A Republican state lawmaker from Kenner who last summer voted to uphold Gov. John Bel Edwards’ veto of a bill targeting transgender children is facing a recall petition from right-wing opponents.
The petition filed Wednesday with the Louisiana Secretary of State argues state Rep. Joe Stagni’s voting record is “at odds with the views of most of the residents of his district,” which includes portions of Jefferson and St. Charles parishes.
It chastises Stagni for voting against legislation that would have allowed people to carry concealed handguns in Louisiana without a permit or training. And it dings the two-term Republican for refusing to sign a petition – at the height of the coronavirus pandemic – that sought to curb Edwards’ public health emergency powers.
Stagni, who served eight years on the Kenner City Council before he was elected to the state Legislature, said the petition paints a “false and misleading” portrait of his voting record.
“I have full faith and confidence in the voters of District 92 that they will see through this charade,” Stagni said in an interview.
To spur a recall election, supporters of the petition need to collect signatures from 25% of the roughly 35,000 voters in Stagni’s House district within the next 180 days. The petition designates Kenner residents Salvador Faia and David Prenctice as chair and vice-chair, respectively, of the effort.
The petition claims that by voting against Senate Bill 156 – which attempted to bar transgender girls from competing in girls’ sports – Stagni opened the door to allowing men in school-aged girls’ locker rooms.
“That’s an outright lie,” Stagni said.
Stagni said the Louisiana High School Athletics Association already has strict rules for transgender athletes, and noted that the bill’s own author, state Sen. Beth Mizell, admitted during testimony that nowhere in Louisiana were transgender girls playing in girls’ sports. He also worried the legislation would jeopardize New Orleans role hosting the NCAA Men’s Final Four tournament in 2022.
Stagni was the lone House Republican to vote to sustain Edwards’ veto of the legislation. In an interview at the time, he said the bill amounted to state-sponsored bullying of transgender children.
“They are a vulnerable group that are working to stay alive,” Stagni told The Gambit. “They’ve been bullied by everybody around them, sometimes by their own family, and there’s no reason we should be bullying them, too.”
The petition also highlights Stagni’s opposition to Senate Bill 118, which would have allowed gunowners to carry concealed handguns without a permit or training. Edwards vetoed the bill and an override attempt also failed.
Stagni said he conducts a survey of his constituents ahead of each legislative session and determined that “most people” in his district believed gunowners should have some training to carry a concealed weapon in public.
The petition also targets Stagni for refusing to sign a petition in October 2020 that attempted to temporarily terminate the state’s coronavirus rules. His opponents claim that Edwards “improperly” used his emergency powers “to close small businesses, kill thousands of jobs and ruin many lives.”
Stagni, for his part, said lifting the public health emergency would have made it harder for doctors and nurses to travel across state lines to care for patients, and would’ve jeopardized Louisiana’s ability to seek reimbursements from FEMA.
Jeff Crouere, a conservative radio talk show host who is serving as a spokesperson for the effort, noted that Stagni represents a district that voted for Donald Trump in the 2020 election. He questioned Stagni’s place in the party.
“Maybe you can be the only Republican against one thing, but if you’re a Republican against most thing, I think you have to ask if he’s in the right party,” Crouere said.
