Could an Oakdale city jailer keep the job after being elected to the city council?

Plain-English summary

Oakdale's police chief asked whether a city jailer could hold a city council seat while working for the municipal police department. In Opinion 03-0233, the AG said the two roles could not be held together. R.S. 42:63(D) barred an elected official of a political subdivision from simultaneously holding employment in the same subdivision.

The opinion drew a distinction between candidacy and officeholding. It said the jailer could remain employed while running for council, where civil-service rules were inapplicable. If elected, the person would have to resign from the municipal job.

Currency note

The full issue date is not legible in the available official extract. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

What the opinion meant at issuance

City jailers considering a council run

The AG said a jailer could be a candidate while employed if civil-service rules did not apply. Election to the council would require leaving the city employment under the law the opinion addressed.

Oakdale officials

The opinion treated the city council seat as an elected office and the police department job as employment in the same political subdivision. It therefore found simultaneous service prohibited.

Common questions

Q: Could the jailer run for city council without quitting first?
A: Yes, according to the opinion, where civil-service rules did not apply.

Q: Could the jailer keep the police department job after winning?
A: No. The AG said an elected council member could not also hold municipal employment in Oakdale and would have to resign from the job.

Q: Did the rule depend on whether the police job was full time?
A: The opinion applied the statutory bar on employment in the same political subdivision. It did not make its answer turn on the job's hours.

Background and statutory framework

R.S. 42:63(D) restricted concurrent public offices and employment. For this request, the AG relied on the clause barring a person with an elected political-subdivision office from also holding employment in that same subdivision.

Citations and references

Statute quoted or cited: R.S. 42:63(D).

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/03-0233

Original opinion text

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
One American Place
CIVIl DIVISION
301 Main Street, Suite 600
P.O. Box 94005
BATON ROUGE
TEL.: (225) 342-7013
RICHARD P. IEYOUB
ATTORNEY GENERAL
70804-9005
FAX: (225) 342-2090

JUN 5 ?003
OPINION 03-0233

Mr. Wilburn Perkins
Chief of Police 78 DUAL OFFICEHOLDING
118 North 10th Street
R.S. 42:63(D)
Individual may not be employed by the municipality in which he
Oakdale, LA 71463
serves as city councilman.

Dear Chief Perkins:

In response to your recent inquiry, the law prohibits one from holding the office of city councilman while also holding employment with the municipal police department. R.S.
42:63(D) provides:

D. No person holding an elective office in a political subdivision of this state shall at the same time hold another elective office or full-time appointive office in the government of this state or in the government of a political subdivision thereof. No such person shall hold at the same time employment in the government of this state, or in the same political subdivision in which he holds an elective office. In addition no sheriff, assessor, or clerk of court shall hold any office or employment under a parish governing authority or school board, nor shall any member of any parish governing authority or school board hold any office or employment with any sheriff, assessor, or clerk of court. (Emphasis added).

There is nothing in the law which would prohibit one from being a candidate for city councilman, while still employed as city jailer, where civil service rules are inapplicable.
However, should he be elected, he must resign from his current employment.

Very truly yours,

RICHARD P. IEYOUB
ATTORNEY GENERAL

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