WILL SHREVEPORT WATER BE MAYOR TOM'S RE-ELECTION BID'S WATERLOO?

The bottle of Waterloo was fought on June 18, 1815. This battle is renowned for its decisive defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte and his second abdication. Today its referred to as a decisive defeat.

Shreveport mayor Tom Arceneaux is in his third year of office as mayor. Thus, he has the rest of the year and maybe the first quarter of next year to steer his administration without the specter of a bruising re-election bid in the fall of 2026.

Mayor Tom has declared that he will seek another term as mayor. His filing with the Louisiana Ethics Administration showed funds on hand at the end of 2024 of $158,848. No doubt, his campaign fund has swelled since Jan. 1, 2025.

One can expect Mayor Tom to have opposition for this second term. Every two-term Shreveport mayor under the mayor-council term of government has had an opponent in the second term election. So, the question really is not IF he will have an opponent(s), but who will be his opposition?

Names have been bandied about already with no real traction. This conversation will certainly pick up after the first of the year. A serious opponent must get his campaign ducks, and bucks, in a row by June 2025 if to run a serious campaign. One can expect an African American Democrat to be on the ballot.

To date, there is not much to find fault with the Arceneaux administration: streets are set to be paved in every council district; the crime rate is down; police substations are on the way; SPD is cracking down on squallers in vacant houses; SPD personnel are being moved out of 1234 Texas Avenue, etc. etc.

Currently, Shreveport's water, at least at my house, is clear with no bad taste or smell. However, the prospect of another algae bloom cannot be dismissed. That, along with the possibility of another summer of manganese or the reoccurrence of high geosmin levels, can certainly provide a campaign issue for an opponent, especially if the problem is this year or next summer.

In political races, many citizens decide their vote more on the basis of what they don't like about one candidate versus what they do like about the other candidate. Thus, water issues for Shreveport voters could result in a backlash against Mayor Tom in his reelection campaign. This, despite the many efforts made to improve the water quality in recent months with new equipment and processes at the Amiss water facility.

Shreveport now has an interim director of Water and Sewage after the resignation of William Daniel. Mayor Tom has stated that filling this position with a nationwide search is a fruitless exercise since there would be no guarantee of a job after Dec. 2026. Thus, the water quality issues fall to Brandon Sneed who does not have the credentials of Daniel.

No doubt, the water issue is a backroom concern to the mayor who his publicly stated his support of Sneed, who the mayor says, "has grown up in the water department." To those who visit city hall on a regular basis, Sneed is known as a nice guy who has numerous smoke breaks outside on the sidewalk during the work day. To date, there has not been much talk about Sneed's qualifications to ensure water quality.

Many political races are either won or lost on a key issue that resonates with voters. All Shreveport voters are affected by the quality of Shreveport's water which can transcend party affiliation and race. Napoleon lost Waterloo due to many factors. Arceneaux could lose a re-election bid to just one big one.