New Year, New Expectations?

Hi there! After a lengthy self-imposed exile from The Spoils of Progress (due to a not entertaining combination of work, writer’s block, work, lethargy, and work), I’m back with my take on the activities and inactivities of our local City-Parish government. Luckily, not much has happened since I last posted… “Not much happening” includes electing new Council Members, passing a Parish Budget, selecting a new Mayor Pro-Tempore, and holding a first official meeting of the new Metro Council. OK, so maybe it was a bit much, but no fear; here’s a synopsis:

New Metro Council Members: I covered the primary election where most of the Metro Council seats were won. But I would be remiss if I didn’t congratulate Chauna Banks-Daniel and John Delgado for winning their respective Council races. Both candidates are new faces on the Council and it will be interesting to see how their electoral success will change the gestalt attitude and demeanor of the Council.

Parish Budget: The Parish Budget was approved with little fanfare. In previous years, the budget has been a wildly contentious issue, with the Council frequently complaining that the Mayor’s Office was not providing them with sufficient time nor detail to understand the budget resulting in the Council removing the discretionary fund the Mayor’s Office traditionally administered. The Council held several budget hearings this year and, as I understand it, the Mayor’s Office was very forthcoming with information and detail concerning the budget. If nothing else, it appears that this year’s budget process is an example of what can happen when the various branches of our City-Parish government can work together. Let’s hope they keep it up.

New Mayor Pro Tempore: With Councilman Mike Walker being term limited, the selection of a new Mayor Pro Tempore was in order. While several Councilmembers were vying for the position, Councilman Chandler Loupe ended up being the guy sitting in the nosebleed section after the dust had settled. I admit to being a bit surprised that Councilman Loupe pursued the position. We attended the Baton Rouge Area Chamber’s Pittsburgh Canvas trip a few years ago and I drew the distinct impression that he would be just as happy being on the Council as not. Given the family tragedy he recently suffered, I was really surprised that he even chose to run again. But people respond to stress in a variety of different ways and I applaud Councilman Loupe for choosing to continue public service in the face of adversity. His four years on the Council have been marked as a fiscal hawk and it should be interesting to see if he continues to act in that capacity as Mayor Pro Tem. From observing the first official Council Meeting, I believe his biggest challenge is going to be internal rather than external. Speaking of…

First Council Meeting: While the Council of the last few years has been largely defined by its relationship with the Mayor, the current Council (at least based on the first meeting) seems to have some degree of internal conflict. During the first Council meeting, there seemed to be quite a few 7-5 votes, largely split down a divide based on race, gender, and party affiliation. While not surprising given that we live in the South, it is interesting to note that the Council falls into two stark demographic groups: white, male, Republicans and black, female, Democrats (this actually wasn’t the case until Councilman Trae Welch recently switched from a Democrat to Republican). The split is 7-5 in favor of the white, male, Republicans and some of the recent votes seem to bear out this split as an actual political divide rather than a simple demographic one. It will be interesting to see whether this voting bloc behavior continues into the future and what ramifications it may have if the Council ever needs to vote on an item requiring a supermajority.

So there you go, that’s been the last few months in a nutshell. Do note that the Council will be meeting tonight to discuss at least one significant issue, namely the continuing saga of the decision to pay to relocate residents who have been impacted by the North Waste Treatment Plant. This thing has been going on for a while and I feel that the tide may have turned against the residents. The Council, if nothing else, appears to be more fiscally conservative than past Councils. As the most recent decision largely absolved the City-Parish from paying damages, I do not see the current Council doing so willingly. The last time this item came before the Council, an agreement had been hammered out and it looked like everyone was on board. The residents decided to withdraw their approval after additional information was presented concerning valuations. Mike Walker, Mayor Pro Tempore at the time, specifically asked the residents if they really wanted to withdraw their approval and warned that they may not get a better deal. Depending on how things shake out tonight, I have a feeling the residents might wish they could revisit that decision.

Cheers!