Petitioner says there’s ‘much support’ behind recalling St. Tammany Parish coroner

Jordan Lippincott
·2 min read

Disclaimer: All persons are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

SLIDELL, La. (WGNO) — While St. Tammany Parish Coroner Dr. Christopher Tape was settling into his new office, efforts were underway to get him out of office.

Tape announced Monday he would not be resigning, despite some pushback from the public.

Jean Cefalu sat on her porch in Slidell Tuesday afternoon as she reviewed what is necessary for a successful recall following a trip to Baton Rouge.

Cefalu, a nurse and chairman of the recall petition, says Tape must be removed from office because of child sexual abuse allegations against him that were eventually dismissed in the early 2000s.

“This was something that was really important,” said Cefalu. “In St. Tammany [Parish], it’s very peaceful here, very family oriented. This kind of thing is not going to happen. We’re not going to go down without a fight.”

Cefalu says she and her fellow petitioners will be coordinating their efforts with the St. Tammany Parish Council.

It will take more than 37,000 signatures, 20% of the parish’s registered voters, to recall Tape.

“[Designated persons in each district] are going to be responsible for signing out the books,” Cefalu explained. “We have all the books, we’re going to ask the registrar to come and speak to us about how to sign it, what you can sign, what you can’t sign, because last thing we want is anything to get thrown out.”

Tape said Monday during his first public appearance a recall wasn’t a concern of his.

“I’m not going worry about that. That’s up to the voters,” Tape said. “I’m going to keep focusing on the office. If I do what I think I can do and cut the budget by millions of dollars, then I think that will speak louder than any effort, but it’s a constitutional right, which I believe in.”

Cefalu is confident her group will be able to obtain the thousands of signatures and hopes to accomplish it before the summer.

“We’re pretty fired up, and we have so much support. I mean, our numbers are like two and 300,” Cefalu said. “Every time we turn around, there’s more people that want to. They’re all like chomping at the bit to help. And so, we’re waiting to get organized group efforts in those certain places, and then we’re going to hit a coordinated attack.”

The completed petition is submitted to the Registrar of Voters Office for certification 180 days after being filed with the Secretary of State’s Office. It’s then sent to the governor’s desk.

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