Most people would acknowledge that a key to success for a CEO, coach or mayor is who they surround themselves with. So, I have to say I was surprised and disappointed to see Mayor Sharon Weston Broome name Fred Raiford—a good ol’ boy from the past—as director of transportation and drainage in the Public Works Department. But her “cabinet” and executive team is her choice to help her succeed.
I wrote on this page in 2013 a column titled “Traffic: Reaping what we sow.” It started out: “Albert Einstein said, ‘We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.’ If we are ever to come to grips with our traffic problem in Baton Rouge, we need new thinking and a resolve to make the tough decisions to turn this thing around.”
But now it appears the mayor and her team have chosen to revert to the “same thinking” and same person that was very much involved in helping create the problems—Raiford. That is a step backward and in the wrong direction.
Raiford was the “king of potholes” and loved to take calls on the radio and then personally go out onsite to see them fixed. Folks loved that, and Raiford did, too—as our real problems worsened. I am convinced he thought adding a right-turn lane could solve any problem. (Wrong.) He never met a dogleg he didn’t like, which just created more traffic but solved the politics.
As I wrote in my column four years ago, “We have always been behind the curve and playing catch-up due to lack of courage and political will. Raiford, former head of DPW (appointed only after the job requirement that the position be filled by an engineer was removed by Mayor Tom Ed McHugh), once told me that the folks downtown never thought the city would grow past College Drive. So much for vision or planning.”
I am sure those radio show callers will love that Raiford is back, and so will many of the engineers, contractors and developers who did well with their “good ol’ friend, Fred.” He was also good at politics and taking care of Metro Council members—his job security.
We might ask Raiford why he allowed the sidewalk needed on Corporate Boulevard over the canal by CitiPlace to be built as a pedestrian bridge to serve only The Gates Apartments (owned by his good friend, Tommy Spinosa) instead of the general public. (Look at this bridge to nowhere next time you drive by.)
I also wonder if anyone at City Hall checked with Walker Mayor Jimmy Watson about why Raiford resigned so abruptly as the city’s chief of staff. Was it his choice? I called Watson and asked him. He said, “Fred did an excellent job. We miss him. This was a personnel matter we couldn’t resolve.”
When I asked if he could explain, he said, “This is all I have been advised to say.” I asked if it had involved another employee in the department, and Watson said, “It was a personnel matter. I have to leave it at that.” Did someone fail to perform a proper vetting or background check on Raiford—the same way they failed to do so for Troy Bell?
But let’s refocus on the traffic mess we are in every morning and afternoon—and the water that floods our streets—and ask, like Einstein, “Can we solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them?” Does our new head of traffic and drainage, Raiford, think any different now? I think not.
CLEAN UP COUNCIL ON AGING
Karen Ryder, deputy assistant in the Governor’s Office of Elderly Affairs—which provides oversight for the East Baton Rouge Council on Aging and its executive director, Tasha Clark-Amar—has a quote that appears below her signature on letters. It reads, “The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it. —George Bernard Shaw.” That is humorous coming from her, given her early comments defending the COA, followed by her own GOEA investigation. Let me ask Ryder, “What would she call the ‘failure of accurate observation?’ Malfeasance, or ignorance?”
There is already a legislative bill filed this session to restructure the COA board appointments instead of allowing the current board to basically appoint its own membership—accountable to no one. Let me disclose that I completely support this bill and am working with the co-authors to see it passed. There are some talented people on the EBRCOA board, but the system is not working and needs a reset—and strong accountability to the public and taxpayers.
The recent tax election will provide the COA around $8 million annually, more than doubling its current budget. Michael Pagano, dean of the College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs at the University of Illinois in Chicago, said, “This is a public stream of money to a private entity, albeit a nonprofit. It’s worse than bad government. It’s not government at all.”
Let’s look at some of the recent developments:
• The Legislative Auditor’s Office conducted an audit of the COA’s campaign activities to determine whether the agency violated state law. That audit should be public soon. Legislative Auditor Daryl Purpera says if the audit finds evidence the COA violated a state or federal law, it would be up to the district attorney or the U.S. Attorney’s Office to bring criminal charges.
• Recently, WBRZ-TV reported the legislative auditor said the COA board broke the state’s open meetings laws this week when the board went into executive session after it received the audit.
• WBRZ also reported that GOEA lists possible actions from its own investigation, which could possibly lead to “a letter to the governor for removal of the board and charter—and depending on what is uncovered the report could be submitted to the Inspector General, State Police and the Attorney General.”
Regarding the revelations about the COA and Clark-Amar’s role as paid executor for Helen Plummer’s will, LSU law professor Elizabeth Carter said there are things that can be done to restore public trust, and that may start with a change in leadership.
“Certainly when you are a board member of an entity governing millions of dollars, we expect to hold you in a higher standard,” Carter said. “In many people’s minds, this would not be excusable.”
Of course, there are elected officials who just want to ignore the facts and claim this is a money grab and has nothing to do with conflict of interest or good management policies. And others on the Metro Council who simply want to “walk out” and just ignore what is happening all around them regarding the COA. Is this responsible leadership when there are so many ethical and legal questions, millions of dollars and service to the elderly involved?
By the way, the COA is currently asking for a new headquarters and wants the Metro Council to approve spending $1.3 million for a building near downtown. With all the questions about the future of this agency, it would be wise to put this decision on hold. I am sure there will be more to this story.
