Kenner Official Sues City Council Members, New Orleans Leaders Over Airport Board Appointment
A top Kenner official and her husband are seeking to remove a member of the New Orleans airport board in a lawsuit filed Monday against four Kenner City Council members, the city of New Orleans and the airport board.
Kenner Deputy Chief Administrative Officer Natalie Newton and her husband, Richard Newton, are accusing city council members of violating state open meetings law earlier this year after they sent a letter to the New Orleans mayor nominating three names to the New Orleans Aviation Board, even though Kenner Mayor Michael Glaser had already vetoed a resolution picking those names.
The two plaintiffs ask that a state judge void that letter and remove the member that New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno appointed, criminal defense attorney Barry Ranshi. They also ask that the four council members — Joseph Stagni, Tom Willmott, Joey LaHatte and Daniel Riehm — each receive civil penalties of up to $500.
The escalating legal battle has illustrated deepening tensions among Kenner officials since the new council term started last summer, as Stagni, LaHatte and other members seek more authority over Kenner city government after what they say has been years of rubber-stamping the mayor.
LaHatte said Tuesday he expects the council to take a vote of no confidence against Natalie Newton at a future council meeting. He alleged that the mayor’s administration is retaliating against them.
“This action is truly outrageous and unbelievable,” LaHatte said of the lawsuit. “This is not the way to have a functioning city government.”
Joe Rochelle, the attorney representing the Newtons, said in a prepared statement they were suing as private citizens and that Natalie was “not going to be intimidated by threats against” her job.
Willmott, Riehm and Ranshi could not be reached for comment Tuesday afternoon. Stagni and spokespeople for Glaser and Moreno declined to comment.
The lawsuit, filed in the 24th Judicial District Court, comes after the state attorney general issued an opinion earlier this month saying that the four members acted outside of their legal authority when they drafted and signed a letter outside of a public meeting and without their colleagues’ knowledge. The opinion concluded that citizens could take legal action to render that letter void.
“This lawsuit is about ensuring that elected officials follow the same laws they are entrusted to uphold,” Rochelle said. “When elected officials circumvent the public process, there must be accountability and transparency."
The airport is owned by the city of New Orleans even though it sits outside the city, mostly in Kenner. Under an agreement between the two cities, Kenner makes three nominations for the New Orleans mayor to select for one of nine seats on the aviation board. Kenner’s seat has been vacant since March.
But opposing political factions in Kenner have disagreed over whether that city’s mayor has a say in those nominations.
The four council members named in the lawsuit have contended that the agreement does not give Kenner’s mayor the ability to select or veto the nominees, nor does it stipulate that the nominations must be approved through a resolution. Glaser and the other council members, however, say Kenner’s city charter gives the mayor power to appoint and remove any board members, as well as to veto any council resolution.
“The charter gives the power to the mayor to run the city, and I feel like this council is challenging that a lot,” said Kenner City Council Member Kristi McKinney, who requested the attorney general’s investigation. “To me that is the ultimate goal, to ensure that the charter is being followed by all members of our city council going forward.”
Stagni and the other three council members have previously denied that the letter was sent unlawfully, and said they simply reiterated the nominations passed in a council meeting without ever meeting in private.
Editor's Note: An earlier version of this article mischaracterized Joe Stagni's view of the attorney general's opinion. It has been updated to remove the reference.
© 2026 The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate. Visit www.nola.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
