Question 1: As Mayor, how will you demonstrate leadership regarding water and the environment?

 You know me. I have been your partner and friend for years, consistently demonstrating my commitment to water management and the environment. I know that protecting the people of New Orleans is about more than fighting crime. It is about keeping us safe from all forms of threats, natural and manmade. 

Water surrounds us and we must live with it, even as the environment becomes more unpredictable. Some say that city hall can’t do much about the climate crisis. I disagree and have led this fight as Chair and Founder of the Council’s Climate Committee. Building a record of passing laws that have increased energy efficiency in city buildings, required zero-emission vehicles for the city fleet, and set clear goals to end carbon emissions across sectors. Indeed, I wrote the law to establish a 100% clean power mandate for all New Orleans power generation by 2050, to achieve net-zero emissions by 2040. A bold and necessary step that remains the only such law in the Gulf South. 

I also helped fund more than $10 million in Community Lighthouses to enhance local resilience, while widely expanding the use of clean, cheap power through the Community Solar Program, which has helped reduce bills for ~10,000 ratepayers and made our grid more resilient. It is now a national model. 

When I am mayor, I will focus on fully implementing and expanding these significant efforts I have led for years. 

Question 2: Prior to Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans was supposed to be honestly protected against a 1 in 200 to 1 in 300 year storm (roughly Hurricane Katrina for New Orleans).  It was not.  After Hurricane Katrina exactly no one said this City deserved a lower level but more robust level of protection, but that is what we have.  As Mayor, what will you do to increase our hurricane storm risk reduction to at least the level we were supposed to have had pre-storm?

 All evidence suggests the climate crisis is driving a rapidly shifting environment along the Gulf Coast. The rains are heavier, the hurricanes more destructive, and the back-to-back weeks and months of 95-degree weather or higher are devastating for people and wildlife. 

Since Katrina, the American taxpayer has invested about $15 billion in our coastal defenses, including our walls and federal levees. We are thankful, yet need more, and must continue to demand that the federal government uphold its commitment to the region, helping us maintain and reinforce what we have now. 

Yet, in the last 20 years, little has been dedicated to the equally important, but perhaps less glamorous, work of drainage pumps and keeping canals and catch basins clear. Or to living with water, demanding storm water management, or building resilience into every capital project. On that latter point, to keep our neighborhoods safe from flooding, I aim to reform the SWB from top to bottom to ensure better overall performance, especially as a risk reduction system during storms. See below for more details. 

Question 3: New Orleans has underfunded or unfunded needs in the areas of disaster preparedness, hazard mitigation and disaster resilience. Under your leadership, how will the City secure the resources necessary to meet those needs?

As a councilmember and a former state legislator, I have been through my fair share of storms and crises. To be prepared, the first thing we need is a healthy fund balance. We cannot be counting pennies when the next hurricane hits. Second, we need the right team in place with clear command and control that starts at the top. Third, well before hurricane season, my administration will emphasize individual and family preparedness in collaboration with non-profits that specialize in this area. Fourth, we need to communicate before, during, and after the storm. As mayor, I want to be your eyes and ears. Whatever I know, I want you to know. I will be on camera, talking directly to you about what is happening. Using NOLA Ready and social media, I will amplify the information, answer questions, and receive updates from residents who can speak directly to me and my team. 

Yet, recent changes in federal law, policy, and funding make this job much more challenging. For example, we may face a not-so-distant future where there is no FEMA or NOAA. No NOAA means we will not benefit from the world-class weather forecast technology paid for with our taxes. No FEMA means no funding for debris removal or rebuilding. No money for individual assistance when a disaster strikes. No help. 

Furthermore, $75 million, or 85% of the New Orleans Department of Homeland Security’s budget, is funded by federal resources. The city’s health department is in a similar situation, and all our first responders, from NOPD and EMS to Fire and 9-1-1, amongst many others, run in part on federal funds. 

There are no local funds to offset that reduction, unless we are willing to zero out funding for many other priorities, such as NORD, which has a total budget of under $25 million. As a city, we must take a hard look at the bottom line and make some tough decisions about where to allocate our limited resources—prioritizing public safety. There are no easy answers. 

Question 4: As Mayor, what will you do to ensure that the New Orleans Sewerage and Water Board has the funding, resources and equipment, trained personnel and the “can do” culture to carry out its essential functions?

Our infrastructure, and especially our stormwater drainage system, is deteriorating, and it will require additional funding to prevent further catastrophic failure. Furthermore, we are all aware that SWB, as an organization, is broken, and small patch jobs are insufficient. We need transformational, permanent change—and we need it now. New Orleans has waited too long already. 

I am ready to turn the SWB upside down to get it right side up. Doing whatever it takes to stop the boil-water advisories, bad bills, and drainage issues, even when it barely rains. Things like water should just work in a modern American city. Yet, in New Orleans, it will take courageous reform, attempted many times over the decades, to fully secure this most basic need. 

I will work closely with the city council and legislative delegation to turn the SWB around and transform the agency into a functioning entity. As always, working with urgency to get the job done for the people, knowing this is about critical, life-and-death public services. 

To improve the culture at the SWB, I will work closely with the Civil Service Commission to make it a great place to work. I want to reward merit, reduce hiring wait times, and empower managers to lead their teams effectively. I also want to change the sometimes ‘top-down’ culture at SWB and city hall. To build community, it can’t be forced, but evolves out of what people find helpful or positive. That’s what I would want to build on. 

Question 5: Flood protection and the provision of a safe and secure water supply is increasingly a regional challenge, as Mayor how will you engage with officials in other parishes and in state government to develop and implement long-term solutions to those challenges?

New Orleans must collaborate with its neighbors on addressing significant regional water issues. Solutions to major threats, such as saltwater intrusion, cannot be handled on a piecemeal, local basis, with everyone out for themselves. Especially since FEMA funding and even FEMA itself may disappear soon. 

Times are changing, and New Orleans must work with our neighbors on these significant regional water issues. Already, SWB spans the river with multiple water treatment plants, which could produce much more clean water, especially if a portion of the leaks are fixed. 

Thinking regionally with consolidated authorities, shared water plants, and pooled resources increases our ability to bring the state or others with financial resources to the table. Furthermore, with additional purchasing power and capacity comes the possibility of long-term cost savings across operations and capital expenditures. 

There are many examples of places that manage sewerage and water more cost-effectively and regionally, with the San Jose-Santa Clara Regional Wastewater Facility serving as an example. 

Question 6: As Mayor, will you support a city-wide drainage fee? Y/N

Question 7: As Mayor, what will you do to prepare the City to deal with, avoid, and mitigate the impacts of sea level rise and coastal land loss?

Our coast is one of the most endangered on earth. So, it was a massive blow to the entire state and region when Governor Landry canceled the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion Project, throwing away over $618 million in Deepwater Horizon oil spill settlement funds that had already been spent on the project. I led the effort on the city council to condemn this move by resolution earlier this year, identifying diversion work as the linchpin in a multifaceted effort to save the state. 

Obviously, the city cannot make up that money, but what it can do is improve drainage, enforce drainage violations, such as construction sites allowing debris to fall into catch basins, and make stormwater management work easier to permit, as I did, eliminating the need for conditional use permits for such projects. 

That said, all of these measures are not nearly enough. The climate crisis is accelerating, not slowing down. This will be the challenge of a lifetime, but we can face it together through smart policy. Some of that is outlined above, but I would also be open to collaborating with the city council to fund further resilience measures, such as home elevations and coastal restoration efforts, in Orleans Parish. 

Question 8: The greatest natural hazard facing the City is not hurricanes or river flooding but rain.  As Mayor, what will you do to increase the City’s ability to handle large rain events and to recover from them when they occur?

Our infrastructure, and especially our stormwater drainage system, is deteriorating, and it will require additional funding to prevent further catastrophic failure. 

We are getting so-called 100-year, 200-year, 300-year storms every few years now. Indeed, it seems like every year we experience a few ‘unprecedented’ storms that drop multiple inches of rain over a very short period. Scientists now say these ‘rain bombs’ will be the new normal. The result: SWB’s pumps don’t work or are quickly overwhelmed, and a clogged, dilapidated drainage system struggles to keep up, and the water spills into our neighborhoods. 

As mayor, my focus will be on implementing these policies, while also bringing in a team of third-party experts to help reform the SWB from top to bottom through: 

1.) Auditing: I will conduct comprehensive, rolling public audits to assess the extent of SWB’s financial waste, identify solutions, and determine the required funding for SWB, taking into account the significant needs that necessitate a stormwater management fee. 

2.) Improved communication and transparency: As mayor, I will ensure that SWB bolsters dialogue with elected officials, the community, and media to increase trust in the agency, ultimately giving it a better shot at receiving the resources it needs. 

3.) Pursuing regional water management: As I mentioned, New Orleans must collaborate with its neighbors on significant regional water issues, such as saltwater intrusion. Furthermore, SWB spans the river with multiple water treatment plants, which could produce much more clean water, especially if a portion of the leaks are fixed. 

4.) Workforce development: I will enhance the Civil Service so that good work at the SWB is properly rewarded. Ineffective staff management methods should be replaced with a transparent, non-political process that fosters a merit-based chain of command. 

5.) Fee Fairness: Tax-exempt entities need to help pay for drainage. 

Question 9: The availability and cost of insurance is a growing problem for homeowners and businesses which makes it a problem for the City.  What can the City do to make insurance more available and affordable?

Some people say that the city can’t do anything about the insurance crisis. I disagree. As mayor, I will work to secure a state-level property tax exemption for fortified roofs, thereby financing roofs through ad valorem taxes. This will help individuals obtain wind mitigation ratings to lower their premiums and provide clear explanations to residents on how to find lower premiums through the market. I would also establish an Office of Insurance Justice to develop and implement effective policies that support New Orleans residents with insurance-related issues. 

So, while it is true in many ways that we are at the mercy of the governor and state legislature regarding the cost of insurance, it is state law that needs to change to address the out-of-control rates. Unfortunately, the legislature has done too little; as mayor, I am ready to step up to help our residents.