Outtakes from the P.A.C.E. mayor candidate forum

Writing a narrative about a political Q-and-A isn’t always easy. The questions can vary widely, and sometimes contenders don’t give good answers – much less speak in complete sentences.



So today’s article on the P.A.C.E. mayoral forum honed in on the “Ron Webb incident,” as categorized by moderator Adam Giblin. Here are some quotations that didn’t make the article.


One topic each candidate seemed comfortable discussing was the plan to bring Louisiana College’s law school to Shreveport. Giblin said the Southern Baptist school discriminates against gays. He asked whether public money should be used to fund a private institution.

• “It shouldn’t be used because of our debt situation,” Libertarian Parker Ward said. “Government should not be involved in somebody’s personal life.”
  
  
• “If we’re not discriminating against anybody… we shouldn’t donate money to an organization that does,” independent Dana Bruhnke said, referring to the city’s personnel policy. “It would be great to have… but we have other budget issues to take care of.”
  
  
• “The city cannot do this deal,” said Caddo Commissioner David Cox, running as no party. “It should not do this deal.”
  
  
• “It’s a discussion that I’m interested in having,” said Mayor Cedric Glover, a Democrat who went public with the proposal for the city to buy the former Joe D. Waggoner Federal Building for the college. And then here are some wildcards.
  
  
  
  • “If you call my office, I will call you back.” – State Rep, Roy Burrell, a Democrat, taking a jab Glover. A common complaint from the public at City Council meetings is that Glove rand staff don’t return phone calls.
    
    
  • “We need a leader that understands coming from behind.” – Cox on how he we manage city finances.
    
    
  • “I do not think the will of the people… should simply be overturned by a judge’s ruling,” Republican Tim Goeders on recent court proceedings about Proposition 8, the California law that outlawed gay marriage.
    
    
  • “You’ve got to kind of make up your mind. Are you going to go forward or go backward?” – independent Hersy Jones on Glover’s decision to honor the city’s Confederate history.
  
  
  
  
  City Councilman Bryan Wooley, a Republic, missed the forum because he was sick, he said. He expects to be at Tuesday’s council meeting.
  
  
  Oration was not Bruhnke’s strong point. He acknowledged that with this swipe at Wooley: “I’m just going to work on my public speaking. One that’s not here – he’s very polished.”

It's budget time in Shreveport

We're still more than a month away from public meetings on the budget, but Shreveport department heads have been fast at work since July, according to Mayor Cedric Glover's office.

Discussions started then between them and mayoral and City Council staff. Department heads get to propose changes from last year. Whether their numbers go up and down will depend largely, of course, on projected sales tax revenue, among other factors.

The next major step will be to schedule budget review sessions. Council members will go department-by-department listening to director pitches. That generally happens in October.

Public hearings on the full document happen on or before Nov. 15.  The charter requires the council to approve a budget by Dec. 15.

Let the political games begin, Shreveport

Qualifying's done, and now the real campaigning can get started.

The Shreveport mayor's race, with nine contenders, obviously will be something we will follow closely. There will be some competitive council races as well.

So stay tuned. In the meantime, what do y'all want to know more about? And what are the biggest issues facing Shreveport's next round of leaders?

Shreveport now has 7 mayoral candidates

Here's the list, including two surprises.

1. Dana Bruhnke, independent.
2. Roy Burrell, Democrat.
3. David Cox, independent.
4. Debra Lindsey, independent.
5. Cedric Glover, Democrat.
6. Parker Ward, Libertarian
7. Bryan Wooley, Republican.

That's all for today. But we still have one more day of qualifying. I'll be dispatching via my Twitter feed on Friday.

Caddo commissioner planning run for Shreveport mayor

Here's another name to add to the hat for the Shreveport mayor's race.

Caddo Commissioner David Cox, who represents District 10 (much of southwest Shreveport including Southern Hills and nearby unincorporated areas in the parish), told me today that he will formally announce in the next week or so that he will make a run.

Money management, he said, will be his main focus in the campaign. Talking with folks over the last six months pushed him toward the decision.

"They need somebody who they can talk to, depend on and know that they come from the same side of the tracks they do: a working man," Cox said about his hopeful voters. He plans to change his registration from Republican to independent.

So that makes five contenders: Cox, Mayor Cedric Glover, City Councilman Bryan Wooley, State Rep. Roy Burrell and Shreveporter Parker Ward. They still all have to qualify.

Burrell's staff recently scheduled an sit-down interview with me, by the way. I'll keep y'all posted.

Teen's age looks OK for Shreveport mayor's race

I've gotten a few questions about whether Parker Ward, the teen who officially announced his candidacy for Shreveport mayor last week, actually can run.

Looks like his age won't be a problem, according to the city charter.

Here's what it says:

"At the time of his qualification for election, the mayor shall be a qualified elector and a resident of the City of Shreveport. During his term of office, he shall hold no other public office or position of public employment, except that of a notary public or as a member of the National Guard or any reserve component of the armed forces of the United States of America. If the mayor ceases to be a qualified elector or ceases to reside in the city, his office shall be deemed vacant."

So while Ward may  not have much political experience - people want leaders who operate on "prinicple," he reminded me - it looks like he meets the prerequisites.

Videos for your viewing pleasure -- or at least to ponder

Here are two videos from YouTube to hold you over until we start having some debates for the Shreveport mayor's race. (Of course there is always a chance we can catch a few precursors to the real thing during City Council meetings.)

The more recent one is from Councilman Bryan Wooley's April 22 campaign kick off event.

This video is from Mayor Cedric Glover's 2006 campaign.

Wooley's vid is more than three minutes long. Here are some folks I spotted in it: Lou Burnett, Bruce Roberts, Sheva Sims, Charlie Caldwell, Harold Coates, Deanna Candler, Robert "SuperMann" Blount, Michael Corbin and Archie Hall.

Glover's is only about a minute, so I didn't see as many people that I recognized: Jeff Everson, Elizabeth Glover, Veronic Glover and Winzer Andrews.

Check out both, and tell me what you think. I haven't seen anything from state Rep. Roy Burrell, who said he will announce his plans to seek the mayor's seat soon.

Looks like Burrell is in for the Shreveport mayor's race

Burrell

An e-mail from state Rep. Roy Burrell's office this evening said the Shreveport legislator plans to formally announce his candidacy for mayor in the coming weeks. That comes more than a week after he publicly floated the idea.

When he makes it official, we'll publish the official brief we do for political candidates. Until then, check here for updates. A Facebook supporter group also should appear soon, the e-mail said.

“There is a growing concern among many citizens, businesses,and clergy regarding the lack of easy access to,and open communication and timely responses from City Hall. I will work to restore the confidence of the people that the mayor’s office should still be the people’s office," Burrell said. “I will continue to work with the city’s leaders to strengthen and revitalize the entire community from the inside out, making Shreveport a safer and more attractive place to live. To be great, Shreveport must become more than just another city … it must become a new destination.”

So far, Mayor Cedric Glover has indicated he will run for re-election, and City Councilman Bryan Wooley announced last week that he will seek the seat.