Judge Rules in Favor of Tracey Powell in Residency Challenge

Judge Rules in Favor of Tracey Powell in Residency Challenge

A judge ruled Friday night in favor of Tracey Turgeau Powell following a lengthy hearing challenging her residency and eligibility to remain a candidate for judge of the City Court of East St. Tammany.

The lawsuit was filed by Tammy M. Nick, who questioned whether Powell satisfied the residency requirements for the judicial race because she spent time at her husband’s home in Metairie.

After approximately seven hours of testimony and arguments, Judge Alan Zaunbrecher ruled in Powell’s favor, allowing her to remain in the race.

Powell was represented by attorneys Salvador I. Bivalacqua and Stephen M. Gelé of Bivalacqua, Gelé + Ellis.

The case focused on where Powell resided during the specific period contested in the lawsuit. Powell testified that during that time, she ate, slept and resided in an apartment connected to her Slidell office.

Powell currently lives full-time at a separate residence in Slidell.

According to testimony presented during the hearing, Nick spent approximately $11,200 on a private investigator who documented Powell’s vehicle at the Metairie residence approximately 20 times over several months.

Powell was not personally visible in every image. Testimony also indicated that the vehicle is sometimes shared with her husband.

Multiple witnesses testified that they had either personally seen Powell sleeping at the Slidell office apartment or had knowledge that she regularly stayed there during the contested period.

The apartment includes a bathroom, walk-in shower, kitchenette, refrigerator, sink, air fryer, toiletries and other personal belongings. Testimony also indicated that Powell received personal bills and food deliveries at the Slidell address.

Powell testified that she ate, slept, showered and performed other daily activities at the apartment.

Powell and her mother testified that Powell was raised in Slidell, attended school in Slidell and has considered the city her home throughout her life. They testified that Powell has held a driver’s license since she was approximately 15 years old and that it has always been registered to a Slidell address.

Powell also testified that she has never registered to vote or claimed a homestead exemption outside the Slidell area.

Although Powell temporarily lived elsewhere while attending Southeastern Louisiana University and Loyola University New Orleans College of Law, she testified that she returned to Slidell after graduating around 2004.

Powell acknowledged spending some nights at her husband’s Metairie residence. Testimony indicated that her husband maintains that home because his business is located in Metairie and because of requirements connected to a previous custody matter.

The hearing also examined the effect hurricanes had on Powell’s living arrangements.

Powell testified that Hurricane Ida severely damaged her Terry Drive home in Slidell approximately two months before her marriage. The house reportedly sustained a hole in its roof, missing siding and extensive water damage. It ultimately had to be gutted to the studs.

Powell later purchased an office building in Corporate Square in 2022. Testimony described the building as more than 3,000 square feet with a full kitchen, multiple bathrooms and an apartment capable of supporting normal daily living.

Powell testified that the building was intended partly as a backup residence following previous hurricane losses.

Testimony also referenced one house and one additional lot on Terry Drive. Powell testified that the long-term plan was to renovate the Terry Drive house and establish it as a permanent shared home in Slidell.

The hearing also touched on Nick’s political registration. Nick confirmed that she was previously registered as a Democrat before registering as a Republican after moving to Slidell.

Nick’s attorneys subpoenaed Powell’s 16-year-old child as a potential witness. The subpoena would have required the child to miss school, but Judge Zaunbrecher quashed it and the child did not testify.

The central question before the court was whether Powell’s time in Metairie outweighed the testimony and evidence supporting her claimed residency in Slidell during the contested period.

Judge Zaunbrecher ultimately ruled in Powell’s favor, leaving her eligible to continue her campaign for judge of the City Court of East St. Tammany.

Nick will not file an appeal, bringing the residency challenge to an end.