A day after her campaign said she wasn't required to disclose her personal finances and business interests, Hilary Landry, one of four lawyers seeking election Saturday to the 24th Judicial District Court in Jefferson Parish, filed her disclosure with the state Supreme Court Friday.
Landry, Lorraine Perkins McInnis, Scott Schlegel and John Sudderth are vying to fill the court's Div. D vacancy left when Judge Robert Murphy moved to the state 5th Circuit Court of Appeal earlier this year. A runoff, if needed, is May 4.
High court rules say judicial candidates "shall" file personal finance disclosure statements within 10 days of announcing their candidacy. But in a statement released by her campaign late Friday afternoon, Landry said the rule isn't so clear.
"Conflicting language in the rules of the Louisiana Supreme Court led our campaign's CPA to determine that disclosure of personal finances was applicable only to elected officials and not candidates," Landry said. "However, through an abundance of caution and in the spirit of complete transparency, I filed a personal finance disclosure report today with the Louisiana Supreme Court."
McInnis, Schlegel and Sudderth filed their disclosures in February, after qualifying for the race. Nola.com | The Times-Picayune reported Thursday that Landry had not filed her disclosure statement, and her media consultant said their campaign believed it is not a requirement.
Landry, a former part time prosecutor in Jefferson Parish, reported earning between $25,000 and $100,000 in that job. Her husband, plaintiff's lawyer Mickey Landry, disclosed income over $100,000. The couple owns property in Jefferson and St. Tammany parishes, and has rental property in New Orleans and stocks and various investments.
Voters in Election Section 2 decide the race. The section comprises about 80 precincts in central East Jefferson, Harahan, River Ridge and part of Kenner.
Polls are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.