| 1. How can the NOPD force be increased, while maintaining high standards?
| An incentives package that attracts new recruits is imperative at this point. The current advertisements that promotes competitive pay becomes disheartening to the recruit that actually commits because a portion of pay is allocated to supplies and uniform cost. These cost need to be repackaged or explained up front in order not to cause a word of mouth echo that may deter potential recruits. Also, the current educational package is not competitive with other cities like Dallas that pay double and triple for attaining various civilian education levels. Other cities award pay increases for PhD educational levels attained, however NOPD ends its educational commitment at the Master's degree level giving only $3,000.00 annually in addition to base pay. |
| 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.
| Yes. I will support an additional effort to provide oversight to the Ethics Review Board. There should be oversight over this entity to simply provide assurance to the candidates and elected officials it oversees but also to follow charter mandates. The board should be free from corruption while giving its best display of impartiality. |
| 3. What do you think are the three (3) most important issues facing the citizens of New Orleans.
| - New Orleans a Mayor and Council that actually works for and supports the citizens. A face at City Hall is no longer viable and accomplishes nothing.
- Funding Distribution. Monies that are specified for individual reasons must get to its intended target in order to keep the city functioning in sync.
- Seniors. Our elderly deserve a task force that can support this growing need. They are long term voters that become neglected by the city. I believe their needs are paramount and uniquely deserving. Economic and generational respect for this group can be revived if given a representative that they can rely on. |
| 4. What steps would you propose for improving the Sewerage and Water Board?
| Improvements to the ground level workers can fix many of the major issues that our citizens are having in regards to extremely high water-bills that are often unexplained. Encouraging meter readers to report broken meters correctly to a higher authority for repair is the first step. Reward meter readers when they go above and beyond set standards accompanied by training. Customer Service requires an overhaul because most times they become the voice of reason for our disgruntled and overburdened customers. Monies have already been allocated for major repairs regarding the overall pump and drainage sector of our system and we all are awaiting those 100 year overdue improvements. |
| 5. How do you propose to reduce crime, and especially violent crime, in the city?
| Crime is a result of a broken educational system and low wage paying jobs that await those with lower levels of education. The incentive to work should be enforced at the grade school level which instills values that promote educational levels with the propensity to enter higher paying employment. Small business owners, prospective developers and larger corporations that are or intend to do business in New Orleans will be informed on the city's commitment to sustain itself through use of our High School Students. Their future is New Orleans's future. I will ask for a commitment from all businesses to provide summer and after school employment in any sector within a corporation from HR to Maintenance. Entergy, RTA, The Superdome, Start-ups, Hotels will all provide a plan of job descriptions for our youth that keeps them off the street and prepares them for the future. This will be the beginning effort to reduce violent crime that can last for many decades beyond my terms of service. |
