When politicos list potential candidates for Shreveport's mayoral race next year, Caddo Commissioner Steven Jackson's name is occasionally mentioned, with emphasis on "occasionally".
Jackson was a mayoral candidate in 2018, finishing 5th in the primary. Since his sound defeat, his political stock in Shreveport has not gained much ground, and in fact he has lost much of his appeal to many in high places.
At the Caddo Commission work session on Mon. Jackson said he was NOT running for mayor as he taunted so-call mayoral candidates during a discussion on an agenda topic. Presumably his reference was to Commissioner Jim Taliaferro, an announced candidate, and perhaps Commissioner Mario Chavez, a "pondering" candidate.
Word on the street is that Jackson may run for the Louisiana House of Representatives in the seat held by former Shreveport mayor Cedric Glover. Jackson has long been a protege of "Big G" and his penchant for long rambling speeches seemingly is patterned after his political father figure.
The other rumor is that he has focused on the Louisiana Senator Greg Tarver's seat. Like Glover, Tarver will be termed out at the end of his current term. Getting Tarver's endorsement may be a big challenge for Jackson.
Jackson is quick to malign any elected official, private citizen and/or journalist who does NOT agree with his political position. He recently called out fellow Commissioner John Atkins in an email copied to all commissioners for asking him questions about his proposed Amazon TIF. Atkins is one of the most congenial, well-informed Commissioner who has earned the respect of his contemporaries.
And Atkins is not the only one who has been harangued by Jackson.
He has previously called out journalists for columns not to his liking as well as other media people. Although Jackson constantly preaches at Commission meetings that is open to all discussions and that he responds to all calls, texts and emails, his performance does not match his rhetoric. And his contrast mantra of wanting to "work with Commissioners" falls on deaf ears for obvious reasons.
One of Jackson's sidelines is dealing in prior owned cars. He purchases these at a local auction and then flips them to third parties. He has been observed driving a vehicle with no license tag as well as parking a "tagless" one at Government Plaza when attending commission meetings. Reportedly, he does not properly register the vehicles to avoid paying the taxes on transfer into his name before sale to individuals.
Jackson is quick to take credit for programs that he did not institute, such as the Caddo Commission's Emergency Rental Assistance program which is funded with dollars from Washington channeled through the state. Caddo's program has been highly successful due to the great work of Commission employees, not to the efforts of Jackson.
Jackson frequently holds himself out as an expert on state and national programs and issues. His "expertise" is often not supported by facts. He often calls out Commission staff for not following his directives or agreeing with his conclusions and recommendations.
In his efforts to achieve passage of the so-called Amazon TIf , his communications have often failed to tell the whole story. His efforts now include naming an advisory committee that will not have any knowledgeable economic development expertise. Jackson has failed to acknowledge many obvious negative realities with his proposition including the large size of the district, the varied property uses in that area, the lack of a planning agency and the paltry projected income of the district if only the parish is a party.
The Shreveport city council must approve the TIF even if for the parish only. If the city is to become a party to the TIF and have city advalorem taxes subject to the TIF, the council must also approve that action. The same applies to the Caddo school board.
Jackson almost always wins the "goat" (NOT the greatest of all time) award for talking the most at a Commission meeting. On Mon. his ramblings consumed about 60 minutes of the three hour meeting. Most of his remarks were not that significant to the pending actions by the Commission. One can only hope there will be less of these monopolizing soliloquies at the regular meeting tomorrow (Thurs.) and for that matter future meetings.
There will be no shortage of derogatory emails and texts from Jackson, many of which are filled with profanity, that will surface in his next political race. Additionally his habit of sending political messages with background screens during the ZOOM meetings fo the Commission along with his penchant for eating on screen during these meetings should make good fodder for a campaign opponent.
Former Shreveport council member Calvin Lester is reported to be Jacksons' political handler. Many consider this to be another negative to any further political aspirations of Jackson along with his secrecy on his residence, his sideline business, and his other political associations.
This author will publish Jackson's response to this column. If the past is to be any indication, they will NOT address the issues raised herein but rather be a character attack on this writer. Despite having a Master's of Public Administration and his political service, Jackson has yet to learn that his attempts to "kill the messenger" do not work with media.
