PRENTISS SMITH
Shreveport has a myriad of issues, or what some would call problems, that need to be addressed over the next several years, and leadership matters. Job number one in Shreveport is to get a grip on crime in urban neighborhoods, specifically black-on-black homicides that are out of control. People are cowered down in their homes for fear of a stray bullet hitting them or their children. It is absolute madness, and whatever the outcome of the bond proposals, it will be the lack of focus on crime that will determine who sits in the mayor’s seat at Government Plaza.
The only one of the bond proposals that even has a chance to win the voter’s approval is the proposal for the police and fire departments. People are not anxious about passing any other proposals that the mayor is putting forward, and that is a problem. The mayor has proposed two previous bond proposals, and now he is proposing another one that he has not done a good job of selling, as evidenced by recent polls on the individual proposals.
The old adage is, three strikes and you are out. Well, this is the current mayor’s third try at getting this done, and the prospects do not look good for success again. People don’t like losers, even if they are the reason for the losing, and it has always been a difficult lift to get bond proposals passed in Shreveport. That is why potential mayoral candidates are looking at the passage or failure of these new bond proposals as a referendum on the current occupant’s job performance.
The truth is that streets do need to be repaired and overlaid and made more drivable in Shreveport because they are some of the worst in the state. It is true that there needs to be technology upgrades in Shreveport that will enhance and make lives better for those who have historically been left out of the progress that has taken place in the country.
It is also true that the water, sewerage and draining problems that exist in Shreveport are many, and need to be addressed sooner, rather than later. As was said, there are a myriad problems that need to be addressed, but the mayor and city council members have not done a good job of selling these proposals.
Shreveporters are just like people in other cities. They want to see where their money is going. They want to see action, and they are not interested in a lot of political posturing and blame. They just want to know that clean water is going to come out of the faucet when they open it. They just want to be able to sit on their porches without fear of being shot. They just want to be safe in their homes, and they just want government to work for them and their families, which many of them don’t see right now. They want accountability from their leaders, not excuses, not platitudes and not ambivalence.
If the mayor loses the vote on these new bond proposals, it certainly will be seen as a rebuke of the current administration and a harbinger of what could happen in the upcoming mayoral election. The administration has not been very adept in selling these proposals or educating the public at large about what are in the proposals and the importance of making these vital investments in the infrastructure of the city.
Once, twice, three strikes, you are out, and losing another bond proposal is not a good look for someone who is seeking re-election. That is why the passage or failure of these bond proposals could be seen as a referendum on the current occupant, and deservedly so. And that’s the way I see it I see it. smithpren@aol.com