Dem Candidate's Past: Bar Fights & Suspended Licenses
FF has obtained files revealing that Dem House candidate Cedric Richmond was involved in a bar fight in 2007 and once had his law license suspended.
FrumForum can exclusively reveal details about New Orleans Democratic congressional candidate Cedric Richmond, who got into a bar fight in Baton Rouge in 2007 and lied about his residency to try and run for a New Orleans city council seat, which resulted in a six month law license suspension.
Richmond, who is a Democratic member of the Louisiana House of Representatives, is endorsed by Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC). He’s currently running for the Democratic nomination in Louisiana’s 2nd District, to face off against incumbent Republican Congressman Joseph Cao.
Files obtained by FrumForum show that Cedric Richmond, currently a Democratic member of the Louisiana House of Representatives, was charged with a misdemeanor after a fistfight with a patron at a Louisiana bar in 2007. According to a police report obtained by FrumForum, Richmond got into a fight over a pool table in Uncle Earl’s Bar in Baton Rouge.
The police report says that a verbal altercation between Richmond and the other patron turned violent, resulting in a “shoving match”. Richmond and the other man were then both charged with a misdemeanor: ‘Disturbing the Peace by Fistic Encounter’. The police report adds that “it did appear that alcohol did play a large part in the incident”. Charges were later dismissed after an arraignment before a judge.
Richmond also had his law license suspended for falsifying an official document in which he claimed residency in a district in order to run for a City Council seat.
In 2005, Richmond filed papers to run for New Orleans City Council, identifying his ‘domicile address’ as within New Orleans District D. One week later, a voter in the district filed a suit to challenge his candidacy on the grounds that he had not lived in the district for the required two years, and that Richmond actually lived in a house outside the district.
The Supreme Court of Louisiana later ruled that he had violated rules of professional conduct and suspended his law license for six months. In making their decision Louisiana Supreme Court noted:
It is significant that the respondent’s conduct occurred while he was serving as a member of the Louisiana legislature. We have previously held that an attorney holding a position of public trust is held to a higher standard of conduct than an ordinary attorney.
The DCCC endorsed Richmond just two weeks ago by adding him to their ‘Red to Blue’ program, which Democrats use to target swing districts held by Republicans. According to their press release:
Richmond has qualified for Red to Blue by running the strongest campaign to defeat his Republican opponent, by showing strong early fundraising, and by demonstrating that he will represent his district on critical issues like job creation and health insurance reform.
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