PORT ALLEN — Port Allen's chief administrative officer has resigned, five months after agreeing to step down following his conviction on an allegation that he lied about where he lived as he sought to become the community's mayor.

Lance Joseph ran for mayor last year. On papers filed with the Louisiana Secretary of State's office, he said he lived at his father's address in Port Allen, however at the same time he claimed a homestead exemption at a home in Plaquemine.

A court ordered him removed from the ballot and District Attorney Tony Clayton later accused him of a crime. The prosecutor and Joseph later reached a plea agreement.

Mayor Terecita Pattan said Friday that Joseph resigned this week. The West Baton Rouge Independent said the resignation followed a contentious Town Hall meeting at which residents claimed Joseph had been unresponsive.

"If you can't get in touch with him, he's not doing his job," one resident told Mayor Terecita Pattan during Monday's  meeting. "We can't get in touch with him. He's not really performing."

After Joseph stayed on the job, Clayton had gone to court last month to request that his resignation be included as a  condition of his probation. The prosecutor said if Joseph didn't quit, he would seek to reinstate a felony charge.

According to the Independent, Pattan defended Joseph while acknowledging the communication problems. She explained that he was often "out in the field" helping with various tasks and suggested the solution might be hiring an assistant.

"That's why I wanted [an assistant] with the duties... because I'm not going to go and babysit and follow anyone else to be honest," Pattan said, according to the news outlet.

Joseph had been the town's CAO since 2020.