Ok, it may be a little early to prepare a Christmas wish list.
Especially if it’s one for Shreveport’s next mayor to magically resolve.
For starters, this person will not be selected until the December 8 run-off election.
Secondly, one does not know if the next/new mayor has been “good “ all year. Or, even believes in Santa.
And lastly, this list may just a little more than Santa can accomplish.
But why not ask?? Shreveport already has many bags of coal.
Where to begin, without slighting even the most ardent government critics?
Now that SPD Chief Crump is retiring, a new (permanent) police chief must be selected.
After that, Shreveport’s crime rate, or the perception of the same, tops just about everyone’s list of social ills.
The continuing problems with Shreveport’s water bill fiasco seeming has no end. The arrest of the supervisor this past week is just another example.
And close on the heels of these two certainly is the lack of good meaningful jobs for all sectors of Shreveport’s population base.
Another is the continued loss of Shreveport’s population.
The large number of Shreveport citizens living below the federally defined poverty rate and those living paycheck to paycheck is staggering and , according to the United Way of Northwest Louisiana and growing.
Continued decline of the “inner city” is becoming more and more of an economic drain on the city. Not only is it eroding tax revenues, but it also requires more budget expenses for grass cutting.
And the list could go on, and on, and on.
No, the world has not come to an end in Shreveport, and it certainly will not during the next mayor’s four year term.
However progress does need to begin on issues that have not been adequately addressed, and in many instances, have been growing for quite some time.
The December 8 election is barely 4 weeks away. Its time for the 2 mayoral contenders to give answers to hard questions.
After all, who really believes in Santa Claus?
(This article was/will be published in The Shreveport Times on Sunday, November 11, 2018)