Shreveport Mayor Tom Arceneaux has expanded the job description of Shreveport city attorney Marcus Edwards, in a big way.
A major responsibility of the city attorney is to attend all the meetings of the city council including committee meetings. In this role, Edwards is almost always called upon to explain the impact of ordinances including the reasoning for the ordinance and its impact if enacted.
Edwards frequently gives advice/rulings on parliamentary procedure at these meetings as well.
Edwards has been very involved in the time-consuming negotiations and drafting of leases with Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson for the Millennium Studios and Expo Hall. This effort was preceded by substantial legal assistance needed to accommodate the Humor and Harmony Festival and the accommodations made by the City for the festival events.
Edwards was one of the seven Shreveporters selected by the mayor to attend the week-long Bloomberg-Harvard City Leadership Initiative. This local group worked on the development of a preliminary plan, using collaborative efforts, to finalize and implement a plan to reduce blight in Shreveport. Edwards was appointed to be the group leader.
At his press Block by Block press conference last week, Arceneaux announced the formation of a 25 member citizens committee to oversee the Block by Block Initiative. Edwards is the chair of this group.
After this press conference, Edwards was confronted by three very unhappy council members. The common complaint, expressed in no uncertain and in angry terms, was exclusion from the committee selection process. Edwards was the target because the mayor had left the building, even though he did not select the committee.
Most likely, this happens much more often for at least two reasons.
The first is that Edwards is very approachable and responsive to inquiries…Secondly, he is an African American in a Republican administration with a majority African American council. And maybe his very youthful appearance leads people to think he is junior to them in age and experience and thus not due appropriate respect.
To his credit, Edwards is unflappable in his public responses to inquiries by heated council members. He has not been ruffled nor rattled by loaded questions that often should be directed to the mayor versus his office. Seemingly, Edwards always has a smile on this face displaying exuberance with his job.
Under the Arceneaux administration, Edwards has apparently become an active player in policy making decisions. This may have always been the case with prior city attorneys, but if so not as much publicly.
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EDWARDS WAS NOT CONSULTED WITH NOR INVOLVED IN DRAFTING OF THIS COPY