We always had a sneaking suspicion that the phrase “will of the people” meant absolutely nothing to some members of the East Baton Rouge Parish Metro Council. Now, thanks to their actions following the overwhelming approval of a parish-wide directive to legalize alcohol sales on Sundays, we know for certain that at least two of them don’t give a damn what the people want.

Metro Council members Ulysses “Bones” Addison and Lorri Burgess were the only two that dared to vote against the proposed ordinance change. This is despite the fact that, on October 20, 61% of the voters in the parish said they wanted the Metro Council to allow retail wine and liquor sales on Sundays.

According to the Secretary of State’s website, the referendum passed in 24 of the 29 precincts (83%) in Addison’s Metro Council district. Excluding absentee ballots, 57.4% of the people in District 2, whom Addison claims to represent, voted in favor of repealing that aspect of the blue laws.

If you think that ballsy, check this out: The directive was approved in every single precinct in District 10 where Burgess has held office for nearly a dozen years. Not counting absentee voters, over 68% – more than two-thirds – of the people in her district said they wanted the council to allow Sunday liquor and wine sales, yet she still voted against their wishes. It takes a world-class cretin to veto a measure approved by a veto-proof percentage of one’s constituents.

The timing of their blatant pertinacity couldn’t be better, since all twelve Metro Council positions are up for reelection next fall. Hopefully, the voters’ memories aren’t so short that, in less than a year, they’ll forget how these two squeezed out an enormous Cleveland Steamer on the collective chest of the electorate.

Additionally, Burgess is in a runoff against Pat Smith for the House of Representatives seat vacated by the term-limited Yvonne Dorsey. If the people of House District 67 had any uncertainties as to how Burgess might represent them for the next four years in the legislature, she did them a huge favor by openly defying the demands of her current constituents and the voters of East Baton Rouge Parish.