Brandi Lopez St. Tammany Parish School Board District 1 will remain a candidate for the St. Tammany Parish School Board District 1 seat after a judge rejected a lawsuit seeking to remove her from the ballot.
Court records located and reviewed by APR•St Tammany show Neal Hannegan filed the candidacy challenge on August 14. The case, Neal Hannegan v. Brandi Lopez, was assigned to Judge Ellen Creel in Division J of the 22nd Judicial District Court.
A hearing was held August 17.
According to the court record, the case centered on questions involving Lopez’s tax filings. Both sides stipulated during the hearing that the 2024 tax filing was the only year in contention.
Hannegan’s attorneys introduced records from the St. Tammany Parish Registrar of Voters, Lopez’s Notice of Candidacy and an affidavit from the Louisiana Department of Revenue.
Lopez’s side introduced documentation concerning her 2024 tax filing and an extension related to that filing.
The court record shows Judge Creel questioned attorneys about the extension associated with the 2024 filing, including when that extension would have expired.
After hearing the evidence and testimony, the court rejected the challenge.
A Notice of Judgment was issued in the case, and court records show notice was mailed on August 18.
Lopez addressed the decision publicly Tuesday, saying she qualified for the School Board race on August 5 and that Hannegan filed the lawsuit at 4:29 p.m. on August 14, one minute before the stated 4:30 p.m. deadline to challenge a candidate’s qualifications.
Lopez also questioned why Hannegan chose to challenge her candidacy, noting that he previously represented District 1 for 24 years and is not currently seeking the seat.
“I don’t know the answer, and I won’t speculate about Mr. Hannegan’s motives,” Lopez wrote. “But I believe the people of this community have every right to ask the question.”
Lopez said the court challenge has not discouraged her from continuing her campaign.
“I’m still here. I’m still running,” she wrote.
She added that she plans to return her focus to discussing schools, the community and the future of District 1.