Tabatha H. Taylor of Shreveport has been appointed as interim Shreveport City Councilman for District A, replacing Willie who retired.
Although she has never run for political office before, she said, “I’ve been very active in the community ever since I moved back here in 1996. One of the things I have been actively involved in is autism and raising awareness to this broad epidemic, but I also make sure that I stay engaged locally with civic and state and even federal activities.”
She said she plans to run for the position this fall, even though she does not have a campaign committee set up yet. “I just wanted to do first things first,” she said.
After being officially sworn in, Taylor immediately hit the ground running. “Have I been out in my community already? Of course,” she said. “I went out Friday taking pictures, looking at some things, gathering a list and sending some things to our property standards and to our public works department.”
She is a member of Union Mission Baptist Church, which is pastored by the Rev. James Green, councilman for District F, but she said she will not be swayed or influenced by her city council colleague. “I’ve always been an independent thinker,” Taylor said.
“Our districts are different. My district is one of the largest ones in the city from the highest property taxes to the low end, but I look forward to being able to work with all of my colleagues in a bipartisan way.”
One of Taylor’s first issues to deal with will be on the agenda at the May 26 meeting of the city council — an ordinance amendment introduced by Green to prohibit the discharge of fireworks in Shreveport’s residential areas. How does she plan to vote on this issue?
“I can’t tell you how I plan to vote on that,” she said. “I will have to actually gather some more information regarding it. And then from there I will know how to proceed.”
The discharging of fireworks has long been a hot-button topic locally. Does she think the sale of fireworks in the city limits should be prohibited? “No,” she said, “I don’t think it should be prohibited.”
Why not? “I enjoy fireworks myself,” she said.
Has Taylor reviewed the proposed budget cuts of $19 million-plus by the administration? If so, does she agree with all of them? If not, which ones does she disagree with?
“Any cut to public safety is something we can’t afford,” she said. “So I think that what has to be done is discussion because we can’t compromise public safety.
“What has to be done is a discussion I will have with the administration regarding that. Just having a general knowledge of it, I know how important it is for our community as a whole to feel safe. This is definitely something I want to go in and have a discussion on.”
When asked if there are any ordinances that she wants to propose or have amended, she said, “Not at the moment.”
Are there any pet projects that she sees in her district that need attention to which she would like to bring awareness? She said there are quite a few projects in her district that are warranted, “and a lot of that is going to come from property standards, where we’re looking at the potholes that we have, but we’re in the middle of a pandemic, and I understand that. So it really is going to take for me to go in and to see what is accessible, what we are looking at budget-wise, what are some of the immediate things that I can do.
“One of the things that I even worked on before even taking this council seat was a unified database for individuals with disabilities and mental health issues.” She said these issues are very important to her because her son has autism. “I know that when police or fire have to respond, it provides for them a level of information that they know that if a person is paralyzed, if a person is hearing-impaired, then they would actually know how to go in and confront that particular issue.”
With the start of hurricane season near, she said, “this particular database also helps with preparation and plans for our most vulnerable with Homeland Security. So those are a number of discussions I have planned on having this week.”
How does she feel about taking on the duties of a councilman? “Of course, I’m eager, because you want to do the best job, and you want to make sure that you represent your district well,” she said, having grown up in District A. “I’m eager to meet with my neighborhood association presidents. I’m eager for them to meet one another. I want to hear the concerns of each neighborhood association that’s within my district because there are varying needs and varying wants that are there. What may be needed in MLK may not be needed at Cross Lake. The same thing when it comes to Allendale may not be needed in North Highlands or Cherokee Park.
“As I said before, Friday I was out in MLK and Cherokee Park and Allendale, looking at ... potholes, street repairs, all of those things. But until now, since I’m sworn in, it provides me the accessibility to go and to set up meetings with the administration so I can know how we proceed on a couple of things I’ve seen immediately.”
Taylor does not yet have a city cell phone, but she does have a phone number for her constituents to call — 318-732-8442.
THIS ARTICLE WAS PUBLISHED IN THE May 22 ISSUE OF FOCUS SB - THE INQUISITIOR.