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John came to Shreveport in January of 1977 when he was transferred to Barksdale AFB.

He’s been active in Shreveport politics since deciding to make Shreveport his home.

John practiced law for 40 years and he now monitors local politics. He regularly attends Shreveport City Council and Caddo Parish Commission meetings.

John is published weekly in The Inquisitor, bi-monthly in The Forum News, and frequently in the Shreveport Times.

He enjoys addressing civic groups on local government issues and elections.

 

Why is the Fuss About Perkins Replacing Board Members?

On January 4 I posted a column "Shreveport Board Members Need to Resign"

This was long before I agreed to help Mayor Adrian Perkins with his Future of Shreveport project.

Some who read the column were not happy with it.

And guess what?

Mayor Adrian Perkins has now nominated 2 new individuals to the Shreveport Architectural & Engineering (A & E) committee. 

Now the mayor has sent a letter to three members of the Shreveport Airport Authority. He thanked them for their service, and indicated they would be replaced.

A local radio station has run a story on this, and published one of the letters.

Presumably the mayor will nominate 3 new persons at the next council meeting on Mar. 26.

Word is now floating around that a lawsuit may be filed to stop the replacement of the board members.

The plaintiff in the suit could be one of the 3 to be replaced---Waynette Ballengee, Mary Jackson, and/or Margaret Shehee.

In the alternative, the suit could be filed by a Shreveport citizen who seeks a declaratory judgment on the mayor’s actions. This would be a lawsuit asking a Caddo district court to decide if the mayor has the authority to take such action.

At the Shreveport City Council work session on Monday, Mar. 18 council John Nickelson stated on the record that he questioned the mayor’s power to make such replacements. He said he disagreed with the city attorney’s position on this issue.

It’s always interesting to hear folks boast that they want the new administration to be successful. Evidently that only applies if any changes are made to the "other guys".

Seemingly personal pride and ego is more important to some of these appointees than progress by Mayor Perkins. So much for giving a new mayor the chance to implement change.

Shreveport City Council Should Decide Garbage Fee on Tuesday

Settle Is Catching Hell For Not Raising Hell