what provides for my wife and son, and I cannot take that away from them,” LaCaze wrote in a social media post. “So, as much as it hurts me, I have to step away from this election.”

LaCaze’s withdrawal came well after the deadline for candidates to sign up to run had passed. As a result, Paul would be elected by default while out on $60,000 bail in connection with the child rape allegations made against him by the sheriff’s office of Allen Parish, Louisiana, whose jurisdiction includes Elizabeth.

Only a felony conviction would make Paul, 46, ineligible to take office when the Elizabeth police chief term begins on 1 January. With that date looming, it was unclear when or how the case against Paul might be resolved.

The Youth Peace & Justice Foundation, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to preventing violence against children, called on Paul to step aside from the 3 November election with the case against him pending, the Louisiana news outlet KPLC reported.

Elizabeth’s mayor, Mandy Leo Green, said neither her office nor the village governing council “can alter the ballot” for the 3 November race despite “concerns regarding the … election.” “Charges are allegations, not a conviction,” Green said. “The candidate in question has been arrested and charged, but has not been convicted of any crime. Under the law, anyone accused of a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. This is an important part of our justice system.”

In the meantime, Elizabeth’s governing council approved a special 12 December election for community voters to determine whether the village’s police chief should be by appointment subject to board approval, documents show. The council’s minutes do not indicate to what extent Paul’s unopposed police chief election motivated the scheduling of that special election. It was unclear when the village’s office of the police chief would become by appointment if voters ratified that proposed change.

Louisiana law also allows voters to recall elected officials. In a community the size of Elizabeth, that would require 40% of qualified voters to sign a recall petition by hand, according to the Louisiana agency that administers elections.

On Saturday, Paul said he had no comment when asked whether he would discuss his run for Elizabeth police chief.