Don’t forget to vote March 27th! The City of Slidell will elect a new mayor, police chief and three city council seats this month. In February, the East St. Tammany Chamber hosted a Meet & Greet the candidates with thirteen of the candidates participating. The candidates, if elected, expressed their position on how they will assist the citizens in fulfilling the Louisiana Economic Development, Slidell Ready Development Community Vision statement “Slidell will be a thriving city with quality jobs and quality of life opportunities for its residents.” Although the Chamber does not endorse candidates, the board feels it is important to provide information to our members and the community to allow the citizens of Slidell to make smart decisions in electing its government.
The program opened with the Jr. ROTC Color Guard under the direction of Lieutenant Kenneth Kimberly of Salmen High School. Hosting the event was Jeff Crouere, the Host of Ringside Politics and a Political Analyst for WGNO-TV, ABC 26 and a local columnist. Jeff got the program off to a great start with his normal ringside politics humor.
First we heard from two of the three Mayorial candidates. Freddy Drennan focused on his experience and the quality of life that he protects daily as Chief of Police. While acting as chief, he has been involved in budget meetings and is very familiar with the day-to-day operations. He recognized that St. Tammany education is the best in the state, however, Slidell needs to get Vo-Tech Education to produce workers for new businesses that may consider locating in Slidell. He is willing to go out and knock on doors to promote quality businesses coming to Slidell.
Jay Trainor, a recent retiree from the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office after 17 years of service, expressed his concerns that the tax structure must be addressed. The tax burden in the parish was not going to allow new businesses to invest here. He was concerned for the quality of the life of the parish. He had a new vision of a tax structure for the city which would eliminate city property taxes in lieu of higher sales taxes. He felt an overall tax restructure would encourage youth and senior citizens to stay in Slidell.
The Chief of Police race is up to the voters in the city of Slidell, unlike the city of New Orleans where the Chief of Police is appointed. This gives the citizens of the community a voice in government. J.J. Jennings is running for office to protect the quality of life and fight for Slidell to be free of crime. He expressed that it was important for kids in school to learn and feel safe. It was important to him that the police academy stay in place and that the department move forward with better equipment, including computers in local squad cars.
Ben Morris immediately answered the question citizens keep asking him “Why am I running?” He expressed to the chamber that no other candidate has the experience he has at running a multi-million dollar budget, no other candidate has developed an instant response team or compiled a complex hurricane plan. He is a professional law enforcement officer with a master degree in criminal justice. Ben believes two things are important for economic development – low crime rate and excellent school systems.
Randy Smith has grown up in Slidell serving the community as a St. Tammany Parish Sheriff for 24 years. He is seeking to expand, not disband the department. He hopes to increase manpower, including traffic division with motorcycles and supplementing the budget with grants.
Jason Zar, the newest candidate in the chief of police race, works for Blue Marine Security. He expressed his concern for pay increases for the officers. If elected, he would donate half the salary back into the budget for raises.
With over one half of the city council seats being decided after qualifying because incumbents have no opposition, or some races have only one candidate, three seats are to be decided by the voters. It is extremely important to have good relationships between the Mayor and City Council to move the city forward.
Sam Abney and Richard Reardon are running for District “B”. Abney, a recently retired 33 year local teacher, expressed concern for our young people. Business and infrastructure is necessary to keep kids in the Slidell area. He would like to see more buildings being refurbished to attract new businesses to old areas to restore Slidell heritage. Reardon focused issues on quality education and bringing back the Technical College system. He is very involved in homeowner associations and feels that they have a lot of good ideas about what is going on in the neighborhoods in order to assist city government.
District “C” incumbent, Warren Crockett, is also advocating for the return of the Vo-Tech Educational System, “Not all kids are made to go to college.” He stressed leadership was important to bring heavy industry to our area to provide additional jobs. Slidell is the perfect place with I-10 and 12.
Buddy Lloyd, a regular at city council meetings, is also running in District “C”. Lloyd believes it is important to make sure Fremaux Avenue corridor continues to move forward and is an attractive entryway into the city. He was interested in starting a junior councilman program to educate the youth about the council. Leadership development was the key to moving the city forward, he said.
The only other District with a race is “F”. Jay Newcomb, a teacher at Slidell High, is proud of the quality of life we have in Slidell, and believes to continue to be a striving city we need quality jobs and to be environmentally friendly. Newcomb expressed redevelopment of the technical college system as a vital link toward economic development. He also added the need to streamline the permit process and promote Slidell as a tourist destination, including the completion of the trace into the city.
Terry Youngs, who served 27 years with the Slidell Police Dept, focused his intent to listen to the people, “The city belongs to the people and my goal is to represent the people”, he said. Youngs recognized our outstanding school system and stressed he would like to provide better job opportunities for the youth in our community.
Sam Caruso, Sr., is no stranger to Slidell city government. Even though he does not have an opponent, he took advantage of the chamber event to speak to the membership. In reviewing the LED Vision statement, Caruso was concerned about the city budget and funds to complete the visions. He was ready to get involved and see the new agenda of the new mayor.
The Public Policy Committee is active in creating awareness to the membership. On March 4 and 5, all candidates, even the non-opposed, are being invited to the chamber for personal twenty minute interviews of the same 5 to 6 questions. Additional questions have been presented for written responses. Please check out our website at www.estchamber.com for additional information and the candidate responses.
Voting is the foremost way to exhibit good citizenship and civic responsibility. Make sure your vote is counted and your voice is heard - March 27th cast your vote!