SHREVEPORT, La. (KMSS/KTAL) – Eight of the 10 candidates running for Shreveport mayor on Sunday participated in a mayoral forum sponsored by P.A.C.E. (People Acting for Change and Equality), a local organization dedicated to serving the LGBTQ community.
Only Darryl Ware and state Sen. Greg Tarver were absent at the forum, held to give candidates an opportunity to answer questions concerning the needs of the local LGBTQ community.
Brian Sullivan, who attended the forum, summed it up by saying these types of forums are important in that, “You can always tell there are candidates that are serious competitors. And it really helps you weed out those people that you could see in the position of mayor and feel comfortable with them in that position.”
The three women and five men running for the city’s highest office all expressed an intention to work toward making Shreveport move inclusive to all people and cultures, with some more focused on specific issues.
Mario Chavez, an Independent who currently represents District 10 on the Caddo Parish Commission, said he plans to name an LGBTQ liaison inside the police department, while Democrat LeVette Fuller, who represents District B on the Shreveport City Council, addressed the juvenile aspect.
“I will allocate funding with community development for homeless, queer youth. We have a huge issue with trans and gay runaways,” Fuller told the audience in the LSUS Auditorium.
Independent Julius Romano focused on the family, saying he is inclusive and believes the place to start is with families – rebuilding families, while Republican Melvin Slack, who came wearing a ‘Trump 2020’ T-shirt, said as mayor, he would hire people to work for the city, regardless of their sexual orientation.
Former Shreveport City Councilman Tom Arceneaux, a Republican who served two terms in 1991, focused on the leadership aspect of the mayor’s office, saying, “Every employee of the City of Shreveport, (should) be treated with dignity and respect.”
Libertarian Lauren Ray Anderson said the point is to have an open mind and an open dialogue, while incumbent Mayor Adrian Perkins, a Democrat, took a more idealistic stance, saying that it’s important to humanize people in the LGBTQ community, which he said, “goes beyond just laws, that goes beyond just compliances.”
Democrat Tracy Mendels, a former Shreveport police officer, said she was from a multicultural family that included people in the LGBTQ community as well as multiple races, explained that she believes the key is to go into neighborhoods and take care “of issues one at a time.”
After the forum ended, P.A.C.E. Vice President Katie Bickham said she was satisfied with the results. She said the goal was to learn where each candidate stood on LGBTQ issues, and she believed “every candidate was upfront and direct about how they feel and how they would govern.”
