BILLY ROY WAYNE

Being married and remaining together for over 40 years has taught me much about patience and personality(ies). A major lesson I have learned from marriage is that spouses should not allow issues and concerns to build up over months and years without addressing such.

This only serves to allow concerns to “simmer” and “brew,” and eventually the lid shall blow!

The Shreveport City Council meeting on Dec. 8 had various elements of a marriage which had allowed things to linger.

For one thing, certain members of the council appeared to be “fed up” with the criminal activities within the city, homicides in particular. This was especially true for their respective districts.

The questions, back-and-forth verbiage and the apparent impatience between the Shreveport police chief and council members was like a television reality show.

It was as though the husband and wife tandem were saying, “It’s not my fault; it’s yours.” This kind of friction didn’t speak well of our leaders.

Nor should tensions have ever been allowed to escalate to this level.

For this writer, I sometimes feel in my observations of certain leaders that they seek drama. They wish to show their constituents, or their department officials, that they publicly will make it known that “I got y’all’s backs.” Yet, an element of professional protocol is always in order. The homicides occurring in this city are tragic and deserve attention.

No one particular police chief or city ad

No one particular police chief or city administrator or council is to be totally blamed. It is a sum total of leaders failing to prioritize communities over the years.

It is also a referendum on communities who fail to “police” their own. It is, and has been, a grave error for leaders to assume that one can have a vibrant, beautiful and growing city when many of our neighborhoods are dying, dead and doomed.

So, here’s my point! And, I have said it for years. STOP electing persons who are not ready to lead and who appoint those who are not ready to lead. The litmus test must be what they are bringing to the table before being elected or appointed.

THIS ARTICLE WAS PUBLISHED IN THE December 11 ISSUE OF FOCUS SB - THE INQUISITOR.