Councilmember District C

League of Women Voters^®
of New Orleans

James Carter

NAME: James Carter
CONTACT INFORMATION FOR PUBLICATION:
Address: 600 Belleville St.
Phone: 504- 914-1847
FAX: 504 525 6836
Email: jcarterlaw@hotmail.com
Website: http://www.votejamescarter.com
PARTY AFFILIATION: Democrat
PROFESSION: Attorney
PRESENT EMPLOYER/POSITION: Self- Carter Haley, McKee Lawfirm
HIGHEST LEVEL OF EDUCATION (include graduation date): Juris Doctorate, Howard University (1997)
APPLICABLE TRAINING: First director of New Orleans' nationally recognized Weed and Seed Program, an innovative, comprehensive multiagency approach to community revitalization, law enforcement, and crime prevention sponsored by the U.S. Department of Justice.
CIVIC EXPERIENCE: Prince Hall Mason, Omega Psi Phi, Tambourine and Fan Inc., Metropolitan Area Committee Leadership Forum (2003)
POLITICAL EXPERIENCE: First run for public office
POLITICAL ORGANIZATION MEMBERSHIPS: None
1. Will you expedite the completion and adoption of a Master Plan for the city with the force of law?
Yes, a Master Plan has been debated, discussed, and blocked by politicians and bureaucrats for years. What's been missing is the will of a City Council to make it a reality.
New Orleans needs to plan for success, just as any entity or business seeking a productive future must. The key to a successful Master Plan is the depoliticization of the process of choosing the Planning Commission, having neighborhood involvement in defining the plan, empowering a board of qualified experts fill the positions, and getting out of their way.
2. What is the Council's role in bringing back New Orleans?
The lives and safety of our citizens must come first. This translates to action on several front: making sure our levees are sound; making sure our first responders in police/fire/medical emergencies are funded and as fully staffed as possible: making sure that those rebuilding or coming back can have access to such services.
Equally important is the Council's ability to function without favoritism, corruption and incompetence. The time for hours of wasted time at Council meeting is over. Action is required: ability to communicate with other government agencies and officeholders must be improved: responsiveness to citizen needs must be improved: and most importantly, our all-too-deserved image as a patronage-driven, incompetent and corrupt political culture must finally be obliterated if we are to succeed as a community.
3. Will you pledge to end the practice of deferring to the District Council Member on land use matters?
As Council Member for District C, I will defer to the Planning Commission on land issues. However, that deference will not be done in a vacuum. In the new post-Katrina New Orleans, District Council members are still, and will remain, the first line of communication between our neighborhoods and government. The Council members' responsibility is to make sure their constituencies are heard and served. That being said, the new realities of life in New Orleans require a more comprehensive involvement on the part of all Council members in determining how best to use and direct our limited resources for the good of all.
4. What are the unique priorities for your district?
The unique priorities of District C include making sure that the district has adequate police, fire and hurricane protection. Residents should be assured that the district has a viable evacuation plan. Additionally, the reconstitution of businesses and economic development, and the establishment of quality schools and affordable housing is a must.

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