Caddo Commissioner Stormy Gage-Watts (SGW) is now enjoying her second day of “fame” after her announcement yesterday (Tues.) that she would run for Shreveport mayor next fall. She will most likely have one more day of media coverage on her announcement before she becomes a non-news subject. She has major issues in launching a campaign for mayor.
The first is the fact that she does NOT live in the city of Shreveport. To qualify she must have a residence in the city on the day she qualifies. Stormy needs to look for a new residence, and her business location will not check that box.
The second is that she has never run a large political campaign. She has run only one contested campaign for the Caddo Commission and that was in 2015. The election was in a small electorate district. She has very limited campaign experience and no seasoned campaign committee.
A third mountain to climb will be campaign funds and endorsements. These go hand and hand. Without meaningful endorsements, it’s almost impossible to raise campaign contributions. And without substantial funds in a campaign account, it’s equally difficult to get significant endorsements.
A fourth political reality is that Stormy’s public persona is greatly overshadowed by other potential mayoral candidates. Senator Sam Jenkins has not decided if he will run and former senator Greg Tarver has stated he may make a second run for mayor. Add to this is the possibility that Representative Steven Jackson may also jump into the race.
Key potential supporters will keep their powder dry. What is worse than endorsing a losing candidate is endorsing a candidate too early and regretting it when a stronger person jumps into the same race. So, while SGW will get lots of perfunctory pats on the back for her announcement, she will hit a wall when seeking campaign contributions and campaign endorsements.
Lastly if Stormy qualifies for the mayor’s election, she will have a record as a commissioner that will not serve her well in a city-wide election. She pushed for speed cameras in the parish. She voted for a $10,000,000 pickleball complex in southeast Shreveport. She presented an unauthorized resolution to Bernie Sanders and is a named defendant in a suit by the Louisiana Attorney General. She has had several ugly episodes chairing commission meetings that are recorded and will no doubt get played by her mayoral opponents.
Like any candidate, Stormy does have a chance to be elected mayor. Adrian Perkins was a virtual unknown when he decided to run against then mayor Ollie Tyler. Due to many unprecedented factors, Perkins was successful in his mayoral bid. It is very doubtful that Stormy can pull enough rabbits out of the hat to even make a meaningful impact in next fall’s election, much less make a runoff for mayor.
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.