The Trumpet - January/February 2014

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TheTrumpetJanuary/February 2014• Community Voices Orchestrating Change • Issue 8 Volume 1

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INSIDE• From A to D: City Council Redistricting in Effect

• Ask Nola: Mayors in New Orleans

• 2014 Candidate Profiles

• Election 2014 Scorecard

VOTENeighborhoods Partnership Network’s (NPN) mission is to improve our quality of life by engaging New Orleanians in neighborhood revitalization and civic process.

Neighborhoods Guide to Election

2014

Photo: Kevin Griffin/2Kphoto

The heart and soul of New Orleans lives in its 73 vibrant neighborhoods. The goal and vision of the NPN network is to ensure that all New Orleans neighborhoods are great places to live. This visualization that every neighborhood is distinguished as a great neighborhood is based not only on

the charming historic homes, economic corridors, or the abundance of interesting shops, restaurants and other diversions that exist within them. It also relies on our neighborhoods greatest assets: the people who call them home. The families who have built, shaped and invested in making the neighborhoods that we have grown to love diverse in heritage, and unique, interesting and alive with tradition are the threads that weave together to create the fabric of our neighborhoods.

It amazes me all the time that although I was “born and raised” in the city and have extensively traveled both sides of the river that I am still learning the magnificence and majesty of my fair city; uncovering hidden treasures that I have missed out on in the past. More importantly, I continue to learn of places and stories that are the stuff of legend and why the culture of New Orleans is richer and more potent than the best chicory coffee ever brewed.

So how well do you really know all of New Orleans and its neighborhoods? Have you ever noticed where the north and south ends of the city are? How about traveling in the 7th ward and Tremé and seeing that the streets are named for Spanish governors? These are distinctions that captured my eyes while I was digging up the mysteries of the city. That’s when I decided that my 2014 resolution would be to discover this city that I love in a new way.

Starting with this issue of the Trumpet, I encourage and invite you to join me in rediscovering New Orleans neighborhoods. Not just YOUR neighborhood but extending yourself to learn what makes us a “city of neighborhoods.” Make a resolution this year to get to know the soul of the neighborhood beyond what is common or trendy.

Timolynn Sams Sumter

Timolynn Sams Sumter

2014 Resolution:Rediscover New Orleans Neighborhoods

Letter From The Executive Director

NEIGHBORHOODSPARTNERSHIP NETWORK

NPN provides an inclusive and collaborative city-wide framework to empower

neighborhood groups in New Orleans.

Find Out More at NPNnola.com

NPN Board MembersVictor Gordon, Board Chair, Pontilly Neighborhood AssociationWendy Laker, Vice Chair, Mid-City Neighborhood OrganizationAngela Daliet, Treasurer, Parkview Neighborhood AssociationTilman Hardy, Secretary, Leonidas/Pensiontown Neighborhood AssociationRyan Albright, CBNOKaren Chabert, Irish Channel Neighborhood AssociationBenjamin Diggins, Melia SubdivisionLeslie Ellison, Tunisburg Square Civic Homeowners Improvement Association

Sylvia Scineaux-Richard, ENONACTim Garrett, Marlyville/Fontainbleau NeighborhoodKatherine Prevost, Upper Ninth Ward Bunny Friend Neighborhood Association

Third Party Submission IssuesPhysical submissions on paper, CD, etc. cannot be returned unless an arrangement is made. Submissions may be edited and may be published or otherwise reused in any medium. By submitting any notes, information or material, or otherwise providing any material for publication in the newspaper, you are representing that you are the owner of the material, or are making your submission with the consent of the owner of the material, all information you provide is true, accurate, current and complete.

Non-Liability DisclaimersThe Trumpet may contain facts, views, opinions, statements and recommendations of third party individuals and organizations. The Trumpet does not represent or endorse the accuracy or reliability of any advice, opinion, statement or other information in the publication and use of or reliance on such advice, opinion, statement or other information is at your own risk.

Copyright© 2013 Neighborhoods Partnership Network. All Rights Reserved. Any copying, redistribution or retransmission of any of the contents of this service without the express written consent of Neighborhoods Partnership Network is expressly prohibited.

THE TRUMPET | JANUARY/FEBRUARY | 20142

The Trumpet Contents6 A Doable To-Do List for

Your Financil Security

7 Making Your Home Comfortable Without Breaking the Bank

12 Mayoral Candidate Profiles

17 At-Large Candidate Profiles

23 District Candidate Profiles

25 Election 2014 Scorecard

N E I G H B O R H O O D S P A R T N E R S H I P N E T W O R K

The Trumpet Editorial Board The Trumpet Editorial StaffJim Belfon, Gulf South Photography ProjectJewel Bush, SEIU Local 21 LAChristy Chapman, AuthorHeidi Hickman, ResidentElton Jones, New Orleans RisingNaomi King Englar, Tulane Prevention Research CenterErin M. Fitzgerald, MPH, Louisiana Public Health InstituteJaymee Lewis, Louisiana Public Health InstituteMike Madej, ResidentLinedda McIver, AARP LouisianaRay Nichols, Maple Area Residents, Inc.Brian Opert, Talk Show Host, WGSO 990 AMValerie Robinson, Old Algiers Main Street Corporation NEIGHBORHOODS

PARTNERSHIP NETWORK

Rachel D. Graham, Editor-in-ChiefScott Bicking, Art DirectorJason Stopa, Policy and Education EditorChemwapuwa Blackman & Remeka Jones , Associate Neighborhood Editor

3THE TRUMPET | JANUARY/FEBRUARY | 2014

3321 Tulane AvenueNew Orleans, LA 70119 504.940.2207 • FX 504.940.2208 [email protected]

11 Ask Nola

5 10Public Education Day at the Capitol From A to D: City Council Redistricting in Effect for Municipal Elections

9 Neighborhoods Guide to Election 2014

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In March 2014, Orleans Public Education Network (OPEN) will bring teachers, students, education leaders and community members together for the third annual Public Education Day at the Capitol. During this action-packed day, participants will take on the capitol to show their support for our schools, plus attend meetings of the State Department of Education. They’ll have the opportunity to learn more

about the issues that matter like the implementation of Act 3, a potent early childhood measure that promises to change the landscape on how our city’s kindergarteners are supported. Participants will also have the opportunity to directly engage with members of the Education Committee such as State Representative Wesley Bishop.

“Schools and students need the support of an informed and engaged community, and the impetus behind this event is to bring that community to the seat of power — the state capitol,” said Deirdre Johnson Burel, Executive Director of Orleans Public Education Network. “Many community members may be interested in making their voice heard in our school system, but don’t know where to begin. We hope Public Education Day at the Capitol will be a fun and effective way to start participants in their journey to civic capacity.”

In addition to the opportunity to travel to the capitol and engage with the process, participants will also receive a free copy of OPEN’s Policy Toolkit, a comprehensive guide for individuals looking to begin advocating for their neighborhoods, schools, and communities. With up-to-the-minute policy information and practical tips on getting results within every level of government, this is an invaluable resource for anyone who is ready to help solve the problems they see in their community.

Public Education Day at the Capitol Brings Community Voice to Education PolicymakersBy Julia Ramsey, Communications Coordinator, OPEN

Participation in Public Education Day is open to the public at large. Visit OPENNOLA.org for more information and material from past events. Registration for Public Education Day at the Capitol 2014 goes up shortly, so keep an eye out to reserve your spot for the trip!


We’re coming up on that time of year where many of us are inclined to make lists of things we’re finally going to accomplish. From promises of more trips to the gym to cleaning out the closets, we all have things we can work on but tend to avoid for one reason or another.

Well, now you’re in luck. We’ve come up with a to-do list for your financial security – and each item is easy to achieve! With the promise of no heavy lifting, this is a list we can all get started on today.

1. Give yourself a savings raise. Take a look at how much you’re currently saving for retirement through your 401(k) type plan or IRA. Now try and take it up a notch. Even a small increase from year to year can make a big difference in your nest egg. If you’re 50 or over, you can make even higher contributions to your 401(k) or IRA because of a “catch up” rule. For 401(k)-type plans, you can add in another $5,500 above the $17,500 threshold. For IRAs, you can save up to $6,500 — $1,000 more than people under age 50.

2. Know what your creditors know. A credit report is a record of your payment his-tory to creditors, as reported by them. Lenders use your credit report to determine if they should lend to you and at what interest rate. Employers and even landlords may review your reports, too, as part of their background check process.

You can request a free copy of your credit report once a year from each of the three credit reporting companies. The easiest way is to request them online at www.an-nualcreditreport.com. Review your reports to make sure they are accurate. If you see any inaccuracies or suspicious activity, contact the credit reporting company. Oh, and ignore the cute ads about getting your credit report. They may have catchy jingles, but they aren’t directing you to the free www.annualcreditreport.com resource.

3. Be sure about insurance. Your insurance needs change as your life changes. What you need when you’re single and renting is a lot different from what you need as a married parent and homeowner, for example. So take stock of where you are in life and see if your insurance coverage matches up. ● If you have people who depend on your income, you need life insurance to

protect them in the event of your death.

● Short-term and long-term disability insurance will replace a portion of your income if you are unable to work due to an illness or injury – permanently or temporarily, as the case may be.

● Just as you have homeowner’s insurance when you own a home, you should carry renter’s insurance if you’re a renter. It will help cover your personal be-longings and other losses in the event of a theft or fire – even if the theft occurs outside of your own home.

4. Benefit from employer-provided benefits. Are you taking advantage of all the benefits your employer has to offer? Lots of employers offer benefits beyond health insurance and retirement savings accounts. For example, you may be able to benefit from lower group rates for life, disability and long-term care insurance. Or maybe you can get a discount on a gym membership. Perhaps your employer offers a flexible spending account (FSA) or — if you have a high-deductible plan — a health savings account (HSA) or health reimbursement account (HRA). An FSA allows you to pay for certain health and dependent care expenses with pre-tax dollars. HSAs and HRAs allow you to invest pre-tax dollars in an account set aside for your current and future health expenses. Make sure you know what’s avail-able so you’re not missing out.

5. Rollover your rollover. If you have a rollover IRA and are currently working for an employer that offers a 401(k) or similar plan, it may make sense to do a ‘reverse rollover.’ If the work plan has investments you like and accepts rollover IRAs, the move may save you money in investment management fees. This is because large plans can often demand better deals that drive down cost. Another plus is avoiding an IRA requirement to start withdrawing funds at age 70 ½. If you’re still working then, you don’t have to start drawing down your 401(k).

See there? A list that’s entirely doable, and once finished, will leave you with that feeling of satisfaction that only ticking off to-do items can offer. Then it’s onto the next challenge!

Jean C. Setzfand is Vice President of the Financial Security issues team in the Education and Outreach group at AARP.

A Doable To-Do List for Your Financial SecurityBy Jean C. Setzfand


At Energy Wise Alliance (energyla.org) we often hear New Orleanians say, “I want to make my house more energy efficient, but I don’t want to get a second mortgage.” Our neighborhood presentations, and youth programs focus on answering this concern. As a new staff member, I had to practice what I preach in my Hollygrove shotgun double and navigate

the confusing world of weatherization, alternative energy and incentive programs. Here’s what I did:

Windows Aren’t as Leaky as You ThinkThe first thing that I did was hire a certified energy auditor. These folks understand building science, and just a few minutes with hiim showed me that air is leaking into the house everywhere: through floorboards, can lights and ceiling fans. When they hooked up a big fan to my front door and showed me where all the leaks were, none of them were where I thought -- the windows didn’t leak at all! Behind cabinets, around plumbing entries and through ceiling fans, a whole lot of cold air was coming into the house, and I didn’t even know it.

Duct Work MattersMy duct work meets code requirements, but that’s not good enough to reduce monthly energy bills the auditor explained, “You’re probably losing 50% of your capacity for air-conditioned or heated air because of sharp angles in your ducts and poor sealing at the joints.” Sure enough, each duct was strapped together with a zip tie, but the Auditor said it needed mastic (a sticky glue-like substance) and fiberglass to seal the joints. Plus, more than half of my ducts took a 90 degree turn, pinching flow and driving up cost.

No Subfloor Means DraftsOutside, the auditor and I peaked under my floors. My raised home only had hardwood slats as flooring - the gaps between the slats were visible. Many remodels and new homes have plywood or other “subfloor” that helps seal up drafts. In lieu of this, the auditor recommended foam or foam board insulation, he added “Just don’t put the pink stuff under here, you’ll warp your floors with all the vapor they collect.” Water vapor is the enemy as it causes rot, mold and degrades the home’s value.

Now It’s Your TurnReady to save money and be comfortable in your home? The first step is a presentation by Energy Wise Alliance. Free 10-15 minute presentations are available to groups of 15 or more like neighborhood associations, churches, schools and social clubs, brought to you courtesy of PosiGen. We’ll go through the basics of energy efficiency and weatherization and give you a roadmap for the next steps you can take to make your home comfortable without breaking the bank.

Make Your Home Comfortable Without Breaking the BankBy Jamie Wine

Jamie Wine is the executive director of the Energy Wise Alliance (energyla.org), a Louisiana nonprofit. Contact him to schedule a presentation for your class, neighborhood association, church or community group today. [email protected] or (504) 656-6224


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City Council Redistricting in Effect for Municipal Elections

From A to D

By Jason Stopa, Associate Editor, Education and Public Policy

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The municipal election is fast approaching. On February 1, residents will go to the polls to choose a Mayor, Sheriff, Coroner, Clerk, and a City Council. Many groups are producing candidate guides and

hosting forums in an effort to inform residents on the candidates’ views. While you may know that every City Council district seat will up for vote, did you know that the City Council redistricting set to go into effect in May will impact where some New Orleanians vote in February?

The 2010 U.S. Census revealed population imbalance with significant losses in Districts D and E due to the lingering impacts of levee failures in

2005. The City Charter requires that the population be balanced amongst districts, and in 2011, the City Council approved the new district boundaries. Additionally, population declines led to some precincts being merged into others.

It is important to know if you will be affected by the changes. You can varify your district and precinct through various sources. Visit data.nola.gov for maps of both the old and new district boundaries. You should have also received a voter registration card in the mail which includes the ward and precinct and voting location.

This information can also be accessed at www.geauxvote.gov.


Election Day LoomsWhen the 2014 mayoral primary rolls around on February 1, will you be prepared to vote? How much forethought goes into the booth with you on Election Day? And what consequences will your vote have? To get your election season juices flowing, I present the following overview of the voting process[16], with a focus on what being the Mayor of New Orleans entails, plus a list of who is running.

A Look BackBefore we look at the mechanics of mayoral elections, let’s first get a little historical perspective. Since New Orleans became part of America in 1803, we have had 61 mayors[1], with terms ranging from a single day (Earhart) to a span of 17 years (Behrman). All have been male, most of them members of the Democratic Party, and predominantly White.

The first African-American elected into office[2] was Ernest ‘Dutch’ Morial[3], who served two consecutive 4-year terms – the maximum currently allowed – from 1978 to 1986. The last time a sitting mayor (McShane) ran for reelection and lost was in 1925.

How It WorksMayoral elections are held every four years. Anyone seeking to run for office must meet certain criteria, as mandated by Chapter 2 of the City’s Home Rule Charter[4]. Meanwhile, citizens who qualify to vote may register[5], learn about the candidates[7], then cast their ballots by mail or at a designated polling place[8].

Once the election results from every precinct[17] are tallied by the Orleans Parish Board of Election Supervisors[9], a winner is announced if one candidate receives a majority vote; otherwise, a runoff election is scheduled. This voting system, known as the “non-partisan blanket runoff primary” model[18], operates according to rules outlined in Louisiana state law[10].

The Mayor’s JobThe mayor presides over the executive branch of our local government, the other two components of which are the City Council (legislative branch)[11] and the Courts (judicial branch)[12]. Both the Mayor and the Council occupy offices at City Hall, located in downtown New Orleans, which houses all of the departments comprising the City administration.

In addition to fulfilling the wide-ranging powers and duties outlined in the Home Rule Charter, the mayor of New Orleans also serves on a dozen boards and commissions, such as Sewerage & Water Board, the New Orleans Public Belt Railroad, and other governmental and satellite agencies[13].

Payday and PerksThe mayor’s base salary is currently $140,000 with an automatic 2.5% annual pay raise[14]. The office enjoys certain special amenities, including limited discretionary funds, a take-home vehicle, a chauffeur and bodyguard.

Over and above the mayor’s statutory obligations, he or she enjoys numerous other entitlements conferred by City ordinance, such as the power to administer oaths of office, appoint or remove department heads, assign mayoralty permits, represent the City at meetings, award college scholarships, sign checks and grant certain funds[15], etc.

References[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mayors_of_New_Orleans[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_first_African-American_mayors[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_Nathan_Morial[4] http://www.nolacitycouncil.com/docs/resources/2011HomeRuleCharter.pdf[5] http://www.geauxvote.com[7] http://www.lwvno.org/s2014candinfo.html[8] http://www.nola.gov/registrar/[9] http://statutes.laws.com/louisiana/rs/title18/rs18-423[10] http://www.sos.la.gov/ElectionsAndVoting/GetElectionInformation/ HowAreCandidatesElected/Pages/default.aspx[11] http://www.nolacitycouncil.com/[12] http://nola.gov/departments/[13] http://nolasatellitegovernment.tulane.edu/[14] http://library.municode.com/HTML/10040/level3/PTIICO_CH2AD_ARTIIMA. html#PTIICO_CH2AD_ARTIIMA_S2-34SAMA[15] http://library.municode.com/HTML/10040/level3/PTIICO_CH70FI_ARTIIDI. html#PTIICO_CH70FI_ARTIIDI_S70-41SAISLAFU[16] http://library.municode.com/HTML/10040/level2/PTIICO_CH58EL. html#TOPTITLE[17] http://library.municode.com/HTML/10040/level3/PTIICO_CH58EL_ARTIIELPR. html#PTIICO_CH58EL_ARTIIELPR_S58-36ESPR[18] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonpartisan_blanket_primary

Mayoral Elections in New Orleans

Ask Nola

Who is RunningThe following candidates are contending for the office of Mayor of New Orleans in 2014. Please visit each campaign website to learn more about their platforms and objectives.Mitchell Landrieu (D) – incumbent mayor [mitchlandrieu.com]Michael Bagneris (D) – former Civil District judge [bagnerisformayor.com]Danatus King (D) – president of local NAACP chapter [dkingformayor.com]Manny Bruno (–) – day laborer, reformist and comedian [ballotpedia.org/Manny_%22Chevrolet%22_Bruno]

Michael G. BagnerisMy neighborhood: Bayou St. JohnFor more information: www.BagnerisforMayor.com

What is your vision for making sure that New Orleans is an inclusive and equitable community that expands educational and employment opportunities, reduces poverty, and fosters a strong and diverse middle class?

Imagine a New Orleans that had a better quality of life for all, safer neighborhoods and a stronger economic foundation for a vibrant future. This is my dream for our City and the reason why I stepped down from the bench

to seek the office of Mayor. Instead of building one City, we are developing a tale of two Cities.

While we have made some gains in attracting new residents under 25 with college degrees, unemployment remains high for locals. Loyola University recently reported that 52% of African American males in this City are unemployed and have given up looking for work altogether. I truly believe we can only move forward as ONE community with a common destiny — black and white; rich, middle class and working class. We must build a safer City for every neighborhood; every man, every woman and every child. PERIOD. I understand the importance of working well with all the stakeholder groups within government to achieve what is best for New Orleans. I vow to work collaboratively with the City Council, the New Orleans area legislative delegation, the Governor and the Obama administration to secure this City’s future. We must face the glaring challenges head-on. Labor force preparation and the benefits of employment are occurring unevenly.

In order to reduce the negative externalities of chronic unemployment, including high crime rates and a disproportionately large expenditure of local tax dollars on public safety, I would explore many of the recommendations by experts Dr. Patrice Sams-Abiodun of the Lindy Boggs National Center for Community Literacy, and Gregory Rattler, Jr. of the New Orleans Fatherhood Consortium: (1) Career pathway programs that provide a high-quality education component; (2) Wraparound support services that help students succeed; and (3) Industry partnerships that focus on meeting business needs by training students for specific job vacancies at the partner businesses. New Orleans must cultivate a culture that promotes openness, creative collaboration, and interaction across groups that becomes evident in its economic activity.

The metro’s deep industrial mix is capable of absorbing workers across all skill levels, which will ultimately help us achieve this goal. In a Bagneris administration, public education, health care, and criminal justice reforms will raise standards of living and build a safer and more just community. But they will be real reform efforts that are transparent, accountable, and use reliable data and objective research to inform decision making. We need a public relationships administration. One that will be led by a Mayor with open doors, focused on listening to the needs of the entire electorate, seeking durable compromise, and rebuilding community confidence in law enforcement.

What specific plans would you implement or support to extend the success of citywide economic growth and development so that it is realized at the neighborhood level?

We cannot develop segments of our city to the exclusion of others. As discussed in Question 5, my vision would be developed in concert with the City Council. My Administration will deal collaboratively with all the stakeholders. Much of New Orleans’ uniqueness and quality of life is tied to vibrant, strong neighborhoods with active engaged residents. I will make civic engagement a cornerstone of my administration and my policies and procedures. I will start by having my Economic Development Director work closely with each District Councilmember in creating development plans tailored to the specialized needs of their individual districts, their diverse neighborhoods, and “Communities of Interest” – individuals and organizations that come together around specific interests and affinities (such as health care advocates, environmental groups, education advocates, etc.). We will then coordinate those plans with our citywide economic development programs and the New Orleans Business Alliance to assure an equitable distribution of resources that’s responsive to localized needs. For example, during the Dutch Morial Administration,

the Mayor gave the same percentage of street funds to each district to spend as they deemed appropriate on street repairs. The remaining percentage was used by the Mayor to address the major thoroughfares.

According to the Greater New Orleans Community Data Center’s New Orleans Index at Eight, employment for men in the metro has fallen since 1980; particularly for African-American men, 47 percent of whom were unemployed in 2011. What specific initiatives would you implement to address this challenge?

In 2013, Loyola University found that 52% of African American men are unemployed or have given up looking for work altogether. This is a huge problem for our City. We must train for the jobs that will exist in the city. We must train folks to do the jobs we anticipate having. We cannot solely rely on tourism as the economic engine for our future prosperity. While African-American men play a critical role in New Orleans’ tourism sector, they can’t live in this lane when wages average $26,000/year. Our black men cannot support a family at $26k per year—in fact, 90 percent of these jobs do not pay enough to meet the basic expenses of one person living alone. Some of these men are an underutilized resource for staffing heavy construction, advanced manufacturing and petrochemical industries, rapid growth areas for New Orleans. So again, I will focus on career pathway programs and community benefit agreements, with a dedicated focus on enhancing the skills of local African-American men to fill these jobs. The collateral benefit will be a reduction in crime and an increase in the local tax base. Further, I will drive home the importance of harnessing jobs in the film and medical industries for local, sustainable jobs. What the film industry has benefited in tax credits has not been realized in local employment impacts, and I will use my office to stress the need for local crews for sound, set building and lighting. The burgeoning Medical District must employ local, skilled labor trained for lab techs, medical assistants and related paraprofessionals. We cannot afford to import more talent while failing to invest in our homegrown community members.

Although crime rates have declined to below pre-Katrina levels, 2011 rates remain significantly higher than the national average for violent and property crimes. Additionally, jail incarceration rates for Orleans Parish were several times higher than national rates. What comprehensive strategies would you pursue or support to stem this trend?

We don’t believe that there has been a reduction in violent crime. The real change that has happened is in the reporting of crime and the presentation of doctored statistics. The fact is, we have 340 fewer officers on the job than in 2010 when the current Mayor took office, and morale in the NOPD is at an all-time low. Our ability to combat crime has been compromised by the reduction in police levels, the lowest in 40 years. We must first address this problem by stopping the bleeding on the police force so that we can retain our current officers and recruit some of the experienced officers who left the force because they were dissatisfied with the leadership and direction of the force. This will be a top priority for my administration. With respect to jail incarceration rates, according to the Times Picayune, Louisiana is the Prison Capital of the world! One in 86 adult Louisianans is doing time, nearly double the national average. Among African-American men from New Orleans, one in 14 is behind bars; one in seven is either in prison, on parole or probation. These statistics are unacceptable, and this trajectory must be halted. While our City undeniably faces a very serious violent crime problem, when it comes to the incarceration of people for drugs and other nonviolent crimes, we are at crossroads. I believe that logic, economics and the best interests of society dictate that our City pursue the following comprehensive strategies: A. Focus on the role of family life and quality-of-life issues by Mandating that Health and Human Services Department focus on physical and mental health concerns. With respect to substance abuse, the work done by the GNO Drug Demand Reduction Coalition is something my administration would build upon and expand. Increasing funding for the Metropolitan Human Services District (MHSD). Ensuring that those who are incarcerated are screened and assessed for mental trauma and psychological-social issues. B. Improve traditional and non-traditional educational opportunities and access to services for those with learning disabilities While the City does not oversee the school system, I believe support and funding for libraries and internet access is essential to the future prosperity and security of this City. To paraphrase Walter Cronkite: “Whatever the cost of our libraries, the price is cheap compared to that of an ignorant [City].” Our City needs to invest in providing comprehensive tutoring and after school programs. We must


NPN’s mission is to improve the quality of life in New Orleans by engaging residents in neighborhood revitalization and civic processes. In this special edition of The Trumpet, we are providing readers with profiles on each candidate based on their responses to questions regarding issues of importance to NPN’s mission and four keys areas that play a role in the city’s ability to position itself amongst its aspirational peers over the next four years. Due to space constraints and the overwhelming response from our candidates, excerpts of responses from city council candidates are included below. The responses in their entirety can be found by visiting npnnola.com.


expand upon the outreach and programmatic goals of resources like the New Orleans Recreation Development (NORD) Commission. There must be better funding and more equitable distribution amongst the various centers. Expanding NORD’s programming to include Holiday Camps that could simultaneously employ our teenage youth during school closures and provide quality care for children of working parents is one multi-faceted and practical solution to quality-of-life issues that give rise to higher incarceration rates, i.e., juvenile delinquency, lack of supervision and lack of educational and cultural opportunities. C. Work collaboratively with the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office to seek and secure better treatment for those with (mental) health issues Enhance re-entry programs to include improved substance abuse treatment and educational and GED opportunities. D. Improve collaboration with Criminal District Court, the District Attorney’s Office, New Orleans Police Department and our federal partners (DEA, ATF and U.S. Attorney’s office) to focus on violent crimes, gang-related crimes and other crimes that wreak havoc on our City. I would work with the Office of Probation and Parole to secure additional funding for more agents to provide more stringent monitoring/supervision of parolees and probationers. Additionally, this collaborative effort must include community and civic leaders in order to dovetail with their outreach and faith-based efforts.

What specific policies relating to education, housing, blight elimination, violence reduction and environmental quality are critical to improving health in the area?

Reduction of crime and an increase in public safety will be my top priorities. This is addressed in greater detail in my responses to Questions 5 and 8. Additionally, blight elimination will be a major priority. Blight attracts rodents and drug users, all of which are detrimental to the overall health and security of our neighborhoods. One of our blight reduction and crime reduction strategies is to work with a consortium of banks to provide low interest mortgages to our police officers, firefighters and teachers to assist them in obtaining and rehabilitating blighted properties, which would be transferred at a minimum cost from NORA or the City. Such strategies work to reduce blight, increase homeownership, and enhance our neighborhoods. My vision of a healthy New Orleans will insure that our families can live in safe, decent, “livable” homes, including those converted from the blighted stock in our city. We will simultaneously educate a new job corps, staffed by our unemployed/underemployed young adults – particularly African-American males. We will encourage them to earn their high school equivalency degrees while empowering them with a technical/rebuilding trade in construction. Thus prepared, they will be a critical part of rebuilding our blighted housing stock for themselves, their families, and the greater good of the community as a whole. Ultimately, all of these initiatives must be coordinated. My administration will work in partnership with our schools, the federal government, and private foundations/donors to leverage all possible funding to make this city prosperous and safe for everyone.

What steps would you take to address the fact that, while the percentage of minority-owned businesses in New Orleans continues to grow, the share of citywide receipts accruing to minority-owned businesses has plateaued over the past decade?

Minority-owned businesses continue to be the engine of employment in minority communities for minority workers. In New Orleans we have an under-representation of businesses owned by African-Americans, which represent less than 33 percent of the city’s businesses, while making up 63 percent of the city’s population. Because minority-owned businesses have been more likely to hire minorities historically, increasing the viability of these businesses should positively impact employment rates. Like all business, minority-owned businesses depend on a variety of capital, from seed funding to establish new firms, to working capital and business loans to expand their businesses, to private equity for acquiring and merging with other firms. Increasing the flow of capital for minority-owned businesses must be a local priority to re-energize the New Orleans economy and increase our competitiveness in the global marketplace. Therefore, the Bagneris administration will help to provide resources to our local small businesses for (1) financial assistance through working capital lines of credit, (2) bonding assistance, and (3) actual monitoring and enforcement of our local and DBE ordinances.

What comprehensive approaches do you support in addressing the challenges of blight and equity in landownership through the city?

One of our blight reduction strategies is to work with a consortium of banks to provide low interest mortgages to our police officers, firefighters and teachers to assist them in obtaining and rehabilitating blighted properties, which would be transferred at a minimum cost from NORA or the City. Such strategies work to reduce blight, increase homeownership and enhance our neighborhoods. My vision of a healthy New Orleans will insure that our families can live in safe, decent, “livable” homes, including those converted from the blighted stock in our city. We would also explore the option of creating a “sweat equity program” (if you are below a certain income level and you commit to rehab property, after completion of same, the property will be transferred to you at a minimum cost.). We would also explore public/private partnerships for the rehabilitation of additional blighted housing stock.

What strategies would you support or implement to improve New Orleans’ transportation infrastructure in support of greater sustainability throughout the city?

In the 21st Century, New Orleanians deserve a transportation infrastructure that will strengthen our City, enhance commerce, and improve the quality and sustainability of neighborhoods. The Bagneris Administration will work to ensure public transportation provides ease of use, flexibility and accessibility to all neighborhoods, with covered wait areas (where practicable). We will champion continuation of bicycle and pedestrian improvements and strongly advocate for creation of a high speed rail system to provide local and regional connectivity. We will also explore the viability of converting city-owned vehicles to run on Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), which is a cleaner source of fuel and energy efficient.

What specific youth investments would you support or implement to address the challenges of juvenile delinquency and stagnant educational performance in New Orleans?

One of the biggest challenges our City faces is how to disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline that is plaguing so many of our juveniles, the majority of whom are African-American youth. The solutions start with increasing community and parental involvement and providing ease of access to traditional and non-traditional educational opportunities. In the Bagneris Administration, the following investments will be key to resolving these challenges:

• Adequately funding Juvenile Court, which addresses delinquency issues through programming focused on detention alternatives, mental and behavioral health counseling, substance abuse counseling, youth advocacy, family counseling, grief counseling, trauma counseling, and enhanced supervision and monitoring.

• Adequately funding NORD’s recreational and youth outreach programs, including sports, arts, dancing, etc.

• Increasing funding for youth summer jobs and apprenticeships for youths with various local companies and new businesses seeking to locate in Orleans Parish.

• Creating a program where we encourage major businesses to partner with a local school or vocational program to assist in preparing our young people for employment opportunities.

• Collaborating with community and civic leaders for mentoring programs that address youth/teen substance abuse, tutoring and educational opportunities.

How will you help to ensure that street musicians and artists who are not aware of the processes for conducting business within the city are informed about permit requirements?

Our street musicians and artists are cultural ambassadors of our City and must be protected, preserved and treasured. We will develop a task force to help legally protect and market their live work, images and their recorded products. For permitting assistance, we will have a specific liaison in our Safety & Permits Department to address their unique needs and provide mobile permitting services (i.e., taking to the streets with a mobile office for outreach and assistance).

What policies or procedures do you support in developing a neighborhood-needs based budgeting process?

Much of New Orleans’ uniqueness and quality of life is tied to vibrant, strong neighborhoods with active engaged residents. I will make civic engagement a cornerstone of my administration and my policies and procedures. I would start by having my Economic Development Director work closely with each District Councilmember in creating development plans tailored to the specialized needs of their individual districts, their diverse neighborhoods and “Communities of Interest” – individuals and organizations that come together around specific interests and affinities (such as health care advocates, environmental groups, education advocates, etc.). We would then coordinate those plans with our citywide economic development programs and the New Orleans Business Alliance to assure an equitable distribution of resources that’s responsive to localized needs. I would like to increase citizen participation by implementing the programs, such as the New Orleans Citizen Participation Program (NOLA-CPP) developed by the Committee for a Better New Orleans. CPP’s elevate notice and comment opportunities regarding city actions to encourage, enhance and support an engaged citizenry. The City Charter and the Master Plan both mandate such a structure, and this model was submitted to the Planning Commission in September 2010. The City Council passed a resolution in October 2010 directing City Planning to take this document and all other relevant submissions, conduct a final, robust public process, and submit a final proposal for adoption in June 2011. According to Keith Twitchell, President of the Committee for a Better New Orleans, Mayor Landrieu halted this process, and the entire thing has languished ever since.

What would you support or implement in the Office of Code Enforcement to assist community members in dealing with their problem properties, e.g. neighborhood-based Code Enforcement positions or increase the number of code lien foreclosures processed each year?


There are various problems that exist with properties. Rather than have citizens come to city hall without having essential information or documentation, we would propose having City Hall go to them. We envision putting “mini city halls” inside our libraries, staffed with rotating department representatives, to provide assistance and forms or documentation needed to address citizen’s concerns or needs. For far too many of our elderly citizens, post-Katrina were faced with losing their inherited wealth and earned rental property, because there weren’t sufficient funding mechanisms for them to repair housing and place it back into commerce. My administration will redouble the efforts of the past to insure individuals who want to retain their property are not overly taxed and forced to relinquish their homes, only to have for-profit and not-for profit groups obtain same tax free. Liens should not be draconian. While we want to give homeowners a reasonable opportunity to rehabilitate their property, appropriate timelines must be met. Again, my administration will be about relationship building, and we will work within communities to insure we are connecting people to resources so that they can retain their homes.

Manny “Chevrolet” BrunoMy neighborhood: The streets of New Orleans

For more information on my campaign: Call me


My vision is to make a New Orleans that will foster not only a strong and diverse middle class, but a strong and diverse lower and no class citizen.


Economic growth that has nothing to do with the food and entertainment industries.


They don’t have to work if there is no work to do!


Make drugs legal.


I don’t understand this question.


Jail all deadbeat owners!


I support more bike friendly streets and i would like to start a rikshaw program.


If the kid does not do well the parents will pay.


By interrupting their gigs and letting them know.


I support policies but not procedures.


I would get rid of the Office of Code Enforcement.

Danatus N. KingMy neighborhood: SeabrookFor more information: www.dkingformayor.com


Focus resources to help neighborhoods that have recovered the least from hurricane Katrina. For example, the 9th, 8th and 7th wards; New Orleans East and Central City.


Aggressively enforce the ordinance requiring DBE and local contractors participation in City contracts. Package City contracting projects in sizes conducive to allowing small contractors to bid on them. Tax credits for businesses that locate in economically depressed areas and employ individuals that live in economically depressed area.


Aggressively enforce the ordinance requiring DBE and local contractors participation in City contracts. Establish job training programs in the areas experiencing a need for trained workers. For example, lab technicians, phlebotomists and other skilled workers that will be needed for the new medical complex.


Hire a new police chief. Stimulate economic growth in our most economically depressed neighborhoods. Aggressively pursue and arrest those involved in the illegal gun trade.


Train the unemployed in environmentally progressive methods to repair blighted houses thereby reducing blight, creating jobs, reducing crimes, reducing homelessness and improving our environment.


Coordinate to resurfacing of our streets with work on our utilities so that a street is not resurfaced today then torn up next week to install sewar lines, etc.


Increase the employment opportunities for the parents of those youth that come from the most economically deprived neighborhoods of our City.


Those musicians and artists that do not have the proper permits should be cited and required to attend a meeting where they are informed about the permit requirements.


Consulting with the recognized neighborhood associations to prioritize a needs-based budget.

What would you support or implement in the Office of Code Enforcement to assist community members in dealing with their problem properties, e.g.


neighborhood-based Code Enforcement positions or increase the number of code lien foreclosures processed each year?

Identify the causes of the problems, i.e. failure to perform successions, then increase the support to address those problems, i.e. free or low cost legal help to perform successions. All code enforcement must be impartial and not dependent upon the neighborhood.

Mitch LandrieuMy neighborhood: BroadmoorFor more information: www.mitchlandrieu.com


Everywhere you look progress is being made. New Orleans is now on a roll, and our recovery is back on track. Overall crime and violent crime are trending down and murder is at a historic 30-year low. Our schools are improving. And our economy is getting stronger – 4500

jobs in four years. We’re now the fastest growing major American city. But we still have more work to do. As we approach 2018 and our city’s 300th anniversary, we have a chance to create the city we always wanted to be. We’ve got to continue the fight to reduce crime. We’ve got to keep attracting new companies and businesses to New Orleans and create new good-paying jobs. We’ve got to keep investing in education to make sure every child gets a good education and the opportunity for good health. And, finally, we need to keep this recovery going until it reaches every neighborhood in this great city. We cannot leave anyone behind. In the next four years, we will expand our efforts to connect New Orleanians to jobs. We will continue to partner with industry and educational institutions to provide workforce skills training, leadership development, counseling, and job placement services. We will focus especially on connecting young people to summer jobs through programs like the YouthWorks Summer Jobs Program. We will also work with high schools and local colleges and universities to train our young people for new knowledge based medical careers and other opportunities in water management, construction and other emerging industries.


Answer: I will continue to create more, good paying jobs. In four years, together we established the New Orleans Business Alliance –the City’s first public-private partnership for economic development. The results: 4,500 new jobs, new retail across the City, and a flood of new investment from world class companies like GE Capital. Now we’ve got to keep going. In the next four years, together we will: Build World Class Airport – Invest more than $650 million in federal, state and self-generated airport funds to build a new state-of-the-art terminal, creating 13,000 new construction jobs. Rebuild Sewerage & Water Board Infrastructure– In the coming years $3.3 billion will hit the ground to repair our aging pipes, pipelines, and other S&WB infrastructure, creating 27,000 construction jobs over the next 10 years, including nearly 200 permanent water management jobs. Continue to Support Disadvantage Business Enterprises (DBE) - Continue to expand the number of registered DBEs and build their capacity. Aggressively enforce DBE rules and regulations. Continue to host information sessions about opportunities to compete for city work. Prioritize Expansion of the Biotech Industry – World-class hospitals representing over a $2 billion investment will create thousands of new jobs and anchor the innovative post-Katrina network of neighborhood primary care clinics. Support Expansion and Modernization of the Port–Advocate that the Corps of Engineers dredge the Mississippi River to allow ‘super tankers’ that go through the newly expanded Panama Canal to move up river from the Gulf. Nurture Other Emerging Industries – Continue to strategically support growing local industries including advance manufacturing, solar power, water management, and coastal restoration. Grow the Cultural Economy and Tourism Industry– Support implementation of the Unified Master Plan for Tourism Industry with a goal of creating 33,000 additional new jobs by 2018. Promote New Orleans food, music, art and culture at home and around the world. Protect state tax credits for film, interactive/digital, live entertainment, and music. Provide city service support to special events and festivals. Support Cultural Districts. Connect cultural economy workforce to training and business development opportunities. Expand Efforts to Connect New Orleanians to Jobs through Job Training and Placement – Continue to partner with industry and educational institutions to provide workforce skills training, leadership development, counseling, and job placement services. Focus especially on connecting young people to summer jobs through programs like the YouthWorks Summer Jobs Program. Ensure that the People of New Orleans Rebuild New Orleans - Prioritize key industries and work with high schools and local colleges and universities to train our young people for new knowledge based medical careers, and opportunities in water management, construction and other emerging industries.


It is unacceptable that half of the African American men in New Orleans are unemployed. In the last three and a half years, we’ve worked hard to create 4,500 jobs, level the playing field and ensure that prosperity touches every corner of New Orleans. We will continue to partner with industry and educational institutions to provide workforce skills training, leadership development, counseling, and job placement services to residents. We are especially focused on connecting young people to summer jobs through intiatives like the YouthWorks Summer Jobs Program. At the same time we will continue to prioritize key industries and work with high schools and local colleges and universities to train our young people for new knowledge based medical careers, and opportunities in water management, construction and other emerging industries. To reduce barriers to employment, we’ve worked on re-entry programs so those previously incarcerated can get jobs. And at City Hall, we’ve taken the lead on this issue—“banning the box” so that those previously incarcerated get a fair shot. Finally, we improved equity and fairness by creating a City Office of Supplier Diversity. Now we have an entire staff of people focused on enforcing Disadvantage Business Enterprise (DBE) requirements for City contracts. The result – in the last three years over $100 million in bid contracts have been awarded to minority and disadvantaged businesses, which is about 1/3 of all public-bid contracts. Moving forward, we are investing $650 million to build a new airport, $3.3 billion to replace aging S&WB infrastructure, and will grow the cultural economy and tourism industry to create thousands of more jobs.


Overall crime and violent crime is trending down, and murder is at a historic 30-year low – but there’s still too much violence, I am not satisfied. We’ve got to keep working harder every day in every way to keep making our neighborhoods safer. In the next four years, together we will: Continue to Implement NOLA FOR LIFE- New Orleans’ Comprehensive Strategic Plan to Reduce Murder. Continue to Improve the NOPD– Implement the reforms outlined in the consent decree, including enhanced training, improved policies and procedures and greater accountability. Go above and beyond the consent decree and outfit every officer with a body camera. Hire More Police Officers–In 2014, implement the plan to hire 150 new police officers. In the next four years, continue to cut and reorganize government to fund more NOPD recruit classes with a goal of having 1600 officers by 2018. Support Police Officers – Continue to increase funding for public safety. In 2014, purchase 100 new police cars, adding to 100 new vehicles bought in 2013. Expand opportunities for promotions so officers are rewarded for good work. Target Violent Criminals – Sustain and expand the new Gang Unit. Maintain beefed up NOPD Homicide Unit. Continue the revamped Project Safe Neighborhood to get guns off the street. Sustain and expand hot spot policing. Expand Ceasefire New Orleans. Focus on Prevention – Continue to build on the success of Midnight Basketball. Continue trauma response teams in schools. Through the NOLA FOR LIFE fund, invest in social service providers that support high-risk young people. Expand NOLA FOR LIFE mentoring. Expand Jobs and Opportunities – Continue to host NOLA FOR LIFE job expos. Continue to grow the summer jobs initiative, and recruit more businesses to take part. Expand ex-offender reentry efforts by implementing “ban the box” at City Hall and advocate for business community to “ban the box”. Rebuild Neighborhoods – Continue to host NOLA FOR LIFE days where city employees and volunteers clean up crime hot spots. Collaborate with Criminal Justice Leaders–Work closely with the courts, Sheriff, Public Defender, and District Attorney to improve and streamline the criminal justice system. Establish collaborative criminal justice planning process to set system-wide procedures, goals and budgets.


I believes that we have an opportunity to rebuild better and stronger than we were before Hurricane Katrina. Overall crime and violent crime is trending down, and murder is at a historic 30-year low – but there’s still too much violence, I am not satisfied. We’ve got to keep working harder every day in every way to keep making our neighborhoods safer. We will continue NOLA FOR LIFE’s focus on targeting violent gangs and investing in prevention and enforcement. Plus, in 2014 we will hire 150 new officers and go above and beyond the NOPD consent decree by outfitting every officer with a body camera. To create more opportunities for our kids, I doubled funding for recreation and partnered with the private sector to create the New Orleans Recreation Development Commission and Foundation. He has also been a champion for continued school reform efforts, including promoting choice for families, competition, autonomy and accountability for public, charter schools. We will continue to support on-going efforts to improve schools, so that high school graduation rates and test scores continue to rise. We will continue to improve the Summer


Jobs Program for young people, work to increase funding for recreation, strengthen the public private NORDC partnership, and improve recreation programming and facilities. Our neighborhoods are coming back: I launched the $52 million soft-second mortgage program for first-time homebuyers and in 2010 began to execute an aggressive blight reduction strategy that has reduced blight by over 10,000 properties. Plus, I fought to make sure that the primary care clinics born after Katrina stayed open and now this network of clinics will be anchored by world-class hospitals in Mid City and New Orleans East. We will continue the $1 billion plus building blitz across the city with more investments in streets, streetlights, park, playgrounds, and police and fire stations. Build on the success of eliminating over 10,000 blighted properties by launching new fight the blight strategies such as an hiring young people to clear overgrown lots and supporting an ordinance to allow neighbors who cut grass on blight to “Mow to Own” the blight they maintain. Combined together - safer streets, better schools, less blight, more affordable housing, better health care – means stronger neighborhoods and stronger, healthier families.


Creating good-paying jobs, expanding economic opportunity and ensuring that the people of New Orleans be the ones to rebuild New Orleans has been one of my top priorities. We’ve put this city back to work. To create jobs, we established the New Orleans Business Alliance –the City’s first public-private partnership for economic development. The results: 4,500 new jobs, new retail across the City, and a flood of new investment from world leaders like GE Capital. But we’ve got to keep the recovery going we’ve got to keep widening the circle so more and more people in this city share in the economic progress that we’re making. It is really important that the people of New Orleans especially local, minority, and women owned businesses, be the ones to rebuild New Orleans. The goal is to expand economic opportunity for all New Orleanians. That’s why I launched the $14 million Fresh Food Retailer Initiative to help entrepreneurs bring jobs and healthier foods to underserved areas including Circle Food Store in the Seventh Ward & Whole Foods Market on Broad in Mid City. Plus, we secured over $20 million in small business loans and education from the Goldman Sachs’ 10,000 Small Businesses program benefiting over 200 local small businesses. We also created the Office of Supplier Diversity to strengthen the City’s Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program, and increased the number of certified DBEs eligible for City work by more than 70%. It used to be just one person monitoring DBEs, but now we have an entire staff of 6 people focusing on enforcement and compliance. In the three years over $100 million in bid contracts have been awarded to DBEs, which is about a 1/3 of all public-bid contracts. Moving forward, we will continue to ensure that local and minority owned businesses play a big role as we invest $650 million to build a new airport, invest $3.3 billion to replace aging S&WB infrastructure, and grow the cultural economy and tourism industry.


When I took office, the recovery was stalled. To get the city’s recovery back on track in the first months in office, I identified priority projects in every neighborhood and got them off the ground. I secured a billion new dollars from FEMA for new streets and community projects, launched the $52 million soft-second mortgage program, and so far, over 500 first time homebuyers have purchased homes through this program. Plus, in 2010 we began to execute an aggressive blight reduction strategy that has reduced overall blight by more than 10,000 properties. Our neighborhoods are coming back, but we need to ensure the recovery reaches every part of the City. To further rebuild our city, together we will: Keep the recovery going - Continue the $1 billion plus building blitz across the city with more investments in streets, parks, playgrounds, libraries and police and fire stations. Launch New Blight Strategies – Continue to tear down or fix up blight faster here than anywhere else in the country. Support an ordinance enabling neighbors who cut grass on blight to “Mow to Own” the blight they maintain. Create jobs for unemployed young people clearing overgrown lots. Reopen Charity Hospital as Civic Center- Eliminate the largest piece of blight that lies in the heart of downtown New Orleans. Replace the broke down buildings that currently hold Civil Court and City Hall and consolidate into what would be a historic reuse of one of the most storied buildings in New Orleans.


Sustainability and expanding transportation infrastructure are really important. That’s why we helped secure a $45 million federal grant to build the new Loyola Avenue Streetcar Line. Furthermore, city wide, we’ve gone from less than 10 miles of bike lanes before Katrina to nearly 80 miles today with another ten miles on the way. And according to the League of American Bicyclists we are now a bronze level bike friendly community. In the coming years we will work with RTA to expand another new streetcar line down Rampart Street and will advocate for more funding for more streetcar lines throughout the City. Another top priority is to continue the fight to save the ferry and work with RTA and the State to continue expanded ferry service.


I believe I that the future of New Orleans will be decided in schools and playgrounds across the City. That’s why I have been a champion for continued school reform efforts and has worked closely with schools. Plus, in four years, I started Midnight Basketball, doubled funding for recreation and together with the private sector; we created the New Orleans Recreation Development Commission and Foundation. Our kids need safe places to learn, play and grow to reach their full potential. To support our kids, in the next four years together we will: Champion On-Going Efforts to Improve Schools – Continue to advocate for school reforms so that high school graduation rates and test scores continue to rise. Support the OneApp system for all New Orleans public schools. Advocate for the RSD and OPSB to have a plan to pay for maintenance of schools. Continue to Partner with Schools to Support Young People Dealing With Trauma–Too many of New Orleans’ children are touched by violence. These young people need support. Continue to help mobilize and coordinate mental health service providers to surge into schools needing support. Maintain & Expand City’s Summer Jobs Program for Young People– Provide quality summer professional experiences to build a pipeline to careers for young people. Strengthen Public Private Partnership for Recreation –Ensure that public and private funding for NORD is maintained and increased. Continue to improve programming and facilities at NORD.


New Orleans is the cultural capital of America, and we must protect and support the very things that make our culture so authentic. It is possible for musicians, residents and businesses to co-exist and in the last three and half years the City’s new Office of Cultural Economy has worked closely with musicians, neighborhood associations, Social Aide and Pleasure Clubs, residents, and many others to find common ground and create common sense guides to the rules, laws and policies that affect cultural workers. The cultural community and neighborhood groups have met these efforts with great enthusiasm. Together we believe that all ordinances must make sense, be clearly communicated to the public and properly enforced. We are a city of music, and we are a city of neighborhoods. We will work to strike a balance so that they can exist together.


It is extremely important that City spending reflects citizen priorities. To accomplish that goal, in 2010 I signed an Executive Order that completely reformed the City’s budgeting process. Now, more budget information is available to the public earlier. Now, instead of meeting once a year, the Revenue Estimating Conference publically balances the books every quarter. Plus, over a month before the budget is introduced we now hold budget community meetings across the City. Hundreds attend and from these meetings budget priorities are set. Indeed, from 2009 -2013, together we have cut annual spending by about $40 million all while delivering better results focused on citizen priorities that we heard about in the budget community meetings - crime, jobs, blight, recreation, infrastructure, streets, and streetlights. Finally, we also started our Neighborhood Engagement Office to foster closer partnerships between city departments and the community. Neighborhood Engagement has created robust Neighborhood Participation Plans for NORDC, Capital Projects, and the City Planning Commission. They have also established Police Community Advisory Boards to give residents a formal process by which they can address issues of concern with the NOPD. The Neighborhood Engagement Office is constantly getting feedback from neighborhood leaders and residents about their priorities. Those conversations also have a strong influence on the city budget.


I will continue to engage residents and neighborhood leaders in our efforts to fight the blight. Together in the last three and a half years we have torn down or fixed up blight faster here than anywhere else. We hit our goal of removing 10,000 blighted properties in four years. We created BlightStat to track our progress. We also created the BlightStatus website so now everyone has access to the City’s blight database. Just type in an address and you can get info about a specific house and track what happens to it. But, we need to keep it up and expand our efforts. So the 2014 budget invests nearly half a million dollars for new inspectors to work closely with neighborhoods and new title research staff so we can fight blight even better.


At-Large Division 1Eugene J. GreenMy neighborhood: GentillyFor more information: 504-258-0417


I will be a strong action oriented progressive advocate on many issues challenging our city and its neighborhoods. The inclusive and equity component of our needed progress is critical and is the core reason that I am running for Council at Large, Division 1. The

economy of New Orleans is indeed showing positive signs. However, this emerging New Orleans economy is not reaching ALL of our residents for ALL of our deserving neighborhoods. Furthermore, there is no leadership on the city council caring about this need to develop a plan for our growing economy to benefit New Orleanians in every neighborhood. My vision is for our beautiful city to reach its full potential. I want New Orleans to be a community where all of our citizens, who have endured so much, will benefit, prosper, feel connected to their city again, feel that they matter in their city again, and feel hope for their family’s future based on their successes today. For starters, I want extensive job training initiatives, partnering with all stakeholders to improve and expand those services. I want expanded entrepreneurship development and small business development for the entire city and for various business sectors. I want a truly open Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program that opens the doors to all based on merit, talent, and the ability to do contract work. The present DBE program can be significantly improved and its processes truly transparent. I want New Orleans’ DBE program to be the best and the new benchmark for municipalities and states across the nation


Specifically, as councilmember at large, I have a plan for inclusion, equity, and economic health and resuscitation; and I will provide a tireless, dedicated, and sincere voice on the City Council for it. Specifically, first, I strongly support extensive job training and education. We must dedicate our resources to job training and the preparation of our citizenry for the emerging jobs in the new industry sectors developed over the last eleven years along with training for the traditional sectors of the last number of decades. Second, I strongly support expanding entrepreneurship and small business development. Third, our city’s Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program must be appreciated by a councilmember at large. I also want the program to be the best and to be the nation’s benchmark. It can improve and MUST be transparent, truly open, and accessible to the diversity of deep talent that exists and has been developed in our city. Fourth, I support fair Community Benefits Agreements (CBAs) that ensure that business enterprises give back to the communities where they exist especially if the citizenry, through its government representatives, has given the business enterprise tax breaks. Fifth, I strongly support neighborhood development. This is consistent with my sensitivity to entrepreneurship, small business development, and economic inclusion and empowerment at the neighborhood level. When I served the city as Director of Economic Development in the 1990s, I began the redevelopment of Oretha Castle Haley Boulevard starting with the now Ashe Cultural Center. It’s been a process on O.C. Haley; but if we are more focused on redeveloping our main street corridors, then we can do even more and throughout all of our neighborhoods. We need to improve the access to retail, services, and amenities that our neighborhoods need now with entrepreneurs willing to step up for their neighborhoods. Newton Street, St. Claude Avenue, Gen. Meyer, St. Bernard Avenue, Kabel Drive, Broad, Claiborne, Lake Forest Boulevard, Read, Paris Avenue....are just a few that come to mind.


A fundamental reason why I am running for Council at Large is that crime must be reduced, but it must be reduced by job opportunities and development. As some have said over the last ten years or so, we cannot simply arrest ourselves out of our crime problem. Many of us have long supported this progressive approach to reduce crime by increasing opportunities. However, this philosophy is simply not voiced from the existing City Council leadership much less supported by it. The crime problem is always spoken about by “leadership” as a problem to be solved by more police officers and

bigger jails...period. That philosophy is limited and unproductive. If power brokers in New Orleans continue to adhere to that decades old philosophy of police and jails only, the crime problem will continue while incarceration rates will continue to be abnormally high. I support efforts to have a capable and honest police force, district attorney’s office, and court system; but more police and more jails have limited productivity when it comes to reducing crime. For us to be a city that reaches its full potential, this thinking must be removed from the city council and other positions of power that focus on police force size and incarceration only. My job creation plan will alleviate crime levels. There is no doubt about that. When a human being has opportunity and, more importantly, KNOWS that he or she has opportunity, then he will rarely choose theft, burglary, assault, drug dealing, or drug turf related murder as a way of life. Most of us want to live happily and in peace and security. Very few people truly want to stand on a corner while making drug deals not knowing when they will get arrested or killed. As I expressed above, job training for all will help; and job training for those with criminal records will also assist in keeping a citizen from returning to crime and to jail. But, very importantly, the entire criminal justice system needs to be improved and held accountable. The system takes advantage of people who don’t have the resources to defend themselves against weak investigations and arrests, prosecutorial dishonesty, and the money making in the criminal justice system. Not only is such a system inherently unjust, but it also creates the employment problems for some who were never guilty of their accused crime but were convicted. And such an unjust system will never earn the respect and “buy in” from the community the system is supposed to serve honestly and competently. Thus, the unjust system compounds the crime problem further. A city council member at large can and must both hold the criminal justice system accountable for improvements in administering justice at all levels, but also work with the three pillars of the system to support them when they are trying to improve. I will engage the process with a unique view for the city council. I will add new perspective and productive perspective.


All of these variables play a significant role in our citizenry’s physical health as well as our comparative rankings to other cities and states. Very little has been advocated from the city council leadership for comprehensive and thorough improvements across the entire city. There is no perspective, no leadership, no care, and no action on behalf of the vast majority of New Orleanians in this regard. And, thus, our rankings are unacceptable. I support more resources. For some of these issues, New Orleans simply needs more political will to focus resources throughout the city. The processes are for the most part capable. Yet, we often just need more dedication to the employees and the capacity in the processes to tackle these problems more aggressively and more timely. I support funding for educational resources to teach young people and families ways to protect their natural and physical environments and to make them cleaner and safer. I am the son of educators, attended New Orleans public schools before attending St. Augustine High School. I am willing and ready to partner with our schools. Standards for new construction for housing must become more progressive so that there is quality, safety, and durability. There is great opportunity to create efficient housing in our city and to benefit economically from that. Housing code and environmental code enforcement need more resources to inspect, process, and adjudicate. And these city services need to have an accountable and open system. Regarding violent crime reduction, I support achieving a capable, honest, and professional criminal justice system; but I also will advocate for truly long-term solutions to violence reduction in the form of job creation, job training, and opportunities for poverty reduction and economic health as outlined above. Ultimately, a more opportunistic city with greater household and government resources will make the city healthier and more positive in all of these areas. In the short-term, city council leadership must first care about these issues for all, identify capacity weaknesses in the processes, and provide resources to expand the capacity


Neighborhoods must have great prioritization by city leadership. New Orleans needs that for all of our neighborhoods. Representation for all is extremely important to me. In that context, my neighborhood development, entrepreneurship development, and small business development plans are particularly relevant on this question. Blight is caused by migration out of neighborhoods. Neighborhood retail, services and amenities must be supported by city resources to return and to lead population growth back into neighborhoods. It must be done with those most impacted in mind and in partnership with them and not against them. I support development. I just don’t believe that it should punch us in the nose. We deserve better than that.


Transportation is very important to our quality of life. I support all methods of transportation that provide mobility for citizens to enjoy the good that exists in the


city, that provides them reasonably easy transportation to and from employment, and that is good for our environment especially our air and noise levels. I strongly support environmentally friendly city vehicles (busses, police cars, fire and EMS vehicles), bike path expansion and access, the Lafitte Corridor project, streetcar expansion down St. Claude Avenue and beyond, and initiatives that provide easy scale for those who walk abundantly or who want to walk abundantly.


Such budgeting approaches should be substantive and meaningful by which to truly identify neighborhood needs. It requires a partnership. From the citizens, it requires an acceptance of the government’s capacity in that budget year. On the city government side, it requires dedicated allocation of resources to those needs that were identified and targeted by citizens. And it requires a partnership within neighborhoods and among neighborhoods. It requires participation and fair and selfless prioritization of needs among the neighborhoods. A councilmember at large has a voice. And it should be used for the entire city, not just for some...or even the few. I would always communicate that our city and citizens work together to prioritize, to be fair, to be selfless when need be, and to solve the problems that persist in our city and its neighborhoods.


Without question, I would strongly support ideas and policy that assist community members with correcting their problem properties. The vast majority of our citizens want to do the right thing; they just need some guidance and resources to do so. Dedication to our neighborhoods and dedication to New Orleanians are what is important for New Orleans’ strengthening and growth, not penalties and foreclosures. Resources must be acquired. And, when acquired, they must be allocated honestly in service to the people of New Orleans. Furthermore, a strong and equitably shared economy will help our citizens be healthy, prosperous, happy, and strong for the future. We can do so many things that need fixing in New Orleans.

Stacy HeadMy Neighborhood: UptownFor more information on my campaign: Anne Redd, [email protected]


I firmly believe that the best economic development tool for the city of New Orleans is to have government function to improve the quality of life for current residents. This has been my focus and passion for seven years

on the City Council. I have worked and will continue to work with neighborhood and various interest and constituency groups to address quality of life issues as well as to make our city function better. Better neighborhoods mean better job and housing opportunities, wealth building opportunities and improved health through recreation.


I will continue to focus on consistent, compassionate, and transparent legislation for basic quality-of-life standards. These include housing/building/property standards and commercial entity standards. The most important role, however, for the City Council, is to press the administration for consistent and equitable enforcement of the laws. New Orleans is a city of neighborhoods and these neighborhoods, with their traditional commercial corridors with mom-and-pop businesses are the strength of our city. We must do a better job of reducing the negatives in these neighborhoods and fostering the positives so that the businesses and residents will thrive.


I have and will continue to lobby for a stand by through my actions the need for a properly sized jail. A careful analysis of our current jail population reveals that we continue to house prisoners in OPP who are either no appropriate for pre-trial detention (i.e. non-violent), or who should be housed elsewhere such as the state’s DOC. With regard to the crime rate, I do bot subscribe to the belief that crime is better than pre-Katrina. Murders are down but shootings are not. The prime improvement that city

government must make is with regard to recruiting, training, supporting and maintaining quality NOPD officers


Education is not a Council charge. Nevertheless, I have provided most of my discretionary grant dollars to entities with strong track records for education. With regard to blight elimination, I have drafted and seen through to passage most of the legislation at the local and state levels related to blight reduction. A key element missing in our blight reduction strategy as a city is better handling of demolition dollars and federal subsidies, which are largely the province of the administration. The Council should (I and I will continue) to urge the administration to improve these efforts. With regard to violent crime, my answers above related to neighborhood health and NOPD improvements apply here.


Much of this is outlined above. To summarize the approaches that I believe have worked and need to be enhanced are: 1) consistent and equitable enforcement of property standards; 2) a registry or similar program for rentals to confirm basic requirements are met; 3) increased lien foreclosures; 4) better spending of NHIF, HOME, and yearly CDBG dollars to be leveraged to create more quality rentals/home ownership and owner-occupied rehabs.


New Orleans has greatly improved in bike accessibility. But our public transportation system appears to cost more and provide less than pre-Katrina. Unfortunately, the RTA has long been rife with problems (poor management, corruption, etc.). I am not confident that the new system being run by the for-profit Veolia is any better. I will continue to urge the mayor to appoint RTA commissioners with a background in transportation, law, engineering, banking, consumer services ad other relevant fields. My hope is that the next Council will be united in this regard and will do a better job of evaluating RTA’s/Veolia’s effectiveness.

What specific youth investments would you support or implement to What policies or procedures do you support in developing a neighborhood-needs based budgeting process?

There are many models to implement participatory budgeting. I do not have a strong opinion about any in particular. But I support the idea that citizens should be charged with the ability and responsibility of making the choices of how to spend their tax dollars.


I have and will continue to work to have code enforcement officials work in discrete areas of the city. This just makes sense. The inspectors get to know the neighborhood groups, the problem properties, and also, the situations where leniency is needed. As to lien foreclosures, I meet with the parties involved (code enforcement personnel, city attorney, sheriff, etc.) on a regular basis to make sure they continue to improve the process (which is research and paper intensive). I will continue to do this as well as set goals for performance.


At-Large Division 2

Ernest “Freddie” CharbonnetMy neighborhood: New Orleans EastFor more information: Visit my website at www.votecharbonnet.com, or email me at [email protected].


By creating and fostering an inclusive, well-funded educational environment, we hope to gradually increase

the New Orleans community’s sense of ownership in our city. With this increase comes an upsurge in pride, leading to greater social involvement in our neighborhoods that in turn leads to a greater level of participation in the elimination of blight, the improvement of our shared environment and a more inclusive, shared social responsibility in our children’s future. By improving the educational, social and environmental backdrops that our children grow up in, we together, can help to eliminate the culture of violence that has plagued our city.

From a neighborhood standpoint, we must have open and regular communication with the neighborhood organizations. It is important to find out firsthand what their particular issues and concerns are. Living in New Orleans East, I truly understand how some neighborhoods can feel ignored by city government. I would pay close attention to those complaints.


We need to make sure that every neighborhood experiences economic growth. One of the major themes of my candidacy is to identify and develop economic corridors in forgotten communities, for example, Newton Street in Algiers and the I-10 corridor in New Orleans East. I would like to replicate the successes that we have seen on Magazine Street, Harrison Avenue, and Freret Street in these commercial corridors.

When I was Councilman for District E, I met with Stan Harris, president of the Louisiana Restaurant Association to discuss strategies for developing that corridor with restaurants that would also be a draw for other businesses. Too many of our retail dollars are spent in Jefferson, St. Bernard and St. Tammany parishes. By growing businesses in every neighborhood, we expand our tax base and increase the City’s budget to address other important issues. Rejuvenating these commercial corridors will be a win for our businesses, a win for our neighborhoods, and a win for City Hall. I will make a special effort to assist small, locally owned businesses to take part in this economic development.


As we enter the New Year, it was encouraging to see that homicides have decreased to the lowest level in years, but as Tamara Jackson of Silence Is Violence said: “155 murders is still too many for the city of New Orleans.” I agree that we have improved, but I know we can and should intensify our efforts to battle crime and in particular the murder rate. When it comes to the root causes of crime, I am open to any proposal to address them, but first things first; we must fix our police force. We must be diligent about making sure requirements from the Consent Decree are implemented thoroughly. We also need to get our officers better equipment to improve moral, and help recruit and retain officers.

One method I favor is mentorships involving youth development and training. Also, I believe one method for addressing a root cause of crime, is by reaching out to young parents, and young mothers in particular, to help with parenting issues.


The main barrier to eliminating the current culture of violence that is plaguing our city is community involvement, especially concerning children and school based programs that promote community improvement. Specifically, the New Orleans community needs to invest more in our educational facilities, ensuring that all children born in the area are afforded the same opportunities. In addition, children need to be targeted in all community projects. Building a strong sense of civil responsibility in our city’s chil5d healthy population that not only addresses our city’s health problems but works to teach our population better health practices.


Blight is one of the most complicated and difficult challenges facing our city. There are approximately 37,000 blighted properties in New Orleans. The City has moved to foreclose on only 1,492 of those properties, and of those, only 148 have been sold! There are a couple of logjams in the code enforcement process. First, it takes too long to hold a code enforcement hearing because of the amount of work it takes to do property research and to properly notify the owner. The City needs more employees and resources to speed up this part of the process.

The second delay in the process is getting people to bring their property into compliance after the property is declared blighted. In the end, I don’t care how many liens are filed so long as the properties are still sitting there blighted. We should look at hiring more attorneys to file writs, if this process is going to work at all. But there’s no easy answer.

When it comes to creating a more equitable environment, I support creating more home owners in New Orleans. The City’s Soft Second Mortgage Program is a great way to get more people to invest in homes in our City, and we should make sure enough people know and are taking advantage of it. We should also lobby at the state level for more programs to increase home ownership as well.

Related to the equity in landownership is who bears the property tax burden in New Orleans. There are far too many properties in New Orleans that do not pay any taxes because the properties are owned by a non-profit organization. Of course our churches and universities should be tax exempt, but there are a number of non-profits that are holding on to properties for investments or without a legitimate purpose. We need to have an honest conversation about what properties are not on the tax rolls that may need to be.


The state of our transportation infrastructure is another major issue for New Orleans. Every neighborhood that I travel in, from New Orleans East to Uptown and Lakeview to Algiers, has pothole filled roads. The major problem is that we do not spend enough money maintaining our roads. The Mayor has gotten FEMA to pay for some major road repairs; unfortunately, the FEMA money is only a drop in the bucket for the total cost to repair our roads.

Spending on street repairs has been reduced from $3.9 million in 2011 to $2.6 million in 2013. Honestly, the City should be tripling the street repair budget instead of cutting it by a third. Given the current budget, we cannot triple spending on street repair, but we need to increase spending to maintain our transportation infrastructure.

We could do more with our bonding capacity if the projects that the city has already borrowed for were being completed. If we resolved these issues, we could have more capacity and complete more street repair and replacement. Importantly, we must also make hard decisions regarding other budgets to make sure this vital infrastructure is maintained and improved.


Developing a budget process that is based on neighborhood needs is quite simple -- we must include our neighbors. That is why I support full implementation of the city’s Citizen Participation Program and believe the budgeting process should be extended to allow more time for citizen input.

Elected leaders shouldn’t simply travel to communities to tell their constituents what has already been planned in terms of budget allocations, but to determine the unique needs of each neighborhood to formulate a budget that is reflective and respectful, to the extent possible, of the desires of area residents.

I believe District Councils, coupled with neighborhood subcommittees, should field budget proposals and work with district councilmembers to craft proposals to be included in the mayor’s fiscal projections for the coming year. This, however, would require strong and engaged councilmembers willing to take back the City Council’s rightful place in municipal budget negotiations.

As an At-Large Councilmember, I promise to never abdicate the Council’s role as the keeper of the city’s purse strings and to work with neighborhood groups and civic organizations to create a budget that is not only strong where New Orleans is weak (i.e., providing adequate funding to address health, education and career services), but that takes into account the very people it is intended to serve.


I believe we need to get more blighted properties repaired by responsible owners and place those properties on the tax rolls, so that the burden is spread more evenly. The real problem is that the City is raising more revenue than it did before Katrina from a significantly smaller population—meaning fewer people are paying more taxes.


The city must also prioritize which properties it seeks to remediate, going after the low-hanging fruit first. That means citing and putting liens against absentee landlords who own multiple blighted properties throughout the city, not owner-occupied houses facing economic hardship.

Cynthia Hedge MorrellMy Neighborhood: GentillyFor more information on my campaign: www.cynthiahedgemorrell.com


New Orleans has seen a renaissance since Katrina, but we need to ensure that our renewal improves the quality of life for all of our residents. Rather than pulling

up the ladder behind us, we must take meaningful action to help those who are clinging onto the bottom rung. Creating an inclusive and equitable community requires a long-term approach rooted in creating hope, access, and opportunity. We need to be sure that everyone in our community is able to pursue a better life for themselves and their families. As a career educator, I know all too well that a student’s home life can affect their school performance. And how children perform in school can set the stage for the rest of their lives. Offering at-risk youth a chance to dream about their future and providing structures to help them pursue those dreams is crucial in creating a better community. As a city councilmember, mother, and New Orleanian, I know how work on the city council to make our community more equitable and inclusive. I pledge to make it a priority as Councilmember At Large to support education and after school programs, workforce development, economic development and job creation.


As City Councilmember for District “D” I have been committed to my role as a representative of the people. I solicit and consider neighborhood input on virtually every decision I make on the City Council, and that includes economic development. Neighbors should have a say in what kind of growth they wish to see and they should be the beneficiaries of development in their backyards. For example, I worked with neighborhoods so that they could determine how their communities were rebuilt after Hurricane Katrina. We worked together to replace tattoo parlors and liquor stores with small businesses like cafes and barber shops. I put a five-year moratorium on District “D” so that anyone seeking an Alcoholic Beverage licenses has to come before the city council. I further direct them to get a neighborhood agreement in order to ensure that the quality of life in the neighborhood is not harmed. The moratorium is planned to expire when the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance is put into place, which designates areas for different types of businesses. Addressing blight and fixing infrastructure has and will continue to be one of my economic growth and development strategies on the neighborhood level. As city council member, I can help develop anchors in neighborhoods, from big businesses to schools and recreational centers. These anchors set the stage for small businesses to flourish around them. So that everyone is able to benefit from the neighborhood’s progress, I will continue to grow jobs, like those I helped create through the $15 MM Walmart development and the $65 MM Folgers expansion in District “D”. As Councilmember At Large, I will emphasize good-paying careers that provide opportunities for advancement. In addition to big jobs projects like the Walmart in Gentilly, I recognize that small businesses form the backbone of our economy. That is why I work closely with local businesses to ensure that they have the support they need, including safe, clean streets. Many small business owners have come to know that when they have a problem, I am just a phone call away. We need continuity of leadership to ensure that the economic progress that we have been able to achieve out of the ashes of Katrina is not lost. I know how to attract business, create jobs, and balance the concerns of constituents. New Orleans needs proven experience on the city council so that we do not lose ground


Solving the crime problem that plagues New Orleans is paramount. It is the greatest challenge to continuing our City’s path forward since Hurricane Katrina. As the mother of two NOPD officers, crime is the issue that keeps me up at night and the first thing I think

about when I wake up in the morning. I wonder what tragedy might have occurred on the streets of New Orleans overnight. It is bone chilling, and it is the thought too many mothers in New Orleans wake up to. I know them, I hear their cries, and I attend their sons’ funerals. So when I sit down in the Council Chambers, addressing crime is top of mind and my first priority.

In the short-term, we’ve made a lot of progress, but there is still much we can do. I have been a staunch advocate for additional professional officers and community policing. Also, we need to improve the criminal justice system that handles offenders by making it more expeditious and tough on violent offenders. That’s why I introduced and passed legislation recently that enhances supervision of probationers and parolees, allowing us to react quicker if someone falls back into a lifestyle of crime.

Also in the short term, we need to continue, fighting blight, fixing street lights, and creating community centers. In District “D” alone since 2010, we have fixed some 40,000 streetlights and opened numerous community and recreational centers, including Lakefront Aquatic Center at University of New Orleans, Wesley Barrow Stadium, Digby and Hardin in the 7th ward, the Norman Mayer Library, and many more. In the long-term we need to help raise up residents who are fighting to cling onto the bottom rung. Various historical factors have left large numbers of our neighbors behind, and many of them have no hope for a better future. Some may get sucked into a life of crime.

It is time that we end the cycle of violence, and that means fighting poverty, creating jobs, enhancing workforce development, and improving education for our children. As a lifetime educator, I’ve seen what can happen when you give a child hope and allow them to dream a better future for themselves. It’s what made McDonogh 15 one of Red Book’s “America’s Best Schools” while I was principal.

In terms of addressing jail incarceration rates for Orleans Parish, as City Councilmember for District “D”, I have worked on decriminalizing misdemeanors and lesser crimes like traffic tickets and marijuana possession. These types of minor offenses can have detrimental effects on poor people who are not able to defend themselves once they are arrested. Thus, they do not get out of prison and the system is overloaded. Decriminalization of these minor offenses puts them in the municipal courts, where offenders get court summonses rather than being arrested. Another action to address high incarceration rates that I will fight for is to adequately fund the indigent defender program.

Finally, I will strengthen programs that help to combat recidivism, so that we can put a stop to the cycle of crime. Too many young men get caught up in the system too early, and once they are in they are marked for life. We need to show them another way and give them the opportunities and tools they need to thrive in society.


As the councilmember for District “D” we supported many initiatives like the St. Bernard Project and Project Home Again, which we set up with Barnes & Noble and the City to help people become homeowners. I advocated for and helped residents with the soft second mortgage program to assist first-time homebuyers with mortgage payments. I also worked with NORA to offer blighted properties to people who wanted to become homeowners. As Councilmember At Large, I will work not only to help people to become financially stable to buy a home but also to keep the home. We need a strong education program to help people learn skills necessary to maintain their homes.


Cities across the United States are faced with crumbling infrastructures, and New Orleans is no different. Infrastructure is important, not only to our economic development, but to our overall quality of life. It also speaks to our city’s character- are we one that can’t address pot holes and sinking roads, or are we a healthy, vibrant city. New Orleans has been facing the issue of unacceptable streets for decades, but we have been able to begin turning the tide. Investing in our infrastructure is necessary for our long-term development objectives. It is important that we have leadership at the helm who knows how to get an adequate slice of an ever shrinking pie. While I have been councilmember, we have made some $151 million in repairs to hundreds of miles of roads in District “D”. I know how to work within the dynamic parameters of government, how to leverage assets, and how to allocate extremely limited resources to get the job done. I am a big supporter of public transportation, from expanding the streetcar line to improving our bus system. I support organizations like Ride New Orleans who are advocating for a world class, multi-modal transportation system for the city. I will explore ideas for funding more buses on each line and creating transfer stations to improve user experience and efficiency. An important consideration, though, is to look for how we can adequately fund sustainable transportation methods without burdening the poor. Charging too much for public transportation puts an unfair burden on some people who need to use the system to get to work.



While the education system in New Orleans is outside of the purview of the City Council, I will maintain my commitment to our children and continue championing for better schools. We have come a long way in terms of our public school system, but there are still too many of our children being left behind. After-school programs are all the more important. Not only do they offer children a safe place to go where they can avoid trouble, they offer valuable social and educational opportunities. As a professional educator with decades of experience teaching students and as a City Councilmember, I will continue advocating for and directing discretionary funds to educational resources.


Neighborhoods should be made aware, before we start the budget process, of what money is available and what projects cost. This way residents can help identify budget priorities. We need to ensure that everyone in the neighborhood gets a chance to weigh in during the process. I will explore participatory budgeting, which I saw working first hand while part of a delegation in Leads, England. It could involve a budgeting workshop, where people can learn the process, understand what is needed to run a department, and have an opportunity to allocate part of the budget. I support sessions like those that the New Orleans Coalition on Open Governance (NOCOG) has had about the city’s budget process and will look to them for guidance.


While lien foreclosures are part of state laws that are protective of property owner rights, while in the City Council, we have been able to drastically shorten the process. As for code enforcements, the system needs to be overhauled from top to bottom. The codes must be clarified and applied consistently and equally across the board. I support exploring a system of neighborhood-based code enforcement, but there must be universal enforcement in all parts of the city. The city must also invest in more people to enforce the codes that we have on the books. Since Hurricane Katrina, the city’s staff has been drastically reduced to avoid bankruptcy, and we have never restocked human capital. While we are running much more efficiently, we still need more boots on the ground.

Jason Rogers WilliamsMy Neighborhood: UptownFor more information on my campaign: www.runwithjason.com


As an at-large member, I feel it’s the city’s leaders’ job to take the lead in spurring creation of & maintaining good-paying jobs by: supporting long standing industries, encouraging & addressing the needs of new entrepreneurs, large & small scale, encouraging

& supporting local businesses, standardize financial incentives and programs, create, foster & then nationally advertise an incentivized environment in order to recruit non-local entrepreneurs to choose New Orleans as their home, partner with business leaders to be pro-active and look for new development ideas & foster existing business growth, encourage the growth and development of Louis Armstrong International Airport, and work to re-invigorate the Port of New Orleans.


With the above priorities at the forefront, successful implementation of this strategy will need to involve numerous public and private entities all working in the same direction to achieve agreed-upon goals, including: community-based and culturally-specific organizations with specializations ranging from real estate to small business development; private sector leaders and local foundations; financial institutions (including community development financial institutions, community lenders, and financial intermediaries); workforce training organizations (including community colleges, high schools and higher education institutions, and community based workforce development providers); and the City government and other public agencies.


As a leader, I will do all that I can to re-invigorate public confidence in the integrity & ability of the criminal justice system, by focusing on: • smarter criminal justice processes • budgeting proven crime prevention initiatives • inter-agency coordination • efficient management of the cities limited resources • a hyper focus on violent crime reduction strategies while protecting civil rights & liberties • citizen awareness and direct participation • meaningful alternatives to incarceration for youth & non-violent offenders It is no secret that currently NOPD man power is at an all-time low. The NOPD is dangerously under-manned and under-funded. It is also important to note the federal NOPD consent decree still needs to be paid over the next several years. Spending valuable resources, money and man-power on the criminalization of petty drug crimes is ludicrous and flies in the face of national best practices. I will encourage a coordinated and efficient pre-trial diversion and proven release & supervision programs to ensure that valuable city resources are not wasted on non-violent offenders. I will encourage and robustly fund intervention programs such as drug court, mental health court, and re-entry court.


I will clearly communicate an aggressive code enforcement stance against blight. In doing so, I will reevaluate the city’s strategic plan to identify areas for improvement, implement code enforcement best practices, set both short and long-term goals, and set forth objective benchmarks that city officials and employees will be required to achieve. I will commit to the increase of code lien foreclosures. I will keep all neighborhoods informed of our progress through the use of BlighSTAT’s, and I will continuously improve performance measures and content based on its results. I will continuously evaluate code enforcement ordinances and amend them when necessary to maximize effectiveness. I know as a leader that in order to be the most effective it is important to meet with neighborhood organizations and local blight experts to obtain perspective and understanding of the practical application of code enforcements legal framework and areas for improvement. I will also determine whether we currently have the appropriate number of inspectors, hearing facilitators, and hearing officers to ensure that the code enforcement process proceeds seamlessly without bottlenecks. To ensure that this process is efficient I will also identify a stable long-term funding source for code enforcement. I understand that fines alone cannot sustain the funding for code enforcement so I will investigate alternative long-term funding strategies. I will also require regularly scheduled, recurring communication between the Code Enforcement Department and the NOPD to prioritize code enforcement against crime hot-spots and blighted properties identified by the NOPD. I will also create a process, within the Code Enforcement Department, for regularly scheduled, recurring dialogue with individual neighborhood groups and require collaboration between the department and the NORA to maximize effectiveness. I will also introduce and support initiatives to stimulate market interest in acquiring blighted properties.


I envision a city transportation system more akin to the multi-faceted transportation of Amsterdam which not only has a safe and equitable system, but is also state-of-the-art and aesthetically pleasing. I believe that the geographical footprint of New Orleans is small enough to achieve state-of-the-art sustainable transportation that will be used out of necessity for some citizens and used for pleasure by others seamlessly. I envision a transportation network in which an individual can bike safely with scenic views between all New Orleans unique neighborhoods, with some bike paths travelling through major thoroughfares and others cutting through parks and green-spaces such as the Lafitte Corridor, City Park and the Riverfront, etc... These bike paths will also provide safe paths of travel between homes and schools for young people and homes and business for working folks. These paths will be vital thoroughfares for New Orleanians without cars as well as vital community green-space for the residents that live nearby. The green spaces will provide recreational outlets and opportunities for locals and tourists. My vision for a revitalized New Orleans transportation system will also increase transportation options with regard to public transportation focusing on an expansion of the street car to Poland Avenue accompanied by street-scaping and aesthetic revitalization of that corridor. New Orleans is already a strong pedestrian city and a focus on the scenic aesthetic aspects of a multi-tiered transportation system will only further foster pedestrian traffic in the city and consequently promote and encourage economic development.



I will robustly fund the department of youth and family services and make sure that the funding is directly distributed to already existing local non-profits engaged in youth services. Specifically, I will make sure that resources go to hard working non-profits such as the Youth Empowerment Project, the Partnership for youth Development, the Children’s Bureau, and any other community organizations that are already meeting the needs of our youth. I will also implement the use of benchmarks and strategic goals to ramp up the number of youths that can be served. I will ensure that the best practices are implemented into our new Juvenile Justice complex, and engage other civic leaders and local experts to be proactive in our endeavors to improve the quality of life of our young people. I will also coordinate with school and business leaders so that our young people know and are properly prepared for upcoming local job opportunities. This collaboration will allow our local young people to be properly equipped with the necessary workforce training and soft skills to benefit from any new jobs that are scheduled to come on line in our city.


I will initiate quarterly town hall meetings within each district of the city to discuss the macro-issues related to each district with its citizens and follow up with breakout sessions to meet specific micro-needs of the district. I will further encourage a yearlong budget process which will allow more time and more opportunity for citizen participation. This new practice of monthly budget presentations by the Mayor’s Chief Financial Officer to the Council will allow more opportunities for citizen’s engagement and participation which will in turn result in more meaningful input. After these meeting, I will also introduce new procedures that will allow citizen input to occupy a significant part of our council meeting agenda.


First, I will work to develop a process for neighborhood groups and organizations to have real-time discussions regarding the alignment of strategies with code enforcement to basically create a way for regularly scheduled continuous dialogue with neighborhood groups and the code enforcement department, designate a person to coordinating this effort, inform and include all neighborhood groups of this process and the resources that it should provide and work towards strategic goals with neighborhood organizations.


City Council District A

David A. Capasso – Did not respondJason G. Coleman – Responses not received by press timeStephen Gordon – Did not respond

Susan GuidryMy neighborhood: Mid-CityFor more information: www.re-electsusanguidry.com


I fully support the continued expansion of job-training and skills training programs for our residents, such as those offered through JOB1 and the Louisiana Green Corps. We must also continue to foster job-training partnerships through our city’s world-class educational institutions, such as Delgado’s culinary training program with the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office and BPI certification program for energy efficiency contractors. I also support the development of programs that will provide job opportunities for formerly-incarcerated persons, the expansion of home ownership opportunities through the city’s soft second mortgage program and the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority (NORA), and the city’s efforts to attract new jobs that pay good wages to their employees.


As the District A Councilmember, I support the passage of the new Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance (CZO), which promotes principles of sustainability and preserves and enhances the value of structures, communities, and neighborhoods that constitute the distinct places within the City. I also voted to approve the new Neighborhood Participation Plan (NPP), which gives residents a much stronger voice regarding how their particular neighborhoods will be developed. The positive impacts of the city’s economic growth and development at the neighborhood level is also evident through projects in District A like the Mid-City Market and Costco, and along Oak St. and Harrison Ave. These developments have helped to revitalize the neighborhoods in which they’re located.


I support the comprehensive NOLA for Life strategy to reduce violent crime in our city. The Group Violence Reduction Strategy (GVRS) is a particularly important component of this plan that targets gangs and gang activity in the city. The 20-percent reduction in murders we saw in 2013 is a sign that NOLA for Life is ameliorating our violent crime epidemic. As the Chair of the Criminal Justice Committee, I have been a strong advocate for the continued expansion of our pretrial services program, which helps identify those pretrial defendants who are neither a risk of flight nor a risk to public safety, so that they can be released from jail pending trial. This helps ensure that low-level, nonviolent offenders are not needlessly sitting in jail at the city’s expense, while potentially losing their jobs, families, housing, etc. I also fully support legislative changes at the State level to reduce or eliminate mandatory minimum sentences for low-level and nonviolent crimes.


Crumbling streets have been a problem for a long time in New Orleans – too long. When I took office, all that began to change. While city faced an $80 million deficit, and many priorities — like crime, schools, and economic development — were competing for limited resources, I have been working to navigate the system and leverage assets to help fix our streets. And I am please to report that now more than $281 million is being invested in District A road repairs including 41 miles of street reconstruction and streetscapes in our neighborhoods. As a member of the Council’s Transportation Committee, I voted to approve the city’s pedicab pilot program and am working now to make this a permanent transportation option for tourists and residents. Pedicabs are a great way to reduce traffic congestion and carbon emissions, while giving riders a unique and more-intimate experience as they travel through our city. I also voted to approve the city’s Complete Streets program that has helped to significantly increase the number of bike lanes in the city. I also voted to approve the taxi cab reforms that include incentives for cab drivers to make their cars more fuel efficient and ensures that older,

less-efficient cabs will be taken out of the fleet. Lastly, I have been a strong advocate for the development of the Lafitte Greenway, which will significantly increase pedestrian and biking options for residents and visitors


I will continue making it a priority to provide New Orleans’ children with opportunities to flourish and succeed. After Hurricane Katrina, schools were left crumbling and uninhabited. Now I am please to report that more than $300 million is being spent to rebuild and renovate schools in District A. I support the continued expansion of early childhood education and wellness programs that are reaching our disadvantaged populations at a young age, as well as job- and skills-training programs for adolescents such as those offered through JOB1 and the Louisiana Green Corps. I am also a member of the Louisiana Office of Juvenile Justice’s Community Liaison Council, which is working to address the needs of at-risk youth across the State. As the Chair of the Council’s Criminal Justice Committee, I held a committee meeting in August 2013 that focused on the educational and advocacy opportunities that are available to the disadvantaged and at-risk youth of our city through groups such as the Partnership for Youth Development, the Youth Empowerment Project, the APEX Youth Center, the Children & Youth Planning Board, and others. I also support policy and legislative changes at the State and/or local level that will reduce the number of incarcerated youth in our city, and will instead provide them with needed services. I recently received an award from the Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana for my work in advocating for system reform.


Each year since taking office, Mayor Landrieu and I have held a District A budget meeting, whereby residents can come speak directly to the Mayor, myself, and all of the department heads about what issue(s) they believe should be addressed in the following year’s budget. Additionally, I and/or my staff regularly attend neighborhood meetings throughout my district to ensure that I am kept apprised of the issues and other challenges that each neighborhood faces, and to help develop strategies for addressing these challenges through the city budget where possible.

Drew WardMy neighborhood: CarrolltonFor more information: DrewWard.org


This comes down to poverty and access. We currently have the resources and facilities available to meet our education and job training needs, the problem is that in just about every corner of local government, the link between those who can help and those who need

the help is not fully there. We must ensure that be it the marketplace, the government, the education system, or anything else, that all New Orleanians have easy and tenable access to all of it – not just as a customer or spectator, but as a participant and facilitator.

Along with this sort of thing though comes the need to make New Orleans a cheaper place to live and work and run a business. Through working toward reform in how we handle our local property taxation and revenue streams, the tax burden for all New Orleans residents and businesses would be drastically reduced. Since such taxes tend to fall most readily on renters, whilst it would save everyone at all income levels money, it would be the “working poor” who would receive the most benefit.

Additionally, altering the manner in which we regulate and deliver utilities and especially removing the $100 million or so in optional city fees charged to Entergy, Cox, & AT&T which are then passed on to consumers would reduce the monthly bills of most households and small businesses by $300-500 per month. These costs are passed on to consumers on a per account basis and have equal dollar impact regardless of income or home value. Thus the impact on the poorest residents is the worst. The benefit however would be that for the vast majority of households, removing these extra fees would double their existing disposable income (the amount of money most households have to work with after taxes and rent but before utilities, food, etc.).


Redirect economic development dollars to mostly locally grown businesses. In particular I would promote an ordinance dedicating 100% of locally generated economic development funds (those we pay property taxes for here in New Orleans)


to solely funding business development of New Orleans based companies. I believe we need to implement a system of neighborhood-level enterprise centers and business incubators so that we can leverage the massive academic and volunteer capital of our city toward fostering the growth of new local small businesses. Instead of funding cash-heavy out of state corporations toward more big box retail, we should be funding and promoting new locally grown micro-businesses who can eventually produce the things that may be sold in such chain stores. New Orleans once had neighborhood businesses on just about every corner. That needs to be our goal again.


When it comes to local criminal justice and law enforcement you have basically two things you’re dealing with: bad people who do bad things, and good people who do bad things.

Although we’d like to believe otherwise, some people are bad people and well, those bad people will try their best to benefit in life by doing bad things to others. There isn’t a whole lot we can do to keep such people from being criminals. Instead what we have to focus on with this sort of criminal is to make committing crime here in New Orleans much more challenging than is worth their while. This is where stronger police presence, crime cameras, and that sort of thing come in.

What we currently don’t do much with here and what we really can make a big different on is in keeping good people from doing bad things. Just as there are unfortunately some people who are inherently bad, there are luckily more people who are inherently good. Many of these people will never even think about committing a crime. However, many more will at some point find themselves in a situation where circumstances drive them to consider or even carry out criminal acts due to what they perceive as necessity. It’s a matter of good people being driven to doing bad things because they feel they have no other option.

It’s this sort of situation that haunts New Orleans and it’s this sort of crime that we CAN prevent. We don’t just want to keep individual crimes from occurring though, we actually want to work toward rectifying the socioeconomic ills that put so many of our citizens into a situation where doing something illegal is their best perceived option. It again comes down to poverty. The only way we’ll ever truly resolve our crime problem in New Orleans is when we get to a point where our residents find greater potential for opportunity in obtaining their income by working within the economy than by earning a living outside that economy through illegal means.

Fixing that is how we keep good people from becoming criminals, and it’s how we stop this automat of career criminal production we call our local criminal justice system where situation-derived law breakers enter a system as victims and exit that system as career criminals for life.


Absolute musts: The Living with Water Plan. Massive public transit and bikeability/walkability expansion (most blight-ridden areas suffer from poor access to other parts of the city). Poverty-eradication as described above. Considerable expansion of crime cameras via partnership with ProjectNOLA. Combining various independent local governmental entities back into a common city government to enable cost sharing, elimination of redundancies and waste, and to ensure that money for education gets spent educating and not running a bureaucracy instead.


Drastically expand the streetcar network. This can be done via local-option funding mechanisms where those who will receive the financial benefit of a new line spearhead the funding of its construction via temporary local assessments (agreeing to pay a certain amount extra for x amount of time in some sort of taxes or fees) combined with TIFs (tax incremental funding – schemes which allow a government to sell bonds based on projected increases in tax revenue as an effect of a given project and to then dedicate those increases over current levels for a given period of time toward paying off those debts).

This is a nearly ideal funding combination for route expansions and new route development, especially along commercial corridors. Within this vision, I would propose the following with them ranked in order of priority (most urgent and what should be funded first with lower number):

1. Carrollton Connection – reconnecting that missing stretch along Carrollton Ave between Claiborne & Canal.

2. Constructing a new ‘Ridge’ line running from Canal St along Peters, in front of Jackson Square, through the French Market, and up Esplanade (eventually

connecting at Rampart with the Loyola/St Claude line) to City Park (connecting with Canal/Carrollton line), down City Park Ave to Orleans (access to Delgado), continuing down City Park Blvd connecting with Canal/Cemeteries, then on to Metairie Rd and Old Metairie, then finally crossing over Airline via Palmetto St (finally giving that triangle of Hollygrove across Airline access to the rest of the city), connecting with the St. Charles/Carrollton line at Xavier, and eventually continuing on down Washington Ave to Broad St.

3. Expanding the Loyola line first to Rampart & Esplanade, then to Elysian, and finally to the lower nine. However, making sure streetcars do NOT have to share a lane with cars, and seeking funding to further expand the line into Chalmette with express cars also running along the route so that St. Bernard residents can viably access jobs in the urban center on a Park & Ride basis.

4. Expanding the Riverfront line in both directions. First onto Elysian Fields and up to St. Claude (connect with Rampart), then on to Broad/Gentilly (connect with Broad St line and provide access to Dillard, SUNO), further to Robert E. Lee (UNO) and eventually all the way to West End & the marina. In the other direction, take it past the Convention Centre and likely down Tchoupitoulas to Louisiana where it could eventually continue via Louisiana Ave to allow connections with Magazine, St. Charles, Claiborne, & Broad.

5. Broad Street line – like the Rampart line, this is a necessary connector which allows the other routes to be useful to residents as viable transportation and not just as a tourist anomaly. This line would start at the existing car barn on Tchoupitoulas and travel up Napoleon, accessing the (future) Magazine (uptown loop) line, the existing St. Charles line, (future) Claiborne Connector (tram), and continuing along Broad St to Elysian Fields (providing access to the port, hospitals, universities, the courthouse, etc.), connecting along the way with the Riverfront upriver extension at Louisiana, Airport Express / Airline Hwy high-speed tram at Tulane Ave, the Canal line, the Ridge line at Esplanade, and finally the downriver Riverfront extension at Elysian Fields.

6. Magazine Street / Uptown Loop – this would be another restoration of a previously successful line. It would run from Canal Street down Magazine all the way to the Zoo, but just as was the case with the original would run not in a neutral ground setup, but instead along the edges of the roadway occupying the current parking lanes and utilizing the existing sidewalks as loading platforms. The line would continue past the zoo, through the back-side of Audubon Park, onto Leake Ave (river road) and then right onto Broadway Ave, crossing the St. Charles line, then up Broadway through Tulane & Loyola to Claiborne (bisecting eventual Claiborne Connector tram).

And others…I also want to shift the RTA over to a free-free system in which the system is funded

adequately via taxes so that a local ID is all you need to ride the transit system. Tourists and non-residents would still pay for their fares, but locals would enjoy unlimited fare-free access which would speed up loading times, lower commuting expenses for residents, and is shown in other markets to drastically increase ridership rates.

With a greater ridership and a stronger embracing of public transit comes opportunities for major expansions of bikeways and walking areas. Every part of the city should have safe and dedicated bike access to every other part of the city at a minimum.


Lots to this, but dealing with poverty is the first step and having a viable living wage regulation in which tangible benefits are received for educational attainment are key in the least.

Much of this issue has to do with a lack of attention toward adult education and literacy programs. Parents can only do so much to support their children if they have been denied the opportunity to equip themselves with the very skills they need to pass on to their kids.


The creation of Community Development Districts to keep certain city operations at the localized level and with that local control, revenue, and funding decisions.


City Council District C

Jacqueline Brechtel ClarksonMy neighborhood: Pakenham Oaks, AlgiersFor more information: jackieclarkson.com


Cooperation among all levels of government, educational institutions, and private business is crucial. We must work together to implement policies and identify the resources needed to make sure that all of our citizens have access to the training and education they

need to find a place in today’s workforce. (As Council President) I have a clear record of bringing the right people to the table to get the job done. I have worked with Delgado Community College, the City’s Office of Economic Development, and private and public employers to create specialized training for today’s jobs. We are on the right track. We must keep moving forward.


I am proud to have co-authored the legislation that created the public-private partnership NOLA Business Alliance, a group dedicated to identifying the right policies that will grow our economy in smart ways. Clarkson currently sits on the NOLABA board. After a year of working with local business leaders and educational institutions, NOLABA has developed a 5-year plan for targeted economic growth in New Orleans, Prosperity NOLA. Prosperity NOLA is a first of its kind road map to developing specific industries, creating jobs, and developing workforce training and support programs for small businesses and entrepreneurs. I look forward to bringing this plan to fruition in the next four years.


In order to reduce crime, we have to focus equally on our long term and short term priorities. In the short term, we have to get our police force up to strength, with the right training and tools to do the job. As City Council Budget Chairman, I secured funding for five new police recruit classes in 2014, which will put 150 new officers on the streets. We are also making progress on our incarceration rates, but there is still more work to do. We have to work with our local judges to make sure we are only jailing pre-trial defendants who are a threat to public safety or a flight risk. It is not in anyone’s interest to put pre-trial defendants in jail simply because they cannot afford the bond.


In recent years, the City Council Transportation Committee has been working towards the total coordination of our public transit assets in a way that this City has never seen before. Using national models like the Complete Streets program, and leveraging federal dollars, we are on our way to creating a complete system that utilizes many different types of transit and serves many different types of transit users. As policy makers, we have to understand that our transportation infrastructure must serve all citizens, and that each part of the system must work in order for the entire system to work. This is why saving the Algiers ferry has been a top priority for me. It is part of a bigger system, and when one piece of that system is compromised, the whole system suffers.


I spurred the creation of the city’s first charter schools in Algiers. The charter school model allows each school to work as a laboratory for finding and implementing the best strategies for our kids. I will continue to work with the Recovery School District and the Orleans Parish School District to identify which policies are working, and how we can replicate them in all of our schools. Most recently, I have worked with Councilmember (LaToya) Cantrell and the school districts to fund programs that specifically address the needs of our at-risk youth, like counseling and support for expelled and truant students, support for English language learners and early identification of special needs students.


As Budget Chairman, Clarkson has attended hundreds of public meetings so that she remains in tune to the needs and wants of every neighborhood. Clarkson relies on neighborhood leaders to be a voice for their communities, so that she and her colleagues on the City Council can make the right policy decisions when it comes to the City’s budget.

Lourdes A. Moran – Did not respondNadine Ramsey – Did not respond

Carlos J. Williams, Jr.My neighborhood: Huntlee Villagewww.electcarloswilliams.com


To partnership with the local and out of town businesses to offer more internship for all people young and old.


By getting rid of midnight basketball, and offer more internships that will give more work experience to the people of New Orleans.


I was a former Sheriff Deputy in New Orleans Parish Prison, majority of inmates could not read or write and had no work experience, this is why I believe that we must have partnership with local businesses for internship in our city.


I think RTA is doing a good job, I will continue to support them.


I will implement more mentoring programs for our youth.


I would evaluate each part of each district and make a decision based upon the needs of that district.

Eloise A. Williams - Did not respond

City Council District D

Joseph Bouie, Jr.My neighborhood: I live in Gentilly Terrace but I consider the entire District D my neighborhoodFor more information: Dr.BouieDistD.org


The irony is that there are laws and ordinances already in place to address the issues included in this question. The problem is that they are not being enforced. It’s common knowledge that our crime issues


are mostly related to the absence of meaningful jobs and effective educational systems that foster students with a hunger for learning.

My vision is all of the things listed in your question…Seats at the table for everyone with a focus on local residents. Our citizens need jobs and we have jobs but they don’t go to us, they go to out of state businesses who hire out of state employees. I am committed to change this.


Small businesses hire more people than any other business model. Yet small businesses have to struggle to get the appropriate zoning and planning permits. Their denial is mostly related to what type of business will come next…;it’s punishing the ice cream shop for fear that the next business at that location may be a Tee shirt shop. Our zoning should be changed to allow for a “one time” business and if that business fails, then the next business would have to demonstrate it’s appropriateness for the neighborhood without being grand fathered in. Dist D needs pedestrian friendly corridors just like Freret St and Magazine St. These areas increase property values and reduce crime.


Recognizing this trend and keeping with the model that unemployment drives crime and criminal records prevent opportunities for employment, let’s start with ending this cycle. So many of our men have records simply because they were “driving while Black”. First step is to “ban the box”. Men who have arrest records for non violent crimes should not have to disclose this info on employment applications. I get the arrest records from the NOPD 3rd district every week. It really discourages me to see the number of males who are getting arrested for, stealing baby formula, for stealing diapers, for stealing laundry detergent…etc. These are crimes committed by males who are simply trying to keep their family alive. These are thefts for survival and should not result in the total destruction of the individual.


New Orleans has always been recognized for its transportation system. I question however, the amount of money that was spent to build a streetcar line that runs from Canal St to the Bus terminal. I’m also concerned that it appears that most of the buses that used to travel Canal St. are being diverted to back streets as if to keep the faces of our service industry also on the back streets. Lastly, the whole concept of “express” buses in my opinion is designed to allow certain riders to pay an extra fee to by pass minority neighborhoods. Minorities can ride on the express buses because they don’t stop in their neighborhoods. As a result, these express busses are virtually empty which is a waste of RTA resources.


A comprehensive educational system includes academics, sports and the arts. I would put NORD programs in the schools during the school day with sports, music and the arts. Many parents can’t afford the after school programs or deal with the transportation associated with after school programs. Also, the Milne site should not be used for NORD Administration Offices but be used for a boarding school for young boys.


This is long overdue! In our current process the haves continue to get more at the expense of other neighborhoods. NPN is a great start to create district councils that can work to develop the budgets for their neighborhoods.

Jared C. BrossettMy neighborhood: Gentilly TerraceFor more information: www.jaredbrossett.com

What is your vision for making sure that New Orleans is an inclusive and equitable community that expands educational and employment opportunities, reduces poverty,

and fosters a strong and diverse middle class?Making New Orleans a safer, more affordable city for working families is my #1

goal. To accomplish that, I believe we must focus on three critical tasks: First, our citizens need more and better jobs. Second, our citizens must feel safe on our streets and in their homes. And finally, our city’s crumbling infrastructure must be rebuilt to foster economic growth. I plan to promote affordable housing by battling blight and strategically rebuilding infrastructure to maximize impact in hardest-hit neighborhoods. I will also advocate for safer, better neighborhood-centered schools that serve as community centers for services.


We have to invest more in our citizens by expanding opportunities for continuing education and training programs so that we are cultivating a prepared workforce that will attract business development, not just at the “big-box” level, but at the neighborhood level as well.


I will pursue any and all strategies to improve working conditions in our police department. It’s important that we address low retention rates at NOPD. Exploring how we offer competitive wages is a significant part of that. Our officers should feel secure in remaining here and being able to support their families. Strategic and aggressive recruitment is vital to ensuring that our police officers are familiar with our communities and better able to address the needs and concerns of each individual neighborhood.

We must also continue increasing access to opportunity. From early childhood education like Head Start to working with community leaders to provide summer jobs for students, it’s our responsibility to give our children every opportunity at earning an honest and sustainable living rates.


With the recent addition of the Loyola Ave. streetcar line, we are seeing positive progress on this front already. Plans for the Rampart St./ St. Claude Ave. line should be followed through on to increase accessibility to and from the Upper 9th Ward, the Marigny, and Bywater neighborhoods. I’ll also support the exploration of how we can increase frequency and bolster reliability of each mode of public transportation in New Orleans.


Equally as important are the concerns in Juvenile Justice. Too many young children are filling up juvenile court on a daily basis and that must change. I will support programs such as intensive case management, mentoring and educational services to at-risk New Orleans youth. I will work with local and state leaders to secure funding that supports recreational programs and other best practices that have been proven as effective means of decreasing high school drop out rates.


I support performance-based budgeting and a year-round budgeting process that allows each neighborhood to submit a list of priorities.

Dalton Savwoir, Jr.My neighborhood: GentillyFor more information: daltonsavwoir.com, [email protected] and (504) 282-7086


My vision for New Orleans is as a city with a diverse economy with plenty of high-quality, well-paying job opportunities. We will get to this vision by having a better educated workforce. We need to improve education


from pre-K to graduate school. We also need job specific training to ensure that New Orleanians are hired and not just people moving in from out of town. The new VA and LSU medical centers provide a great employment opportunity, but only if our residents have the skills needed for those jobs and are given priority in hiring.

In the past, New Orleans has been too reliant on the oil and gas and tourism economies, which are cyclical. The growing bio-medical industry is a good start to diversifying, but we also need to look at growing the green energy, coastal restoration, technology, and other sectors to have a diverse economy. Given the entrepreneurial nature of New Orleans, I want to focus on fostering our small, local, and disadvantaged businesses instead just attempting to attract businesses from other cities.


Often economic development focuses on attracting medium to large businesses to the city, but this strategy tends to benefit only downtown and not neighborhoods across the city. I would focus on growing our small, neighborhood businesses. By growing businesses across the city, this would create economic growth in every neighborhood. To do this, I would expand the Administration’s economic development programs like the Goldman Sach’s 10,000 Small Business program, the Fresh Food Retailer Initiative, the Small Business Assistance Fund, and the City’s Disadvantage Business Enterprise (DBE) program. Thus far there has been no enforcement of the 35% requirement for DBE’s.


In order to decrease the crime rate, we need to address the root causes which are a lack of opportunity for our residents, especially our youth. To address this, we need to invest more in education, after-school and recreation programs, and job training program to ensure New Orleans are able to get good jobs. We also need more police officers working on the street. Compared to other cities, we have a smaller percentage of officers who work on the street. We need to more effectively deploy our officers, so there are less officers sitting behind a desk and more on the streets.


New Orleans roads are crumbling, our streetlights are still dark, and our neighborhoods flood when it rains. The City does not properly fund road, streetlight, and drainage repairs. If we want to improve our roads, then we need to fund it. I will increase funding for infrastructure.

In 2013, the City only budgeted $2.6 million for street and drainage maintenance, and just $200,000 for minor street light repairs. This is simply not enough. The City’s latest Results NOLA report indicated that pothole and streetlight repairs will drop the last 3 months of 2013 because Public Works is out of money.

The City got hundreds of million dollars in Hazard Mitigation Grant Funds from the Federal government. This City is spending this money on public buildings like a new City Hall. I would use this money to improve drainage to prevent flooding in our neighborhoods. If we want our transportation infrastructure to be sustainable, then we need to spend enough to maintain it.


This is an area where I wish that City Council had more control. As a teacher, I understand the importance of education. Unfortunately, with multiple school districts and dozens of Charter School operators, there is no one entirely responsible for the youth of New Orleans.

From the city’s perspective, I would invest in our youth, starting at an early age. Early Childhood Education programs have the best results in improving educational performance. In addition, I would support after-school tutoring programs, sports, and recreation programs with the NORD Commission to keep our students engaged in productive activities after school hours.


The current process for developing the budget is almost completely controlled by the Mayor. By the time the Mayor hosts his budget meetings in August, most of the decisions have already been made. I would start the budget conversation earlier in the year to engage more residents. I would also support alternative budget procedures, such as Participatory Budgeting (PB), where residents get to decide how part of the city’s budget is spent. PB is a national best practice that has been successful in New York City, Chicago, and Vallejo, California, and is part of the White House’s Open Government National Action Plan.

City Council District E

James A. Gray, II – Did not respond

Andre KellyMy neighborhood: Village de L’EstFor more information: www.electandrekelly.org


I would like to see New Orleans invest heavily into all its children. Where unique skills, recreation, exposure to other places and cultures, as well as great paying jobs are not only for the elite, but are found in every school, park, and business community. My vision for this city is create an environment not only where the children can thrive, but where it’s safe, easy to shop in, and fun to look at.


I would foster entrepreneurship opportunities. For the most part, these are present in abundance, but I would connect the ideas of the people with the business management skills, funding sources, and networks of the incubators and think tanks that may be already in place.


I would provide alternatives to punitive punishment for non-violent offenders. I would seek to deter such behavior by avoiding to fill the jailhouse whenever possible and require offenders to serve their communities or local churches. The slowing of this trend would be a whole person approach to avoid institutionalizing the minds of the citizens.


I would seek to involve the local business community to create an academic excellence reward program. This would serve as an incentive to achieve in school and provide a sense of pride and accomplishment. Also, I would provide alternatives to punitive punishment for non-violent offenses so as to not institutionalize the minds of the child, such as community, senior and service to the local churches.


I would maintain a constant presence at neighborhood association meetings and host independent community meetings to discuss the budget prior to budget negotiations and passage.

Cynthia Willard-LewisMy neighborhood: BarringtonFor more information: 504-241-3500


New Orleans East is a major employment center with active industrial operations in the area, including a Folgers coffee roasting plant, the NASA Michoud assembly plant, Trinity Yacht builders, a major UPS distribution facility, Bunny Bread Bakery, and the

Luzianne Coffee and tea plant. Also located in New Orleans East are New Orleans’ Lakefront Airport, the Coastal Education and Research Facility, the Orleans Marina and South Shore Harbor, three new and used car lots, and four hotels. District E composes 60% of the City’s Land mass and gives direct access to Deepwater ports, highways, railroads and airports. This makes us a tremendous Economic Engine for expansion of business development for the City. The critical issue is the connection of citizens to employment opportunities and availability of qualified and motivated workers, it begins with education and workforce development. Mentoring and shadowing opportunities


that prepare young people for the stimulating jobs of the future including the health care, hotel management, tourist, technical industries. It’s a personal goal of mine to attract more employment opportunities for the City by informing potential employment centers that we have quality workforce and assuring that educational experiences stress,work ethics, career choices and training.

I envision a New Orleans that is thriving as a whole city, which includes areas like eastern New Orleans and the Historic Lower 9th Ward. My vision is to work with my partner Council Members to expand opportunities for all of our citizens. I would like to work with education partners like our charter schools to develop a program that will prepare young men and women for meaningful careers so that employers will not have to look outside of our city to find quality workers. New Orleans east will soon see a surge of new jobs with Wal-Mart and Methodist Hospital on the horizon. It is my vision that these new jobs will go to deserving residents of New Orleans.


I will support the Prosperity NOLA -A Plan to Drive Economic Growth for 2018. A major part of our objective is to spur entrepreneurship and economic

development to New Orleans East and the Lower 9th Ward by bringing professional business offices, quality shopping, dining, music, entertainment, visual arts, family fun and cultural offerings, while serving another important goal of preserving and revitalizing the essence of the New Orleans East community and its resources.

These goals are very essential to our community. It is both a personal and professional goal of mine to see it all accomplished. Of course with your help in shaping this community these goals become more than just a dream, it becomes a reality.

Personally, I would like to seek out businesses and encourage them to bring their business to multiple parts of the city, especially areas like eastern New Orleans to encourage diversity of economic development. I think that partnering with my fellow councilmembers, we can develop a strategy of encouraging business to expand their reach to multiple parts of the city. By doing this, the city can see development in multiple areas. Additionally, New Orleans east has seen far more neighborhood involvement since ENONAC (East New Orleans Neighborhood Advisory Commission) was founded. Now, residents have more of a voice in seeing what is coming to the east and a seat at the table when developers plan out what they are bringing to the area.


I would try to start with our youth as young as Kindergarten age and their parents, by encouraging early intervention with mentoring programs and parental engagement (education) programs that will develop character. Additionally, I would encourage our sheriff, as much as budgets allow, to try to implement or improve existing programs that allow prisoners to gain skills while in jail so that they will be useful citizens upon their release. Education, parental involvement, career development, workforce training opportunities, second choice programs, drug court sentencing alternatives and prison rehabilitation including job training strategies are all parts of the crime solution. Together, with youth programs we will help build character and confidence in our next generation of leaders.


I will expand the street Car line down St. Claude to Poland Avenue and ensure all bus stops and shelters are ADA compliant. It has always been a vision of mine to provide a key biking and walking connection between different neighborhoods, and moreover connections to the public transits stops. It is my intent to promote healthy living, alternative transportation sources, environment friendly tract, pedestrian safety and family fun. “By making active transportation a viable option for everyday travel, we will cost-effectively reduce oil dependence, climate pollution and obesity rates while providing more and better choices for getting around town.” (Active Transportation for America 3)


I have always championed the efforts to bring back parks, playgrounds and swimming pools in District E. I think young people having access to quality extracurricular activities will reduce their attraction to juvenile delinquency. I also think continued efforts to return many of our NORD playgrounds to their previous strengths will give children the chance to become involved in structured team activities and may encourage more positive experiences for youth.


First, we must educate the public on the Capital Improvement Projects (CIP) budgeting process, prior to adoption of a budget. As I have always done I will continue to work closely with the neighborhoods when identifying and obligating funds.


The following questions were submitted to candidates for the New Orleans mayoral and city council by a coalition of local organizations including the Neighborhoods Partnership Network, the Greater New Orleans Housing Alliance, Puentes New Orleans, The Lens and the Committee for a Better New Orleans and cover topics such as housing, open governance, storm water management, and blight. All candidates were invited to participate in the survey, although not all participated.

H 2014 ELECTION SCORE CARD H

*DNR = Candidate did not respond, or

responded by letter instead of by yes or no

answer


Algiers Point Association1st Thursday of the month7 p.m.Visit www.algierspoint.org for location.

Algiers Presidents’ Council 4th Tuesday of the month 7 p.m.Woldenberg Village - 3701 Behrman Placewww.anpcnola.org

Broadmoor Improvement Association3rd Monday of every other month7 p.m.Andrew H. Wilson Charter School Cafeteria3617 General Pershing Streetwww.broadmoorimprovement.com

Bunny Friend Neighborhood AssociationEvery other Saturday of the monthMt. Carmel Baptist Church3721 N. Claiborne [email protected]

Bywater Neighborhood Association2nd Tuesday of the month7 p.m.Holy Angels Cafeteria3500 St. Claude Avenuewww.bywaterneighbors.com

Carrollton Riverbend Neighborhood Association2nd Thursday of the monthSt. Andrew’s Episcopal Church Parish Hall1031 S. Carrollton Avenue

Carrollton United2nd Monday of the month - 5 p.m.St. John Missionary Baptist ChurchLeonidas Avenue and Hickory Streetwww.healthyneworleans.org

Central City Renaissance Alliance (CCRA)3rd Tuesday of each month6:00pmMahalia Jackson Early Childhood & Family Learning Center2405 Jackson Avenuewww.myccra.org

Chapel of the Holy Comforter4th Thursday of the month6:30 p.m.2200 Lakeshore Drive

Claiborne-University Neighborhood AssociationQuarterly meetings (Date and time TBA)Jewish Community Center5342 St. Charles Avenue

Downtown Neighborhoods Improvement Association (DNIA)Last Tuesday of each month7 p.m.Joan Mitchell Center2275 Bayou Road

DeSaix Neighborhood Association2nd Saturday of the month10 a.m.Langston Hughes Academy3519 Trafalgar Streetdanadesaix.org

East New Orleans Neighborhood Advisory Committee2nd Tuesday of the month6 p.m.St. Maria Goretti Catholic Church7300 Crowder Boulevardwww.enonac.org

Edgewood Park Neighborhood Association1st Saturday of the month 10 a.m.New Hope Community Church3708 Gentilly Blvd.

Faubourg Delachaise Neighborhood Association Quarterly meetings Visit http://fdna-nola.org for details.

Faubourg St. John Neighborhood Association Board Meeting – 2nd Monday of the month7 p.m.Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Cafeteria1368 Moss Streethttp://www.fsjna.org

Faubourg St. Roch Improvement Association 2nd Thursday of the month 6 p.m.True Vine Baptist Church2008 Marigny Street

Filmore Gardens Neighborhood Association4th Thursday of the month(no meetings in November and December)6:30 p.m.Project Home Again5506 Wickfield Street

Garden District AssociationVisit www.gardendistrictassociation.com forannual meeting information.

Gentilly Civic Improvement Association (GCIA)3rd Saturday of the month6:30 p.m.Edgewater Baptist Church5900 Paris Avenuewww.facebook.com/gentillycivic

Gentilly Heights East Neighborhood Association3rd Monday of the month6 p.m.Dillard University, Dent Hall – Room 104

Gentilly Sugar Hill Neighborhood Association3rd Monday of the month6:30 p.m.Volunteers of America2929 St. Anthony Avenue

Gentilly Terrace and Gardens Improvement Association2nd Wednesday of the month7 p.m.Gentilly Terrace School4720 Painters Streetwww.gentillyterrace.org

Hoffman Triangle Neighborhood Association2nd Tuesday of the month5:30 p.m.Pleasant Zion Missionary Baptist Church3327 Toledano Streethoffmantriangle.org

Hollygrove Neighbors AssociationQuarterly on Saturdays12 p.m.St. Peter AME Church3424 Eagle StreetEmail [email protected] for dates

Holy Cross Neighborhood Association2nd Thursday of the month5:30 p.m.Center for SustainabilityGreater Little Zion Missionary Baptist Church5130 Chartres Street

Irish Channel Neighborhood Association2nd Thursday of the month7 p.m.Irish Channel Christian Fellowship819 First Streetwww.irishchannel.org

Lake Bullard Home Owners AssociationCornerstone United Methodist Church5276 Bullard AvenueVisit lakebullard.org for meeting schedule

Lake Catherine Civic Association2nd Tuesday of the month7 p.m.Email [email protected] for location information

Lake Willow Neighborhood2nd Saturday of the month10 a.m.St. Maria Goretti Church

Lower Ninth Ward Neighborhood Empowerment Network Association2nd Saturday of the month12 p.m.1120 Lamanche Streetwww.9thwardnena.org

Lower Ward Ninth Ward Stakeholders Coalition1st and 3rd Wednesday of the month5:30 p.m.1800 Deslonde Street

NeighborhoodMeetings


Get connected to the Neighborhoods Partnership Network.Post news & events for your organization at NPNnola.com


Ask City Hall

Melia Subdivision2nd Saturday of the month5 p.m.Anchored in Christ Church4334 Stemway

Mid-City Neighborhood Organization2nd Monday of the month6 p.m. – meet & greet6:30 p.m. – neighborhood meetingWarren Easton High School3019 Canal Streetwww.mcno.org

Milneburg Neighborhood Association4th Thursday of the month6:30 p.m.Chapel of the Holy Comforter2200 Lakeshore Drive

The New St. Claude Association of Neighbors1st Thursday of the month 7 p.m.Pierre’s Hall4138 St. Claude Avenuewww.newstclaude.assocn.nscan.com

New Zion City Preservation Association1st Monday of the month 7 p.m.APEX Youth Center4360 Washington Ave.

Oak Park Civic Association3rd Thursday of the month6:30 p.m.Edgewater Baptist Church5900 Paris Avenuewww.facebook.com/OakParkNewOrleans

Paris Oaks/Bayou Vista Neighborhood AssociationLast Saturday of the month4 p.m.Third District Police Station4650 Paris Avenue

Pensiontown of Carrollton Neighborhood Association1st Saturday of the month2 p.m.Leonidas House Community Center1407 Leonidas Street

Pilotland Neighborhood Association3rd Saturday of the month 3 p.m.Pentecost Baptist Church Fellowship Hall1510 Harrison Avenue

Pontilly AssociationPontilly Disaster Collaborative - 3rd Wednesday of the monthGeneral Meeting – 2nd Saturday of the month3869 Gentilly Blvd., Suite C

Rosedale SubdivisionLast Friday of the month5:30 p.m.Greater Bright Morning Star Baptist Church4253 Dale Street

Seventh Ward Neighborhood Association3rd Saturday of the month1 p.m.St. Augustine High School2600 A.P. Tureaud [email protected]

Seabrook Neighborhood Association2nd Monday on the monthGentilly Terrace School4720 Painter StreetEmail [email protected] for times

Tall Timbers Owners Association2nd Wednesday in April & October7 p.m.

Tunisburg Square Homeowners Civic Association, Inc.2nd Monday of the month6:30 p.m.Visit tunisburg.org for location information

Village de L’Est Improvement Association1st Tuesday of every other month7 p.m.Einstein Charter School5100 Cannes Street

West Barrington Association1st Tuesday of the month6 p.m.Holiday Inn Express7049 Bullard Avenue


Send your neighborhood meeting details to: [email protected]

District A Susan G. GuidryCity Hall, Room 2W801300 Perdido StreetNew Orleans, LA 70112Phone: (504) 658-1010Fax: (504) 658-1016Email: [email protected]

District B LaToya CantrellCity Hall, Room 2W101300 Perdido StreetNew Orleans, LA 70112Phone: (504) 658-1020Fax: (504) [email protected]

District CKristin Gisleson PalmerCity Hall, Room 2W701300 Perdido StreetPhone: (504) 658-1030Fax: (504) 658-1037Email: [email protected]

District DCynthia Hedge-MorrellCity Hall, Room 2W201300 Perdido StreetPhone: (504) 658-1040Fax: (504) 658-1048E-mail: [email protected]

District EJames Austin Gray IICity Hall, Room 2W601300 Perdido StreetNew Orleans, LA 70112Phone: (504) 658-1050Fax: (504) 658-1058Email: [email protected]

Council Member-At-LargeStacy HeadCity Hall, Room 2W401300 Perdido StreetPhone: (504) 658 -1060Fax: (504) 658-1068Email: [email protected]

Council Member-At-LargeJacquelyn ClarksonCity Hall, Room 2W501300 Perdido StreetNew Orleans, LA 70112Phone: (504) 658-1070Fax: (504) 658-1077Email: [email protected]

Neighborhoods Partnership Network3321 Tulane AvenueNew Orleans, LA 70119 504.940.2207 • FX 504.940.2208 [email protected]

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The Trumpet - January/February 2014

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Transcript of The Trumpet - January/February 2014