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City of Monroe employee alleges he was terminated for supporting candidate in mayoral election

LOUISIANA RECORD

Sunday, December 22, 2024

City of Monroe employee alleges he was terminated for supporting candidate in mayoral election

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LAFAYETTE – An Ouachita Parish man that was formerly employed as the supervisor of beautification for the city of Monroe alleges he was terminated because he supported the political opponent of the mayor during his reelection campaign.

Leonard Tims filed a complaint on Dec. 9 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana against the city of Monroe and Mayor James Mayo alleging that they violated the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges that in 2015, he supported and campaigned for defendant Mayo's opponent in the mayoral election. In April, the suit states a sanitation employee was involved in an accident and as Tims was transporting the employee to the hospital for a post-accident drug screen, the employee quit and Tims took him home. The suit states Tims was terminated in May for allegedly being insubordinate for not taking the employee to the hospital and for violating the employee handbook. He alleges the termination caused him to suffer lost salary and benefits, lost career and business opportunities, inconvenience and mental anguish.

The plaintiff holds city of Monroe and Mayo responsible because the defendants allegedly terminated his employment for supporting defendant Mayo’s opponent and because of his association with AFSCME Local 2388, which endorsed Mayo's opponent.

The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and seeks judgment in his favor for all general and equitable relief. He is represented by Kevin R. Mason-Smith and Louis L. Robein of Robein, Urann, Spencer, Picard & Cangemi APLC in Metairie.

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana Case number 3:16-cv-01704

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