The Jan. 11 meeting of the Shreveport City Council will have at least two very interesting votes, one of which is very controversial, and the other may be as well.
Unless delayed, the vote on the proposed 13% across-the-board pay raise for all city employees, not just first responders, will be on Jan. 11. To the 2,000-plus city workers and citizens concerned about the financial ramifications of this decision, this vote is a biggie, as in real biggie.
Another vote that will not draw headlines but in many aspects is almost as critical as the pay raise is the selection of officers for 2022. The council's rules of procedure mandate the selection of a chairman and vice chairman at the first meeting each year.
The council chair presides over the council meetings, makes the committee appointments for council members, sets special meetings of the council, and serves as mayor pro tem when the mayor is out of the state. The vice-chair generally handles the citizen comment session of the agenda and assumes the duties of the chairperson if the chair is unavailable.
The council officers for 2019 were Jerry Bowman Jr. as chair and John Nickelson as vice-chair.
James Flurry served as chair for 2000 and Levette Fuller as vice-chair.
In January of 2021, Flurry was re-elected as chair and Tabatha Taylor as vice-chair. When Flurry resigned in November, Taylor assumed the role of chair; a vice-chair was not elected.
All of the current council members have served either as chair or vice-chair with the exception of James Green, Grayson Boucher and newcomer Alan Jackson, who took office as the interim District E council member on Dec. 28 of last year.
It’s no secret that Green has been actively campaigning to be the chair, touting his prior service on the council. Much like the pastor and radio show host that he is, Green often utilizes his council seat to either lecture the council and/or "educate" the group in long, self-serving monologues.
Green has been in the middle of at least two controversies that did not reflect well on his position as a council member as well as the entire council. Both involved an incident at Uptown Shopping Center, in which he was cited for simple battery.
He used his council position to bully then Shreveport Police Chief Ben Raymond on the actions of the police units that responded to a call from the shop owner. During his grilling of Raymond, he asked, "What are you going to do, shoot me if I do not follow directions from police personnel?"
Green also used his council pulpit to try his case in the court of public opinion. His prosecution became very political, and, ultimately, Green was placed on diversion by an agreement between the prosecutor Benjamin Cloyd and Green’s attorney Randall Robinson.
At practically every council meeting Green advises other council members and those addressing the council that he returns all phone calls, texts and emails. The reality is just the opposite, and Green has a well-deserved reputation as being the least publicly available council member.
It is doubtful that Fuller or Nickelson will seek the position of chair or vice-chair. Boucher is probably on the fence, although the likelihood of his selection is not good.
Whether or not Taylor will want to continue as chair is an open question. She is a member of Green's church, and, thus, it is unlikely she will oppose Green.
There are some concerns about Taylor not recusing herself in the vote to confirm Ron Lattier for city attorney; she had and still has a personal relationship with Lattier. Additionally, talk at city hall questions if Lattier leaks information to her that is intended to be confidential between Lattier and others.
Taylor's handling of the Jackson swearing-in ceremony and then the council meeting that day (Dec. 28) was clumsy. Her failure to explain the long delay in commencing the council meeting that same day tarnished her reputation to many. Unlike her predecessor, Flurry, she has done very little to promote council unity.
This is the last year of the current council term, and serving as council chair or vice-chair could serve as a springboard for Taylor, Green, Boucher, Green and Nickelson in re-election campaign efforts.
Bowman is termed out and cannot seek re-election this year. He served as chair the last year of then-Mayor Ollie Tyler's term and the first year of Perkins' term.
Much more than Taylor and Green, Bowman has not taken polarizing positions and has generally attempted to find a middle ground on controversial issues. He also has a very good relationship with the mayor.
Bowman's temperament, seven years of council service and his termed-out status are big positives that his contemporaries should consider when voting for the next council chairperson.