PORT ALLEN — Port Allen's mayor has suspended the chairman of the city's planning and zoning commission amid allegations that he tried to tamper with a council election.

Mayor Richard Lee III told WBRZ on Thursday that he had suspended Walter Braud. Councilwoman Clerice Lacy had told WBRZ last week that Braud had called her in July and asked her to convince a candidate in another race to drop out. She said she refused the request.

Lee told council members Wednesday that he had placed Braud on administrative leave. Lacy had requested the action.

"The wheels of justice turn slow, but this is a step in the right direction," Lacy told WBRZ on Thursday. "An internal investigation was completed by our CAO, Lance Joseph, which ultimately concluded in the mayor rendering his decision."

Lee is in his final month in office. He'll be replaced by Terecita Pattan, who will resolve the case.

Lacy said she recorded a person, whom she believed to be Braud, asking her to influence a different council race. She said they asked her to get Shelton Berry out of the race. He was later disqualified from the contest after April King filed a lawsuit against him. He acknowledged that he did not meet the one year residency requirement and had voted in East Baton Rouge Parish only eight months prior.

Lacy said she told local police about the request. Braud has declined WBRZ's requests for comment.