CONFLICTS BETWEEN DIRECTOR OF COUNCIL AFFAIRS AND COUNCIL MEMBERS AS WELL AS MORE QUESTIONS ABOUT THE APPLICANTS

For some unknown reason some of the Shreveport City Council members are hell-bent on hiring the newly created position of Director of Council Affairs in a big hurry.

The "why" has yet to be explained.

Since the institution of the Shreveport city-council form of government in 1978 the city council clerk's office has managed quite well WITHOUT this position.

Alan Jackson led the charge to create the Director of Council Affairs.

Maybe that is because his day job is presumably in Grambling at the university.

Seemingly he is in Shreveport on many, many days during the work hours and there are substantial questions if he is required to take Personal Time Off (PTO) to handle his Shreveport activities.

Interestingly enough, Jackson's council campaign last year benefited from two of the applicants. Jackson purchased campaign signs from RJ Johnson.

Then as head of the Caddo Democratic Party Executive Committee Johnson pushed through an endorsement of Jackson by the committee.

How convenient.

Former Chief Advisor for mayor Adrian Perkins Shanerika Fleming also contributed to Jackson's campaign.

Fleming made history by moving the city's insurance coverage to a new carrier a few days before Perkins took office.

One wonders if she advised the Perkins on the failed bond issue, the selection of Ben Raymond as police chief, or his decision to run for U.S. Senate.

Maybe she advised Perkins on naming a Chief Financial Officer who had a criminal conviction, the selection of a totally unqualified Caddo assistant District Attorney as city attorney, and/or the selection of Blue Line Solutions for the school zone phots speed enforcement contract.

The list of major political miscues of Perkins is long and presumably Fleming was involved in assisting in his decision-making process as Chief Advisor.

Fleming was confident Perkins would win re-election.

So was Jackson, councilmen James Green and councilwoman Tabatha Taylor who all endorsed Perkins.

Maybe Fleming joined forces with this trio then since the word on the street is that his new position was created to hire her since she is now unemployed.

How many other conflicts of interest exist between these two and the other four candidates is unknown.

The same can be said of political landmines.

The council should conduct a thorough background check on all the candidates.

This should include voting records, criminal convictions, civil lawsuits, civil judgments, prior jobs and any job terminations, bankruptcies, campaign contributions or payments by current council members.

May as well throw in church membership into the equation since pastor/councilman Green likes to favor politically his flock and cultivate contributors to his independent, self-owned church.

The last council hire was the council clerk Kendra Joseph. This selection was pushed through WITHOUT any job postings by the Green trio.

Joseph has proven to be woefully in adequate at her job.

Examples include the major fiasco at the Dec. 31 meeting to elect a council chairman.

And now the approval of the selection process of the new position by the proposed committee/panel approach is another example.

Joseph has refused to answer simple emails and it is apparent she has not read, much less understand, the Louisiana Open Meetings Law, the Louisiana Public Records Law, or the Shreveport City Charter.

The charter states that Joseph supervises the Clerk's office staff.

She has NO management experience and in fact, she was supervised in her last two job gigs. And is she to supervise the Director of Council Affairs?

It’s a mystery why Joseph has not reached out to the widely respected council clerk emeritus for guidance and assistance. She certainly needs a mentor.

So, to say the creation of the Director of Council Affairs position, approved by the Green trio and councilwoman Ursula Bowman, has resulted in many more questions than answers.

Slowing down the selection train will cause no harm.

Who knows?

A pause may even lead to a review of this position and the real need for the same. One can only hope.