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The Power of the Citizen Voice from mourning to rage...to hope through action Status Report 2008 “Since 2005, New Orleanians have undertaken more major reforms simultaneously Gambit, the independent weekly newspaper, ranked the stunning consolidation of the levee boards and assessor system as “the number one story in 2006”. than any other modern city.” The New Orleans Index at Five 2010 Report The Brookings Institution and Greater New Orleans Data Center Executive Committee Ruthie Frierson Founder & Chair Laura Politz Incoming Chair 2013 Barbara Bush Treasurer Janet Bean Education Chair Gwathmey Gomila Stephanie Haynes Ethics Chair Betty Hope Kay Kerrigan Shelley Kurtz Margo Phelps Betsy Nalty Ann Rabin Criminal Justice Chair Mimi Smith Laura Sillars Resource Council John M. Barry Daryl Byrd LaToya Cantrell Michael Cowan Dr. Scott Cowen Timothy R. Doody James P. Farwell Kathy Finn Carla Fishman Janet Howard Leslie Jacobs Karyn Kearney Jay Lapeyre Patti Lapeyre Diana Lewis Mark Mayer Suzanne Mestayer Ilona Picou Tony Recasner Nolan Rollins Gregory Rusovich LaVerne Saulny Caroline Roemer Shirley Nicole Spagenburg Robert Thomas, Ph.D. Sarah Usdin Kevin Wm. Wildes, S.J. Lea Young Committee Members Janet Bean Judy Andry Brenda Brown Hal Brown Barbara Bush Kim Carver Bonnie Conway Susie DeRussy Pam Farnsworth Brenda Fenner Betsy Fowler Kara French Ruthie Frierson, Ex-Officio Sara Gaines Gwathmey Gomila Erin Hangartner Linda Hart Stephanie Haynes Betty Hope 2 Citizens for 1 Greater New Orleans | www. citizensfor1.com Bonnie Conway Zully Jimenez, Deceased Susan Johnson Lisa Jordan Kay Kerrigan Patti Lapeyre Diana Lewis Mary Looney Henry Lowentritt John Martin Kathleen McCall Carol McCall Hope Meyer Margo Phelps Cathy Pierson Murray Pitts Laura Politz Joyce Pulitzer Ann Rabin Macon Riddle Kathy Riedlinger Linda Roussel Laura Sillars Nicole Spangenberg Eva St. Martin Holli Wiseman “Civic and business groups must continue to work together across the community in broad based coalitions and partnerships, with reform minded elected and appointed officials, to bring about effective, long lasting and meaningful change, around important issues for the common good” Ruthie Frierson Reflecting on the past seven years since Katrina and the founding of our organization, our city has made tremendous progress due to the commitment, persistence, and resilience of our citizens. Out of the tragedy and all of its challenges came opportunities for real change. Citizen activism has played a central role in the recovery, reform, and rebuilding of our city – but much work remains. The committee reports that follow reflect, in broad terms, our focus areas, positions and successes. In 2006, our first successful efforts were the consolidation and reform of the levee boards in southeast Louisiana and the Orleans Parish tax assessors’ offices through the passage of statewide legislation and two constitutional amendments. Since then, we have focused on big issues that have no finish line, but rather, slower more incremental progress: criminal justice, education, and ethics/good government reform. As informed policy advocates, our committees thoroughly research the issue then educate ourselves and others, often building and working in broad-based coalitions of civic and business organizations as well as reform-minded elected and appointed officials to effect needed change. We also work collaboratively on boards, committees, in coalitions, and forums, at both the local and state levels — building and sustaining partnerships for the future. We recognize that our city’s bright future depends on all of our citizens continuing to stay informed, persistent, and engaged. We have provided advocacy training for community organizations, on college campuses, to student leaders in public, parochial and private schools, at the state Capitol, and in other communities in Louisiana and Alabama as well as for Leadership America. We will continue to provide this kind of advocacy training because we think it is such a vital part of being a good citizen. Also, for our organization to fulfill and grow our mission in the future, we must move forward with new leadership to sustain our efforts. Serving as founder and chairman of Citizens for 1 Greater New Orleans over these past seven years has broadened my experiences and horizons beyond anything I could have imagined during my lifetime. I have had the privilege of working with an executive committee of seasoned leaders who are passionate, bright, persistent, and committed on issues that affect the common good — always focused on how to create and build better opportunities for all of our citizens. We have become family as well as friends because of all we have been through over the years. Working together on boards, commissions and coalitions on a sustained basis, we have grown immeasurably in learning about the needs of our citizens and how to best address them. We must remain vigilant and never lose sight of the importance of an informed citizenry — for we get the government we demand! Always remember, there IS POWER IN THE CITIZEN VOICE! Ruthie Frierson Founder and Chair Citizens for 1 Greater New Orleans | www. citizensfor1.com 3 Overview A Citizens’ Reform Movement In November 2005, Citizens for 1 Greater New Orleans formed by outrage over the state’s legislative failure to reform the workings of the numerous levee boards serving Southeast Louisiana. 120 concerned citizens came together to begin a journey of reform. The Times-Picayune reported, “These citizens want a safe city behind sound levees so that no generation would endure what we have endured, and more than that they want honest and efficient city government, one free of old habits of cronyism and patronage that stifled progress and made us all unsafe.” With an Executive Committee of fifteen, Citizens for 1 website has over 10,000 active email subscribers. Since 2006 to 2012 engaged citizens generated more than 4 million email messages to legislators through our website, voicing their support of reform. Since inception the website has remained a powerful vehicle to voice citizen opinions to the state legislators and the local city council. The site contains up-to-date information about local issues, resources and helpful links. Often working in broad-based coalitions with civic and business organizations, Citizens for 1 continues to work for ongoing reform. Mission Citizens for 1 Greater New Orleans is a non-partisan, non-sectarian grassroots initiative formed to be a voice for reform and renewal for Greater New Orleans and a better Louisiana. The community group provides a venue and resources for citizens to voice their opinions and concerns and to take action for rebuilding Greater New Orleans. We are demanding a government that is open, honest, transparent and accountable. 4 Citizens for 1 Greater New Orleans | www. citizensfor1.com Crime and Criminal Justice Report Even before the 2005 Katrina disaster, New Orleans struggled with inadequacies in its criminal justice system. After the storm public safety became a higher-than-ever priority, and system reform became crucial to the city’s recovery. Citizens for 1 New Orleans responded by launching a year of intensive research into systemic problems and forming the Criminal Justice Reform Committee. The group enlisted broad based support to implement recommendations that included the: • Creation of a volunteer force to monitor the effectiveness and efficiency of Orleans Parish Criminal Court; with the support of Common Good and Business Council of New Orleans. Court Watch NOLA was created. • Formation of a broad based coalition of business and civic leaders to reduce violent crime in our city, with a focus on the career criminal. The New Orleans Crime Coalition was established. • Adoption of an integrated information and technology system, OPISIS, under the coordination of New Orleans Police and Justice Foundation. The Criminal Justice Reform Committee has focused its efforts on several fundamental initiatives: juvenile justice reform; domestic violence prevention; criminal justice and law enforcement budget review; and legislative advocacy. Juvenile justice reform Recognizing the connection between juvenile delinquency and adult criminal behavior, the committee has advocated for alternatives to juvenile detention and in doing so helped reduce an overreliance on detention. Sustained efforts through Orleans Parish Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative have worked toward improving conditions of confinement, developing new assessment tools to identify at-risk youth and using alternatives to confinement. Community Stakeholders rely on evidence based decision making to develop recommendations considered by Orleans Parish Juvenile Court for adoption and implementation. Domestic violence and victim protection Reducing incidents of violence and their rippling impact on families and the community is an important goal of the Criminal Justice Reform Committee, which advocates for change. Joining forces with civic groups, city leaders, judges, and Tulane University the group has worked to raise awareness of domestic violence issues, improve law enforcement’s handling of such cases and strengthen legislation to better support victims. Criminal Justice/Law Enforcement Budgets Members of the Criminal Justice Committee keep a close eye on budgets of the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Department, New Orleans Police Department, Juvenile Court, Criminal Court, Municipal Court, District Attorney and Office of Indigent Defense by monitoring these agencies’ financial presentations to the City Council, while advocating for effective programs. • See Citizensfor1.com for detailed reports on our 2006-2012 legislative initiatives. Citizens for 1 Greater New Orleans | www. citizensfor1.com 5 Education Reform Report Like other Citizens for 1 groups, the Education Committee took root in Hurricane Katrina’s aftermath. With many public schools wrecked and students living in widespread locations after the storm, the state Legislature voted to place 110 failing Orleans Parish schools under the authority of the newly formed Recovery School District. The district aimed to restructure the schools through a decentralized system of nonprofit charter boards. Members of the Education Committee began visiting the new charter schools in 2007 to gain a better understanding of how they operate. In the following year, the committee coordinated a city-wide forum at Tulane University to help educate the public about the new system. In time it became clear that public education reform in Orleans Parish would require ongoing, nonpartisan advocacy. The Education Committee began to collaborate with other organizations to support changes through the state Legislature and Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. The committee based its efforts on these guiding principles: • The purpose of education is to ensure that children reach their potential and are prepared for the future. • Student achievement is the best measure of school success. • All children regardless of socio-economic background, race or gender deserve the opportunity that an excellent education affords. Major issues the Education Committee has pursued include: • Supporting the process identified by BESE for returning successful Recovery District schools to their original school boards with safeguards for their autonomy and decision-making authority; • Supporting a legislative compromise on facilities insurance costs for charter schools; • Supporting a roll-forward of the 2012 millage for all Orleans Parish schools; • Supporting an amended School Facilities Master Plan to ensure a reasonable seat for all children in Orleans Parish; • Advocating before the state legislature and BESE for a process to include criteria and accountability for nonpublic (voucher) schools receiving public money; • Supporting before the state legislature and BESE quality Early Childhood education and evaluation. • Raising public awareness of the need to be involved in local and statewide education board elections. The Education Committee collaborates with numerous organizations that include: Baptist Community Ministry, Bureau of Governmental Research, Business Council of New Orleans and the River Region, Council of Jewish Women, Cowen Institute at Tulane University, Educate Now!, Education’s Next Horizon, Forward New Orleans, Junior League of New Orleans, Louisiana Association of Public Charter Schools, Louisiana Department of Education, Louisiana Partnership for Children and Families, New Schools for New Orleans, Partnership for Youth Development, Recovery School District, Urban League and Young Leadership Council. • See Citizensfor1.com for detailed reports on our 2006-2012 legislative initiatives. 6 Citizens for 1 Greater New Orleans | www. citizensfor1.com Ethics/Good Government Report Accountability plays a leading role in good government, and from the time of its founding Citizens for 1 supported the establishment of independent offices to monitor the workings of city government and the New Orleans Police Department. Citizens for 1 supported the establishment of an Office of Inspector General and an Ethics Review Board in New Orleans, appearing before the City Council in 2007 to advocate for initial funding. The group co-sponsored public forums with Xavier University and Loyola University to build awareness about the work of the Inspector General’s office, and also worked to enlist numerous other organizations to sign onto and garner public support for these efforts. The organization worked with Common Good, The Business Council of New Orleans and many civic and neighborhood groups, and with reform-minded elected and appointed officials, to promote a city charter change that would allow the establishment of an Independent Police Monitor and a dedicated source of revenue for the Office of Inspector General. The charter change won by a wide margin of voters. In the spring of 2008, Citizens for 1 lobbied jointly with LA Ethics1 for legislation supporting the governor’s ethics reform package, which won legislative approval. In 2012, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that it would impose a consent decree on the New Orleans Police Department ordering the correction of numerous structural and operational deficiencies. Citizens for 1 went on record shortly afterward in support of having the new federally appointed police monitor operate in conjunction with the local independent police monitor to ensure continuity during the period that the decree is in effect. Citizens for 1 successfully lobbied for the re-instatement of funding for the Office of the State Inspector General after it was removed in committee during the 2012 legislative session. • See Citizensfor1.com for detailed reports on our 2006-2012 legislative initiatives. Citizens for 1 Greater New Orleans | www. citizensfor1.com 7 Levee Board Reform Report Hurricane Katrina and the ensuing flood put south Louisiana’s existing flood protection and levee board system in the spotlight. The metropolitan New Orleans area levee boards were seen as seats of patronage who failed their primary mission to focus on flood protection. The spark for action by Citizens for I Greater New Orleans was the rejection of a bill to reform and consolidate the levee boards by the state legislature in November 2005, despite the fact that 80% of New Orleans had been under water for 3 weeks. Reform of this broken system was critical - there would be no rebuilding of the city if citizens did not feel safe from flooding. Citizens for 1 Greater New Orleans led the movement for levee board consolidation and reform with support from The Business Council of New Orleans. Through community, media and legislative outreach, and public education programs the group urged the creation of a unified levee authority comprised of experts who would operate openly, professionally and according to sound principles. The citizen initiative collected 53,000 signatures on a petition calling for levee board reform. The grassroots effort prompted the governor to call a special session of the Legislature in 2006 with a focus on flood protection. A rally staged by Citizens for 1 on the opening day drew some 1,200 concerned citizens, dressed in red, who gathered to support levee board reform. Citizens for 1 carried out its advocacy efforts by building a broad-based coalition of civic and good government groups and the business community to support this reform measure in the state legislature. The Legislature ultimately passed historic legislation which dissolved local levee commissions and created the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority. The legislation required the passage of a statewide constitutional amendment. Citizens for 1, with support from the Business Council of New Orleans, raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to fund public education efforts and mounted statewide print, radio and television campaigns to build voter support for passage of this constitutional amendment. In September 30, 2006, Louisiana voters approved a constitutional amendment enabling consolidation and reform of levee management in southeast Louisiana with 82% statewide and 94% in Orleans. The effort brought a new era of professionalism, accountability and transparency to the New Orleans area levee board system. • See Citizensfor1.com for detailed reports on our 2006-2012 legislative initiatives. 8 Citizens for 1 Greater New Orleans | www. citizensfor1.com Assessor Consolidation Report As New Orleans faced the challenge of a massive recovery from the Katrina disaster, issues related to local property valuations came into focus. Since the 1930’s good government reformers had assailed the property tax collection system, which encompassed seven separate assessor offices, as being unfair and rife with political patronage. It became clear after Katrina that local property assessments were so flawed as to be worthless in valuing damages done by the storm and flood. Members of Citizens for 1 saw an opportunity to change the entrenched property assessment system and voiced a public call for assessor reform legislation that would consolidate the seven assessor offices into a single office and require a uniform method of assessment. The organization and the Business Council of New Orleans worked directly with lawmakers to get a bill introduced. Members of Citizens for 1 then spent weeks at the state capital and attended and testified at every legislative committee session while the bill was under debate. It was an uphill battle, but the measure finally passed. Like levee board reform, assessor reform required amending the state constitution and raising significant funds for a statewide public education campaign. This amendment passed by a large margin in November of 2006, with 80 percent of approval of voters statewide and 70 percent of voters in New Orleans. Levee board and assessor reform measures were both about good governance, ethical standards, and accountability and about changing antiquated political systems and replacing them with boards of professionals and standards of excellence. After the passage of these two historic legislative measures, the publisher of The Times Picayune, Ashton Phelps stated in 2006: “These citizens want a safe city behind sound levees so that no generation would endure what we have endured, and more than that they want honest and efficient city government, one free of old habits of cronyism and patronage that stifled progress and made us all unsafe.” • See Citizensfor1.com for detailed reports on our 2006-2012 legislative initiatives. Citizens for 1 Greater New Orleans | www. citizensfor1.com 9 Community Initiatives Report Crime Coalition The New Orleans Crime Coalition was formed in 2007 by the Business Council of New Orleans; including Citizens for 1 as a founding member and serving on the Executive Committee. Over 20 strong, members of the Coalition advocate for a streamlined, coordinated and effective criminal justice system; securing funding for initiatives that address critical needs. While serving on boards, commissions and task forces, members collaboratively promote substantively reform. Forward New Orleans Launched by the Business Council of New Orleans and the River Region, Forward New Orleans is a coalition of 30 diverse civic, neighborhood and business groups who have united behind demands for principled reform in such areas as crime, blight, city finance, economic development, city contracting and public education. The initiative encourages citizen-led assessments and reports on elected officials’ promises to achieve the Forward New Orleans mandates. Citizens for 1 Greater New Orleans was a founding member of Forward New Orleans and remains an integral part of the coalition. Citizens for 1 endorsed the initial platform and participates in Forward New Orleans political candidate interviews, a critical step in holding candidates accountable. Citizens for 1 attends coalition meetings and makes written progress reports as Forward New Orleans works toward a City Hall that embodies accountability, transparency, efficiency and the appropriate exercise of fiduciary duty. Drug Demand Reduction The Greater New Orleans Drug Demand Reduction Coalition is a citizen-led initiative to make New Orleans a healthier and safer community by reducing the demand for drugs, and the crime and social ills associated with it. This initiative involves a coordinated effort of prevention, treatment and enforcement to reduce demand and control drug use and the drug trade. Specific objectives in the New Orleans Drug Control Strategy are to: • Promote healthy, safe and drug free youth, families and communities. • Treat and heal those who are dependent on alcohol and other drugs, and restore their health, dignity and safety. • Enhance public safety by reducing the supply of drugs, disrupting the illegal drug market and deterring illegal drug use by adults and youth. Citizens for 1 provided significant leadership and support to this initiative. New Orleans Master Plan A long-running criticism of city planning in New Orleans was that the master plan for land use and development were not properly reflected in zoning ordinances. Without the force of law behind it, the master plan had limited practical effect, and land-use decisions tended to be made on a case-by-case basis, with the City Council deciding each request for a variance from the city code. In 2008, Citizens for 1 Greater New Orleans threw its support behind a charter change to give the city’s master plan the force of law. Voters approved the measure, and subsequently the city’s focus shifted to how to achieve the plan’s long-term vision for the city. • See Citizensfor1.com for detailed reports on our 2006-2012 legislative initiatives. 10 Citizens for 1 Greater New Orleans | www. citizensfor1.com “New Orleans’ best chance for recovery may lie in it’s reawakened sense of community, born of shared disaster because government, it is now clear, will not act unless pushed hard. When Citizens for 1 Greater New Orleans meet in Frierson’s dining room, the view from the windows now stretches well beyond uptown.” Fortune Magazine August 21, 2006: “The Long Strange Resurection of New Orleans” “After Katrina the head of the Corps of Engineers conceded that the Corps had built ‘a system in name only.’ While the existing local levee boards neither designed not built this flawed system — it was entirely a federal project — people in metropolitan New Orleans recognized the need to create a unified board which had the ability to assess what the Corps was doing and which would keep its focus on flood protection, as divorced as possible from local politics. Citizens 1 for Greater New Orleans took the lead in convincing politicians to give up some of their own power over the old levees boards, combine them, and establish a process that would lead to the appointment of a technically competent board. No longer would the region be at the mercy of the Corps of Engineers.” John M. Barry Author of “Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927” Commissioner, The Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority, East “These citizens want a safe city behind sound levees so that no generation would endure what we have endured, and more than that they want honest and efficient city government, one free of old habits of cronyism and patronage that stifled progress and made us all unsafe.” Ashton Phelps The Times-Picayune “I have worked in many states and legislatures over my years in the political arena, but have never seen such a well-organized, dedicated, AND effective group of volunteers. I applaud you and the leadership of Citizens 1 because I know the hard work that goes on behind the scenes to coordinate people, messages, etc. Again, thank you and all Citizens 1 members for your efforts to make New Orleans a fabulous place to live, work, learn and play.” Caroline Roemer Shirley Executive Director Louisiana Association of Public Charter Schools “For her leadership in a movement that slayed two sacred cows of Louisiana politics and advanced civic activism during southeast Louisiana’s darkest hour, Ruthie Frierson, has been selected to receive The Times-Picayune Loving Cup for 2006.” The Times-Picayune “The second piece of legislation was the attempt to strip funding for the state OIG from the appropriations bill. Had it succeeded, it could have encouraged a nascent counter-reform movement to un-do much of what has been accomplished by Citizens and others after Katrina. But Citizens’ leadership drew on its relationships across the state and engendered powerful public opposition to this ploy to reduce oversight of state government. In my opinion, the state OIG exists today only because of those efforts.” Ed Quatrevaux Inspector General of New Orleans Citizens for 1 Greater New Orleans | www. citizensfor1.com 11 Coalition Partners Citizens for 1 Greater New Orleans has worked in coalition with many other organizations which have taken leadership roles on major issues. They include: 504Ward.com Healthy Lifestyle Choices New Orleans Chamber of Commerce Agenda for Children Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Addiction Recovery Resources, Inc. Holy Cross Neighborhood Association New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau Alliance for Good Government Horizon Initiative New Orleans Crime Coalition Archdiocese of New Orleans Jefferson Business Council Baptist Community Ministries Jefferson Chamber of Commerce New Orleans Metropolitan Association of Realtors Beacon of Hope Junior League of New Orleans Inc. New Orleans Police and Justice Foundation Black Alliance of Educational Options Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative New Schools for New Orleans Black Chamber of Commerce Blue Print Louisiana Bridge House / Grace House Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana Juvenile Regional Services Broadmoor Neighborhood Association LA Ethics 1 LA Public Defenders Board Bureau of Governmental Research Business Council, New Orleans and the River Region Center for Development and Learning Committee for A Better New Orleans Common Good Council of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Council for a Better Louisiana Court Watch NOLA Crimestoppers Dillard University Eden House Educate Now! Education’s Next Horizon EngageNOLA Family Justice Center Forward New Orleans Greater New Orleans Drug Demand Reduction Coalition Greater New Orleans Foundation Greater New Orleans School Partnership Greater New Orleans Inc. League of Women Voters Levees.org Odyssey House O.P.E.N. Partnership for Youth Development Public Affairs Research Council Puentes Inc. Reentry Task Force Scott S. Cowen Institute for Public Education Initiatives at Tulane Louisiana Asian Chamber of Commerce University Silence is Violence Louisiana Association of Business and Teach for America Industry Louisiana Association of Public Charter Teach NOLA Schools Total Community Action Louisiana Chamber of Commerce Tulane Tower Learning Center Living Witness Ministries Louisiana Leadership Initiative Tulane University Louisiana Partnership for Children & Families Urban League of Greater New Orleans Louisiana Realtors Association Loyola Institute of Politics Loyola University Mary Queen of Vietnam Parish Metropolitan Crime Commission, NOLA National Council of Jewish Women, New Orleans Section V.O.T.E. Women of the Storm World Trade Center of New Orleans Xavier University Young Leadership Council Youth Enpowerment Project Youth Rescue Initiatives Newcomb College Institute for Women at Tulane University New Leaders for New Schools We want to acknowledge and express our sincerest appreciation to our local, state, and federal elected and appointed officials and government leaders for their support and cooperation. 12 Citizens for 1 Greater New Orleans | www. citizensfor1.com