Leadership
Our local government deserves new leadership with a clear vision.
I have traveled the country with the Small Business Administration (SBA). I’ve seen firsthand the quality of life that effective local governments are building in places that don’t have half of the resources that Baton Rouge has.
I am running to create a vision for real, tangible change and provide the leadership to get it done. I am running to create a culture of excellence, transparency, and a brighter future for the Capital Region.
Together, we can push Baton Rouge to not just reach her potential, but exceed it.
Public Safety
As a father, I have a vested interest in and am committed to keeping our neighborhoods safe for all EBR families. People no longer feel safe in our community. Public safety is the most basic function of local government and a basic human need. When we feel safe, we can stop focusing on merely surviving and start thriving. We will strengthen public safety by overcoming staffing shortages in our law enforcement agencies, improving incident response times, ensuring that officers have the best training to fight crime, and focus on improving morale between our officers and parish leadership.
As Mayor-President, I will:
- Improve pay, recruitment, and retention strategies.
- Employ a Whole-of-Government Approach, bringing together leadership from all law enforcement agencies, the District Attorney’s Office, Public Defender’s Office, and judges to enhance communication and joint public safety strategies.
- Take the lead on improving our community’s relationship with law enforcement by expanding community initiatives and youth programs. Such initiatives will include community violence intervention and group violence intervention programs.
- Develop multi-agency task forces and specialized units to address violent crimes, gangs and narcotics.
Education
The link between crime and education is crystal clear. We must increase our investment in the education and development of our young people. Early childhood education reduces the chance of a future encounter with the criminal legal system by 20%. What we are doing now just isn’t working. According to a 2022 Baton Rouge Area Foundation study, 32% of the children who attended Head Start in our community earned a zero in kindergarten readiness. In addition, the Louisiana Department of Education noted that all five local Head Start centers are not meeting the basic standards that the state requires.
We can’t afford to fail our children. I know that education isn’t strictly a city-parish function. But, as your Mayor-President, I won’t use that as an excuse. I will partner with educational leadership to make sure every child has access to the highest quality of education we can offer.
As Mayor-President, I will:
- Rebuild our early childhood education program by focusing on quality and efficiency. In 2022, the early childhood program had $18.2M in available revenue. They failed to spend 44% of the money. They were funded to support an enrollment of 1,207 children but only supported 813 children. Throwing more money at a problem without fixing leadership and execution will not improve the outcomes which are also exceptionally poor.
- Partner with outside organizations with a proven track record of success to provide high quality early childhood education.
- Enact a Mayor’s Literacy Program during the summer months to ensure that our young people have every opportunity for enrichment and work to increase the number of young people in our jobs program and incorporate more financial literacy within the program.
- Work with the District Attorney and School Board on recommendations to address truancy. We have over 80% of students in some of our schools chronically absent.. Nothing good happens when adolescents are spending their days on the streets instead of in the classroom preparing for a productive future.
Housing
As a lifelong Baton Rouge resident, it pains me to see the growing housing crisis in our parish. Homeless encampments have become commonplace in every part of East Baton Rouge. It isn’t good for our neighborhoods, and it’s not good for our neighbors who are living outside during harsh Louisiana summer days, especially as we face natural disasters. As a former housing policy advisor for the state of Louisiana, I am also frustrated by the growing number of blighted and adjudicated properties that are decaying, hurting neighborhoods, and not servicing our community. I have the experience and knowledge required to lead on this issue. Our current reality is unacceptable and as your next Mayor-President I refuse to accept it.
As Mayor-President, I will:
- Convene the Housing Authority, local housing non-profits, and the philanthropic community to develop a comprehensive plan to build more affordable housing in the Parish. While it is true that homelessness is a result of physical, mental, and emotional needs of the homeless, cities must also help create the economic environment that allows people to thrive. Right now, our housing is undersupplied and we need to build.
- Reject a one-size-fits-all approach to housing. Some neighborhoods may require more single family units while others may need complex investment.
- Expand the Parish approach to addressing issues related to homelessness from merely shelters to permanent supportive housing options. Supportive housing combines housing with case management and supportive services, and is an established solution to make homelessness nonrecurring.
Economic Development
As the former Administrator for the Small Business Administration (SBA), I understand that small businesses are the engines of our economy. Supporting business, both big and small, is vital to a stronger economic base in our parish. As your SBA Administrator, I witnessed examples from across the country of how local business owners are building the economy and culture of their communities. That is how we become stable and how we keep revenues in our community. I will work to make East Baton Rouge the best Parish in Louisiana to start and run a business.
As Mayor-President, I will:
- Provide better alignment for our workforce and economic development functions to create a better climate for small businesses.
- Streamline the city approval and permit processes. This includes creating a portal for businesses looking to relocate or expand and fast tracking permit applications online.
- Actively recruit new companies, in partnership with the Baton Rouge Area Chamber and Louisiana Economic Development, that will provide well paying jobs to our residents.
- Prioritize programs to support underserved business areas in the parish, such as Baton North Economic Development District, North Baton Rouge Chamber of Commerce, Baton Rouge Metropolitan Black Chamber and the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
St. George
I opposed the creation of St. George. I authored bills twice in the legislature opposing it. The Supreme Court has ruled. This is the time for moving forward. We are all East Baton Rouge Parish.
We’ve had four cities and now we have five. The job of keeping our families safe, providing needed infrastructure, education and economic opportunity to every citizen of the parish has not changed. As I said when we kicked off our campaign, my commitment is to every citizen in this parish.
There are still many unanswered questions, but one thing I know: now, more than ever, this parish deserves a Mayor-President who can unite the people of East Baton Rouge. Now is the time to ensure that this implementation goes as smoothly and fairly as possible for all parties.