I recently interviewed City Council President JP Morrell, who is running for reelection for Council-at-Large, on October 11. I will preface my words with MR, and Councilman Morrell’s words with JPM. It goes without saying that this should not be seen as a political endorsement. I am simply sharing a discussion that is of interest to the readers. I would welcome the opportunity to sit down with other candidates for this race or any other. Each of you should consider the issues and vote your conscience. I thoroughly enjoyed my insightful conversation with Councilman Morrell, whom I have known for many years. He has, in my opinion, been a positive force on the council, and before that he admirably represented New Orleans in the Louisiana Senate.
JPM: Hi Rabbi, nice to see you at a time other than Chanukah.
MR: We have known each other for many years, since you were in the Louisiana Senate. You have been a regular at Chanaukah @ Riverwalk, which we appreciate. Let’s jump into the conversation. How important is it for the next council and mayor to work together?
JPM: It is tremendously important for the next mayor and council to work together. There are so many things that we need to achieve together for this city. There is no reason that we should have to be at odds with the mayor over everything from accountability to travel to the school board settlement. It should be easy for the mayor and the council to align on matters that are for the public good. Collaboration is what New Orleans needs from its mayor and city council.
MR: Do you feel that you can work with any of the leading candidates for mayor?
LPM: I have my preference, but I feel that I can make it work with any of them. For me, the key need for the next mayor is accountability. I am willing to make an effort and work with anyone, but I am not going to “govern” from a place of fear of what people think about me. So many politicians govern with an eye on the next election, either for themselves or their allies/party. We need to be able to speak up and stand for principles. One of my sources of inspiration is the Teddy Roosevelt speech called “The Man In The Arena,” and in particular this quote about credit to the man, “who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”
I live by the idea that, often, it is through conflict that we can bring about change. I lived by this in the Senate and now on the council. This is how we pushed through the amendment regarding the unanimous jury convictions. You need to try and keep trying.
MR: (Smiling) Perhaps we can replace the word conflict with resistance?
JPM: (Laughing) That’s why you are the Rabbi, the wordsmith. I am often accused of being abrasive in my approach. It is because I lack patience for dealing with things that are so obviously problematic, and yet some refuse to seek resolutions because they don’t want to upset the status quo.
But let’s go with your version, “Resistance brings about change.” We cannot accept that things are how they are because that’s how it has always been. We have to ask the hard questions. What can we do to fix a problem, even to the extent of changing policy and law?
MR: Do you feel you can work with the people running for the open council seats?
JPM: Absolutely. There are people running for some of those seats that have ideas differing from my own, but that is what a healthy democracy is about. I absolutely welcome opposition to my seat as well. Democracy thrives when people have the chance to vote for a different approach/candidate. Change is exciting. This is why term limits are important. We need an ongoing infusion of fresh blood and new ideas.
MR: Talk about the conflict with the mayor during the past years and what was going on.
JPM: We have been accused of “weakening the power of the mayor.” But I am against "consolidated power.” We need to have the checks and balances.
MR: People get excited when “their side” achieves consolidated power, but they forget that the “other side” will have it when they get into office and that is not so pleasant to consider.
JPM: Yes, exactly. I believe that consolidated power is never a good idea. Take for example the requirement we created for mayoral appointees to go through a confirmation process. Nobody should be scared to go through a confirmation process if they are qualified. Take a look at the candidates that went through that process; and how the level of competence is way up at NOPD Chief and the head of Code Enforcement.
MR: What if there is a concern that due to acrimony between the mayor and the council, city business will be held up?
JPM: In a democracy the public will act accordingly, and vote the people that they think are acting harmfully out of office.
MR: Speaking of NOPD, why do we have so many law enforcement agencies in this town? Isn’t that inefficient and wasteful? Why not consolidate them under one administration?
JPM: Aside from the inefficiency there is also another component to the problem, lack of communication. When I was in the senate, we created the Law Enforcement Management District that forces the agencies to communicate with each other and share information that is critical to law enforcement. Ultimately NOPD is the center of the focus, as they are responsible for addressing crime and lawlessness. This issue comes down to money and willingness to cooperate. An attempt to combine the largest two agencies, NOPD and Sheriff, would require constitutional change at the state level. There would also be a lot of resistance to an elected chief. But in other parishes, the deputies get training in law enforcement and people skills by first working at the jail and only then moving to patrol. Years ago, one of the smaller agencies took over traffic enforcement in a small area of town, but it ended because the city administration refused to share revenue from the tickets that were issued by the officers of that agency.
An example of how difficult it is to achieve the type of change needed to overhaul a system is the question of why New Orleans has a Sewerage and Water Board that is separate from the Department of Public Works. Just to address the billing problem at SWB took a very long time. We had to work very hard and for a long time with the state to change very old processes and allow a third party to oversee the billing issue. How can SWB request a rate increase and expect the public to vote for it when the bills are so ridiculously high?
Another problem with governance is that most politicians are not willing to consider anything that might bring on some “resistance” (to use your word), and as a result would rather do nothing than do something that will bring short-term pain or discomfort, even if, in the long run, it will fix an issue.
MR: What will it take to be a good mayor?
JPM: To be the mayor one has to be prepared to sacrifice and be devoted to the job 24/7/365. It is a tough job. Once has to really sacrifice for the city. I can state clearly that I don’t want to be mayor. I want my children to have a father. It is for someone without young children. When my term is over I will walk away happily knowing that I have done what I could for the city, but I go back to my family. The mayor needs to be dedicated to the job of being mayor of New Orleans and not sacrifice the city’s success for personal ambition. I am excited for the prospect of working with a new first term mayor and a new council.
We need to ask every candidate, “what is your vision for the city?” “What have you accomplished in the past that points us to a reason to believe that you will be successful?” We as citizens and we as council members need to be willing to push the envelope even with a popular mayor to ensure that he or she provides ongoing leadership and vision for the city.
MR: What is your priority list for the new term?
JPM: We need to restructure the departments in the city, especially Safety and Permits and Public Works. We need to increase accountability to the public. We need to have transparency in spending. The upcoming budget (bond) increase request on the ballet will include a line item breakdown on spending. This allows for more oversight by the city council. We need to generate an urgency to solve problems. I heard a department head respond to a challenge on a particular issue by saying that “he has the same problem and is still waiting for it to be resolved.” Why is that acceptable? Why do we not strive for excellence?
MR: What will bring about success in the future and what can we build on from past successes?
JPM: Crime has been reduced significantly. This is not just due to better policing, although that has improved in a big way. It is also due to allocation of resources to education and other preventive measures. We invested in children thriving, in mental health and other programs that give a child a sense that they can be successful without resorting to jiggling a car door handle. We have created the City Council Recreation and Culture Fund that has provided funding for programs that engage children in wonderful ways. With smart spending we have addressed crime before crime becomes an issue. Better and smarter policing policies have increased NOPD credibility in the community.
MR: In discussion with a candidate for another office, he mentioned that the state legislature passed a bill that allowed for strategic employment of resources that freed up NOPD manpower by having civilians fill some of the administrative roles.
JPM: Yes, this was part of the bill that I referenced earlier with regards to the Law Enforcement Management District. Another example is On Sight Services (OSS), freeing up NOPD officers from having to deal with most traffic accidents.
In general, having people in city government that have strong relationships at the state level is extremely valuable. Knowing how the legislature works and being able to navigate those relationships is crucial to getting things done for the city. Having a state legislature background allowed me and others to be ambassadors for the city to the state government.
MR: Thank you very much for your time and this interesting conversation. I want to also thank you for being a true friend to the Jewish community and being there for us during these trying times.
JPM: I have always said that this increase in antisemitism is completely unacceptable and must be called out. I lament that the younger generation in the African American community does not know or recognize the support that the Jewish people have given black people throughout the struggle for Civil Rights.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Mendel Rivkin