By Colvin Roberson
It is time to hold our elected officials accountable for representing the city they were elected to serve.
When there is a problem in their district, they should be working publicly and visibly harder than anyone to address it. We chose them to do that job. Leadership is not just holding a title, attending meetings or posting statements. It is showing up, communicating with the public and putting in the work.
I would love to hear directly from every mayoral candidate in a public forum featuring serious, vetted questions about Shreveport’s future. I want to hear the mayor and his competition say the right things, but I also want to see their plans. What will you do? How will you do it? Who will be responsible, and how will we measure whether it is working?
Bossier continues to pursue growth while too many people in Shreveport sit around saying there is nothing we can do. That attitude is holding us back. There is plenty we can do, but it requires leadership, cooperation and people willing to work.
Local businesses also need to be more vocal and open about supporting Shreveport. Supporting this city should not be something people are afraid to do publicly.
Then there is Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson. G-Unit has already invested millions downtown and recently committed to an even larger development plan. Find me someone else making that kind of commitment to Shreveport right now.
Why wouldn’t we embrace it?
That does not mean giving anyone a blank check or refusing to ask hard questions. Accountability still matters. But there is a difference between responsible questions and automatically attacking someone bringing money, attention and opportunity to a part of our city that desperately needs all three.
We have become conditioned to distrust progress. We question people’s motives, wait for them to fail and sometimes tear them down before they get started. THAT HAS TO CHANGE.
With a wife, three kids and two dogs, after working in public service for 26 years and building two businesses in Shreveport, I am not sitting behind a keyboard calling for everyone else to do the work. I am standing here, ready to keep working for what I believe in. As always, I will stand behind Shreveport.
We cannot change the past by constantly reliving it. The only way forward is to work for the future.
Get outside. Get involved. Ask questions. Demand answers. Support progress. Do the work.
Shreveport will not get better because we complained louder.
It will get better because we worked harder.
Colvin Roberson
Shreveport Card Show | Off Center
Sent from somewhere Off Center.
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.