Shaping the "New" New Orleans

A quote often misattributed to Einstein, but with roots in Mental Health Initiatives such as Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous is: "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results."

New Orleans has always been a city defined by its spirit of resilience, but now it’s time to channel that spirit into creating a brighter, more just tomorrow for all our citizens. Our campaign is built on four transformative pillars, each designed to address the core issues holding our city back and to create a "new" New Orleans—one defined by equity, opportunity, and prosperity. Here’s how we’ll make it happen:

• Education and Teacher Reform
  Every child in New Orleans deserves access to a high-quality education, no matter where they live. We will aggressively rebuild our public school system, bringing back neighborhood schools and ensuring improved transportation so that every student can easily attend school. We’ll conduct a detailed audit of the charter school experiment, exposing the failures of the system post-Hurricane Katrina and guiding a return to public control and, if necessary, taking legal action against those who have profited from taking advantage of our system. Additionally, we will invest in our educators by ensuring that teachers are paid competitive salaries (20%-25% raises), given proper resources, and supported with professional development to guarantee the best possible education for our students.
  • Why Do We Need Change:
    • In 2023, The NOLA Public Schools district received a C again. Five New Orleans charters received an F.;
    • New Orleans, only 51 percent of third graders were proficient readers as of spring 2024
    • Continued Teacher Shortage and since 2018, Louisiana as a whole has had a decline in individuals earning teaching credentials;
    • More than 23 percent of children in the greater New Orleans area are at risk of hunger; that is an astounding 140,000 kids^(*) living in vulnerable conditions. As well as, According to Feeding Louisiana, New Orleans has the second highest incidence of residents experiencing food insecurity in the United States. Food insecurity in children can lead to adverse health effects and poor school performance
    • Unstoppable hemmoraging of funds from the school board

• Crime and Anti-Corruption Reform
  Restoring safety and integrity to our city starts with addressing both crime and corruption at their roots. We will abolish the Sheriff's Office (saving tax payers countless dollars from funding a wasteful department) and merge it with NOPD. We will implement community policing programs-focused crime prevention strategies, working closely with law enforcement while integrating mental health professionals into our public safety systems. As part of our anti-corruption reform, we will work to root out corruption through technological and common-sense means. Additionally, we will launch investigations into the Bourbon Street Massacre, Hard Rock Casino Disaster, Hurricane Katrina Funds, Sewerage and Waterboard Corruption, etc. and we will bring legal action against those who have harmed the integrity of our systems. We will create legislation(s) that will hold our elected officials accountable, such as, if a city official is caught lying, in their official capacity, that they will be immediately terminated (this will apply strictly to court proceedings / legal investigations). Accountability will be the foundation of our justice system. We must restore public confidence in City Hall.
  • Why Do We Need Change:
    • Non-profits & unchecked contractors have ravaged our city budget.
    • How is it that our city budget has grown from $500 million in 2004 with a population of 470,000 to now with a budget of 1.8 Billion with a population of 360,000. This equates to a  445% increase in per capita spending and over 20% population loss. Where is this 445% spending?
    • Utility prices in Nov. of 2023 were near $500 with continuing increases to utility costs and water costs while workers families get breaks. And recourse for corporations that simply offset fines of failed grid maintenance to the citizens of New Orleans;
    • Continued inability to recruit and retain police officers in one of the most fluctuating cities for violent crime in the last decade;
    • Continued inability to recruit and retain firefighters as department ranks have fallen from 803 to just over 500, and seven fire stations have been closed. Including failed contract negotiations for over a decade creating an almost impossible retention effort.
    • Continued inability to recruit and retain EMS workers. Annual turnover of EMS has shot up from 17% five years ago to 40% in 2021. The agency has a 23% vacancy rate. As with New Orleans' dwindling Police Department, the EMS vacancies have reduced the number of high-priority 911 calls that are answered within 12 minutes
    • Systemic Failure led to Bourdon Street Attack

• Mental and Medical Healthcare Reform
  Mental and medical healthcare reform are critical for the well-being of our citizens. We will expand mental health services by integrating them directly into public services, such as law enforcement and community health programs. Addiction and adolescent mental health initiatives will be prioritized to ensure that those who need help most receive it. Additionally, we will create a Mental Health Office in the New Orleans Health Department. We will fight for mental health professionals in New Orleans to be paid at the national standard, supporting both patients and providers. Access to quality healthcare, both mental and medical, will no longer be a privilege—it will be a right. We will focus on reducing the prevalence of chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, and obesity, which are increasingly affecting New Orleans residents.
  • Why Do We Need Change:
    • Chronic diseases are rising and rampant in New Orleans, such as addiction (95% Overdosed Deaths in 2023 were from Fentanyl). In 2010, over 55,000 patients were discharged with heart disease; over 11,000 had strokes; and almost 9,000 people had diabetes. The scariest of all statistics: 93,000 persons from Kenner to NOLA aged 12 or older (10.8 percent) were classified as having a substance use disorder in the past year;
    • Continued unhoused crisis grows in New Orleans. According to Unity of Greater New Orleans, the nonprofit that conducts the region's annual, federally mandated “point in time” count, said this week that the number of homeless people in New Orleans and Jefferson Parish as of January rose to 1,390, a 15% increase over the 2022 count
    • Numerous barriers like months-long wait times for an appointment make accessing treatment in the
      community difficult.
    • According to Data USA, 23.8% of New Orleans residents, or 88,700 people, live below the poverty line, which is higher than the national average of 12.6%. The largest demographic living in poverty are females 25–34, followed by females 55–64, and then females 35–44
    • Suicide is the second leading cause of death for children ages 10-14 in the New Orleans area.
    • Over 20% of adults reported experiencing frequent "mental distress," according to NOLA.com

• Job Creation and Infrastructure Development
  Economic opportunity is the key to a thriving city. By leveraging infrastructure bills, partnerships, bonds, grants, etc. we will create 41,000 jobs (10-11,000 jobs per year). We will put New Orleanians to work and begin to shift our economy from a tourist industry into a self-sustaining financial model. In year one, we will repair up to 50% of our streets by revising the city's approach to business deals, streamlining procurement processes, and ensuring greater efficiency and accountability in how contracts are awarded and managed.
  • We will create battery bank storage facilities to alleviate grid stress.
  • We will privatize or assimilate SW&B into Public Works.
  • We will purchase Entergy New Orleans and return Public Power to the people of NOLA.
  • We will invest in hydropower.
  • We will create a hyper rail system beginning in New Orleans.
  • We will also be creating a Bitcoin-based credit union.

We will not only stimulate job creation but also ensure that these jobs are local and pay a living wage. Through these innovative strategies we will have a fortified and growing economy that has the ability to self-appreciate. For example: 3% of all Bitcoin transactions processed through the credit union will be dedicated to funding education, ensuring that as our city grows, our schools grow with it. We will also focus on creating jobs in green energy, technology, and public works, making New Orleans a leader in sustainable development and innovation. We must act quickly because we have the worst housing market in all 50 states according to national real estate company, Zillow; New Orleans has 25% unemployment rates (which have steadily been growing since Oct. 2023); and New Orleans continues to struggle with retaining residents losing 2% of our already dwindled population.