City Councilmember Jared Brossett has dropped out of a At-Large City Council campaign debate following his drunk driving arrest Monday, according to a report from WWL-TV.
Channel 4 said a member of Brossett's campaign staff said he would not be participating in the debate Wednesday evening. His opponents in the race, former state Sen. JP Morrell, councilmember Kristin Gisleson Palmer and Green Party member Bart Everson will continue with the debate at 6 p.m., airing on WWL. The election will take place on Nov. 13.
Monday marked Brossett's second arrest in 16 months for drunk driving and his third DWI arrest overall since 2006. According to the officer's report, police were dispatched to the 3100 block of Elysian Fields when a passerby reported a man, Brossett, sleeping in a 2021 Lexus with the engine running. The report also stated that the councilmember had a strong smell of alcohol on his breath when police arrived on the scene.
Brossett has still not publicly stated whether he will resign from his District D seat on the council or if he will withdraw his candidacy.
On Wednesday morning, Brossett was absent for the second day in a row from his seat on the council, as the Orleans Parish Board of Review met to review the city's tax assessments. The day before, Council President Helena Moreno said the board would vote Thursday to remove Brossett from the Budget Committee chair, and she will take over the position for the remainder of the term. Current councilmembers will serve until Jan. 10, 2022.
Moreno said she had a conversation with Brossett but didn't want to comment on what was said or take a position on whether or not he should resign from the council.
Brossett was also absent from a candidate forum held by Complete Streets Tuesday, a non-profit organization that pushes for safer accessible infrastructure in the city.
The council is scheduled to meet at 10 a.m. Thursday.
