| 1. How can the NOPD force be increased, while maintaining high standards?
| Raise salaries for officers and offer sign up bonuses to new applicants. We also need to add more community outreach training to ensure a better relationship between the police and the citizens they serve. |
| 2. Will you support an ordinance to establish an independent external evaluation of the Ethics Review Board as called for in the Charter? Please explain your answer.
| I would support an independent external evaluation of the Ethics Board. It's important to keep a high level of unbiased oversight for all aspects of government. The Ethics Board is one of the most important checks on power to ensure a corruption free government and I support regular evaluations of it and all other functions of government. |
| 3. What do you think are the three (3) most important issues facing the citizens of New Orleans.
| Crime, Infrastructure, and the Economy are always the most important issues facing New Orleans and in many ways are entwined together. When you fix one of these issues you often improve the others as well. |
| 4. What steps would you propose for improving the Sewerage and Water Board?
| I think the Sewerage and Water Board is too top heavy and beset by nepotism. We need to hire more leadership from within and make sure we have qualified people in charge who truly understand the system and want to improve it. We should also look into using outside agencies with no incentive for political gain to find talent across the nation and place a ban on hiring close family members of local politicians to top positions. A preventive maintenance and accountability program could help keep the equipment in top shape and save a lot of wasted resources. |
| 5. How do you propose to reduce crime, and especially violent crime, in the city?
| I believe if we direct our officers to focus more intently on violent crime and less so on victimless crime we could free up resources to address the real problems that plague New Orleans. We should have strict catch and hold policies for anyone who represents a violent threat and issue citations for all other crimes. |
