They will be has-beens on Saturday.

Eight years of public service will have ended.

Their lives, and that of their families, will never be the same.

Jeff Everson, Oliver Jenkins, and Mike Corbin were sworn in as new Shreveport council members in Dec. 2010.

Once sworn into office, their personal privacy all but vanished. And what was touted as a part-time job meeting eight times a month, soon became a daily duty.

They quickly became moving targets for those that wanted to gripe about anything. Whether the complaint was related to Shreveport’s city government or not.

They were the only council members to serve while Cedric Glover and Ollie Tyler were mayors. They experienced substantial differences in the two administrations.

They voted consistently on most major issues that came before the council. Their votes were based on what was best for their district and the city.

And when the two conflicted, they put the city first. Sometimes they were “heroes” or “goats” or both.

They had excellent attendance records at council meetings as well as the council committee meetings. They read and studied the agendas and the issues that were subject to their votes.

They accommodated the media and did not dodge questions on their decision making.

Each relied on their backgrounds in providing major roles on the council.

With Everson, it was his prior employment as an urban planner. Jenkin’s military career equipped him with a keen sense of organizational structure and planning. Corbin’s financial background served him well as the audit/money guru on the Council.

In eight years they dealt with controversial zoning appeals, street repair ordinances, and budget issues.

Some of the more publicized issues that landed at the council include the dog park, LA 3132, Unified Development Code, EPA Consent Decree, I-49 Inner City Connector, property taxes, maintenance of city buildings and the two Cross Bayou development proposals.

Everson represented District B, Jenkins District C, and Corbin District D.

LeVette Fuller follows Everson, John Nichelson will replace Jenkins. Grayson Boucher succeeds Corbin. Their first council meeting will be at noon Saturday, Dec. 29.

All three set high bars for their successors—both individually and collectively.

(This article was/will be published in The Inquisitor on Friday, December 28, 2018.)