Browse through any local newspaper. You’ll have no choice but to reflect on the leadership and governance failures in our city over the last several years.
Just run through the list of all of our city agencies that haven’t been negatively impacted by Cantrell and her administration. Try to name one.
Take the RTA, for example. From 2012 to 2019, the city outsourced public transportation to a third party that worked well.
Under Cantrell, in 2020, they moved away from the 3rd party structure and things fell apart. It wasn’t even until 2021 that the city adopted a formal vehicle replacement strategy.
The result? Public transportation became the issue with the largest increase in negative sentiment according to UNO’s Quality of Life Survey of residents in Orleans Parish.
Look to the education department. We’re dealing with a $36 million deficit due to an
administrative-accounting error.
The 911 system—another complete breakdown in governance with a director facing criminal charges.
It's bad enough that the traffic signal lights don’t work. Or that we don’t have street signs in place.
Now we're closing streets around buildings because they have fallen in such disrepair, rendering entire streets completely unusable.
These are the streets you’re paying for. Ultimately, it’s a sucker punch to this city’s taxpayers who keep being forced to fork over their money to these people.
You could go on and on down the list.
When it comes down to it, it’s our leadership’s mentality causing these problems. Our leaders thought the federal government would heap money on this city because someone had a sister who was, at the time, a U.S. senator. As a result, it created a warped sense of thinking that there was enough political oomph to get the necessary dollars to turn all of this around.
Pretty soon everyone in this administration will pack their bags and the next group will shuffle in. But the same process will likely repeat itself, they’ll have to beg for money because that’s just the current mentality of those in leadership.
So what does this city need? If you ask me the answer is someone who knows how to turn an organization around. That means making the difficult decisions, with someone who’s done it before and understands money, math, and forecasting.
Whoever comes in next has their work cut out for them. They’ll be playing from way behind because the current state of things is a total mess.
I know we’re approaching Thanksgiving and I want to dwell on the positive things about this great city. But, sadly, none of that includes our leadership’s decision-making.
However, despite its flaws, a lot of characteristics and elements of New Orleans that we love have nothing to do with government. So for now, that’s what I’ll be thankful for.
