Commission clarifies bylaws, requires five votes to elect officers; Commissioner Miller chosen chair
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Summary
After debate over ambiguous bylaw wording, the Ascension Parish Planning Commission voted to interpret election language as requiring five affirmative votes to elect a chair or vice chair. Commissioner Miller was elected chair and a vice chair was selected under the new interpretation.
The Ascension Parish Planning Commission voted April 8 to adopt an interpretation of its bylaws that requires five affirmative votes — two‑thirds of the seven‑member commission — to elect the chair or vice chair.
The move followed an extended debate over a line in the bylaws that reads "a chair and vice chairperson shall be elected by a majority vote of at least 2 thirds of the commission." Commissioners disagreed whether that phrasing meant a simple majority with two‑thirds present or an affirmative two‑thirds of the full commission. After legal counsel read the bylaw language aloud and commissioners discussed capitalization and quorum effects, the body approved a motion that "anyone, to be elected chair or vice chair, needs 5 affirmative votes. Period." The motion passed by machine vote.
Under the clarified rule the commission then conducted new officer elections. Commissioner Miller accepted the nomination and was elected chair. The commission also selected a vice chair under the same five‑vote standard.
Commissioners said the vote was intended to remove ambiguity and avoid future procedural challenges. The chair named a three‑member bylaws committee (Commissioners Jones, Nasser and Unitas) to draft clearer language for formal consideration and adoption at future meetings.
Officials emphasized that the interpretation applies only to internal commission elections; it is a procedural clarification to guide how the commission conducts its officer ballots going forward.
