John-Paul Young
John-Paul Young
Mr. Settle’s article contains more than a few errors, which he did not attempt to verify, and so I would like to offer this friendly correction.
Mr. Settle states: “More importantly the naysayers ignore the reality that John-Paul did not broach his idea with SPD Chief Wayne Smith, Mayor Tom
Areceneaux [sic], or even Caddo Administrator Erica Bryant.”
– As a very active Caddo Commissioner, I am in almost constant communication with the two city councilmen who represent parts of Parish District 4, namely Gary Brooks and Jim Taliaferro. As a mayoral candidate, I have been very vocal
in calling for greater support for the Shreveport Police Department, particularly advocating for competitive pay for our SPD officers (Shreveport pays less than pretty much any municipality in our region). In March, Councilman Gary Brooks and Shreveport Police Officers’ Association President Captain Michael Carter both reached out to me to let me know about the need for more vehicles to
replace SPD’s aging fleet, even beyond the 60 that have recently been ordered.
Further, as a result of my participation in both the SPD Citizens Police Academy in October 2025 and of my current participation in the SPD auxiliary officer program, I have become friends with and spoken frankly with many police officers, who have shared with me their need both for adequate pay, adequate staffing, better leadership, discipline and morale, and more take-home vehicles.
– As for communication with current Mayor Tom Arceneaux about this request:
Mayor Arceneaux has only once returned a phone call from me during his term of office, and on that occasion expressed how “very angry” he was at me for my advocacy for my neighbors during the public safety crisis of 2025 when two to three destructive fires per week decimated our neighborhood due to criminal trespassers (a.k.a. “squatters”) against whom he refused to enforce state criminal
trespass law. He claimed publicly on American Ground Radio on February 21, 2025 that enforcing the law against these trespasser-arsonists would “violate their constitutional rights.”
Mr. Settle wrote: “And to top it off, Mayor Arceneaux stated on the Mike and McCarty KEEL radio show this am that he was not sure if the $2.8 million could
not have been better designated than the purchase of 70 police cars. Mayor Tom says that he would have expected a conversation with Bryant before the proposal was made by John-Paul.”
– The number of police cars under discussion is 40, not 70. And I am not surprised (are you?) that current Mayor Tom Arceneaux would be reluctant to
commit resources to a public safety purpose. He has continued to underfund police pay, directly resulting in the lowest level of police presence in the modern
history of Shreveport. Public safety has simply not been the priority in his budgets, and this damaging fact shows every day.
– Further, Caddo Parish Administrator Erica Bryant would only begin communication with the administration of Shreveport if there were some formal request to do so made by the Caddo Commission, for which she works. This request would likely have followed if Commissioners had voted to discuss the matter in committee.
Mr. Settle wrote: “On the same radio program Grace Ann [sic] advised that she would have first discussed a funding proposal with Bryant first, and then the
Commission president Greg Young for assignment to the appropriate Commission committee.”
– Mr. Settle’s quote of Commissioner Blake reveals that neither Mr. Settle nor Commissioner Blake checked to see if what they said was accurate. Parish Administrator Erica Bryant and I did discuss the proposal before I placed it on the agenda. I did discuss the proposal with Commission President Greg Young, though very briefly, after placing it on the agenda. But, most important, I discussed the proposal with Public Safety Chair Ron Cothran on February 24, 2026, at 3:42 pm, and requested him to place the item on his next committee agenda. After two more meetings of his committee passed without discussing it, I myself placed it on the Work Session Agenda for discussion, which is the right of any Commissioner.
Mr. Settle wrote: “This proposal could have been made last year or the year before by mayoral candidate John-Paul.”
– I discussed this proposal briefly with one colleague last year, but he was not favorable at that time. After declaring my intention to run for Mayor in order to
support police and vigorously work for the safety of our citizens, the President of the Shreveport Police Officers’ Association, Captain Michael Carter, requested that I pursue this proposal, which fit perfectly with and supported my own inclination.
Mr. Settle also wrote: “In the alternative, he could have taken the time to review this idea with Bryant, Mayor Tom and Chief Wayne. But so much for following an educated procedure in an election year.”
– It is true that I did not speak with Chief Wayne Smith about this proposal. In fact, a year ago, in the same conversation when current Mayor Tom Arceneaux expressed his anger toward me by phone on February 21, 2025, he explicitly forbade me to consult with his staff, saying “None of my staff are available to you, except through me.” However, Captain Michael Carter did discuss it with Chief
Smith.
– Sometimes Committee discussion of items precedes an item being placed on the agenda, if the Committee Chair brings that item up for discussion in
committee. In this case, with a favorable vote of the committee, the item moves to the Work Session Agenda for consideration by all 12 Commissioners. More often, an item appears on the Work Session Agenda when a Commissioner requests the Clerk to add it, after passing inspection by the Parish Legal
Department and Clerk’s Office, in accordance with By-Law Article III, Rule 2.
Since the chair of the public safety committee did not place this item on his committee agenda in the two public safety committee meetings that followed my
request in our February 24, 2026 conversation, I placed it on the agenda myself, which is the right of every Commissioner (though, it is true, some rarely or never place items on our agenda).
The phrase (“an educated procedure”) of Mr. Settle is comically ironic, since it apparently arises from a lack of education on this question. By-Law Article III,
Rule 2, cited above, provides the process by which Commissioners place items on the Work Session Agenda. By-Law Article X, Rule 2, states “Motions,
Ordinances, Resolutions or other matters submitted [by Commissioners] to the Work Session can, by a majority vote of those members present, be forwarded to the Commission agenda on Thursday.” And By-Law Article I, Rule 2 (F)(12) states “Public Safety Committee: To this committee shall be referred commission action related to public safety matters.”
Having served more than six years on the Commission, and held the offices of Parliamentarian, Vice President, and President, I am well-informed about the processes available for agenda items to be discussed. Those who have suggested otherwise, including Mr. Settle and Commissioner Blake, lack this specific expertise. But, along with this friendly correction, I also offer them my forgiveness.