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LEGISLATURE & POLITICS

Metairie pair start recall against attorney general

  • By MARSHA SHULER
  • Advocate Capitol News Bureau
  • Published: Jul 16, 2008 - Page: 16A - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.
Two Metairie women have launched a recall election effort against state Attorney General Buddy Caldwell, the Secretary of State’s Office reported Tuesday.

Josephine Lovoi, aligned with no party, and Antoinette Hibbs, a Republican, filed papers to launch a petition drive to recall Caldwell, a Democrat.

Caldwell, a former northeast Louisiana prosecutor, took office in January.

He beat Republican Royal Alexander in a runoff election.

Incumbent Charles Foti, a Democrat, lost out in the primary election.

Recall chairman Lovoi has an unlisted telephone number. A message left on an answering machine at a number listed for Hibbs went unreturned.

Caldwell did not respond to two requests for interview. Instead he issued a brief statement in which he said Lovoi has filed hurricane-related and other complaints with both his and former Attorney General Charles Foti’s administrations.

Caldwell said his office “has vigorously pursued legitimate claims of fraud filed by victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

“The past administration found them to be unsubstantiated. We have reviewed those files. She has also contacted this office regarding various additional complaints, all of which have been reviewed. We have concluded that her complaints are without merit,” Caldwell said in the statement.

The women would need signatures of about 880,000 registered voters in order to prompt a recall election — a third of the state’s active voters. They have 180 days to collect the signatures.

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