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Someone recently suggested that Citizens for a New Louisiana hasn’t been fair to Carencro Mayor Charlotte Clavier. The trouble is, that person hadn’t actually read any of our reporting. So let’s talk about the documents.
For three consecutive years, Louisiana’s Legislative Auditor has flagged financial dealings between the City of Carencro and the C’est Bon Seasoning Festival, a nonprofit created with city funds and incorporated by the mayor herself. The amounts have continued growing. First $3,000, then $40,000, followed by another $31,072. In September 2026, the City Council approved an additional $35,000, bringing the total to $109,072.
Meanwhile, financial records requested in January remain outstanding, and questions about the festival’s reported revenue have gone unanswered. Michael Lunsford walks through the audit findings, the city’s explanations, and the documents that raise questions about the use of taxpayer money.
Is asking for accountability really being unfair? You decide.
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Facts First. Even When They’re Inconvenient.
Some outlets or groups tell you what to think. Others have discovered there’s an easier way to build an audience: tell people exactly what they want to hear. We’ve chosen a harder path.
At Citizens for a New Louisiana, we start with the evidence — public records, financial disclosures, court filings, voting records, audits, and original documents — and follow it wherever it leads. Sometimes the facts confirm what we expected. Sometimes they surprise us. Sometimes they disappoint our friends. Either way, we publish them.
That approach doesn’t always produce the loudest headlines or the easiest fundraising. But over time, it produces something much more valuable: TRUST. If you value independent Louisiana journalism that puts evidence ahead of outrage and principle ahead of tribe, please help us continue the work.
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