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hello Baton Rouge over the past several
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months I've taken time to rest reflect
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and recharge but my love for this city
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and parish hasn't faded in fact that
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love is why I'm speaking up today this
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isn't about politics or personal
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disappointment my reelection bid was
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unsuccessful and I accepted that and
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have no plans to be on a ballot i
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ensured a peaceful transition offered my
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help and even provided names of
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community leaders who could serve the
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next administration well that help has
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rarely been used but that's not why I'm
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here i'm here because of what I see
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happening to the city I love recently
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Mayor Sid Edwards claimed the city could
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go bankrupt if his Thrive initiative
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doesn't pass he blamed the current
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fiscal crisis on what he inherited
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downplaying the impact of St george and
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implying that the last administration
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caused the mess let's be honest that is
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categorically false i warned this would
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happen i filed suit against the creation
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of St george because there was no plan
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and I knew the damage it would do to our
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finances i had departments preparing
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years ago for the revenue loss we're now
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experiencing to compare a potential
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financial collapse to a $150 oil change
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that's not just misleading it reflects a
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deep lack of understanding and a
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dangerous detachment from reality this
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moment calls for leadership and not
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deflection but what concerns me even
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more is what's happening behind the
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scenes there are special interests
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controlling city hall more than ever and
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when those interests begin to compete
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with each other and the leader in charge
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is in making his own decisions it
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becomes dangerous because if you don't
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know who you're really listening to how
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can you lead let me be clear we don't
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need coaching we need concerted
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courageous leadership and collaborations
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we can't afford to leave Baton Rouge
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with fear and confusion and political
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calculation our city workers deserve
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stability our families deserve honesty
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our businesses deserve certainty and our
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community deserves better since I left
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office we've lost ground fewer young
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people are working this summer black
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businesses are being left behind and our
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government looks less like the diverse
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community it represents this isn't the
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time for silence or spin this is the
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time for truth for accountability and
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for the people of Baton Rouge to be
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fully engaged in what's happening
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because what's at stake isn't just a
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policy or a project it's the future of
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our parish i will always stand on the
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side of that future with you
