Harry Lee, Jefferson Parish Sheriff Jefferson Parish, Louisiana Submitted by Penny Delery, October 2007 Source: The Times Picayune Submitted to the LAGenWeb Archives ********************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ********************************************** ************************************************ Farewell to a Local Legend October 5, 2007...On Friday, we said goodbye to a true legend, Jefferson Parish Sheriff Harry Lee. The thoughts and prayers of people from through- out the entire metropolitan area are with his family and his deputies during this difficult period. The Sheriff had been battling leukemia and he fought the disease with his customary courage. In fact, Sheriff Lee has been an inspiration to all leukemia patients. He did not let this disease stop him from serving his constituents or operating his department. He also qualified to run for another term as Sheriff despite this latest medical setback. Sheriff Lee is maybe the most beloved politician in the entire metropolitan area. Ever since he took office in 1980, Sheriff Lee has been unbeatable as people have been attracted to his plain talk and his truthful approach to public service. Sheriff Lee never held back and was proud of his politically incorrect style. It is what separated him from most politicians who are too scripted and are afraid of telling the public the truth. As Sheriff, Lee combined a refreshingly blunt speaking style with a can-do approach. Lee was successful in very difficult circumstances in Jefferson Parish. Residents generally felt safe and enjoyed much lower crime rates in Jefferson Parish than in neighboring New Orleans and much of the credit goes to Sheriff Lee. At this difficult point, let's hope that Jefferson Parish voters chose wisely in the Sheriff's race. Lee died in the midst of a re-election campaign. After qualifying ended on September 10, he faced two opponents, Julio Castillo and Harahan Police Chief Peter Dale. However, when Sheriff Lee passed away, state law mandated that the qualifying period reopen to allow for additional candidates to enter the race. In the second qualifying period, which ended Thursday, six additional candidates jumped into the fray in- cluding former Kenner Police Chief Nick Congemi and State Senator Art Lentini (R-Kenner). Dale unsuccessfully attempted to halt the reopening of qualifying. He maintained that the election should go forward with the original field. Along with his supporter Vincent Bruno, Dale filed a lawsuit in a district court in Baton Rouge challenging the state law that reopens qualifying in the case of the death of a candidate. According to Bruno, Louisiana is the only state in the nation that reopens qualifying in the event of the death of a candi- date. After losing in district court, Dale and Bruno plan to appeal; however, legal experts believe that they have only an outside chance of succeeding at the Court of Appeal. Unless the appeal is successful, look for Newell Normand to be the favorite in the November 17 election. The establishment at the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office will support Normand and he will also be able to garner strong financial support from Lee's contributors and family members. Sheriff Lee made it clear often that Normand should follow him in office, so his deputy will benefit from those explicit wishes in this election season. The challenge for Dale and any other opponents that may enter the race will be to highlight the increasing crime rate in Jefferson Parish and make the point that changes need to be made in the Sheriff's Office without directly criticizing Lee or his tenure as Jefferson Parish Sheriff. It will be a tough task in this environment in which Lee is being fondly remembered. Such good memories will clearly benefit his chief deputy and will help Normand in the campaign. Whoever is elected will face a difficult job of battling crime in a parish that is becoming more urban every day. However, one task will be even more difficult, following in the footsteps of Harry Lee for he is truly irreplaceable. Source: The Times Picayune Posted by Jeff Crouere October 05, 2007 1:39PM Categories: Breaking News, Political Commentary