Cynthia Lee-Sheng seeks Jefferson Council At-Large seat

4th May 2015   ·   0 Comments

By Christopher Tidmore
Contributing Writer

The daughter of the late Jefferson Sheriff Harry Lee announced two months ago that she plans to seek promotion to the At-Large Jefferson Council seat vacated by Elton Lagasse, for a basic reason: “I have been honored to serve this great parish since 2009 and very simply put — I love my job.”

Her successes, and work left to do, motivated District 5 Councilwoman Cynthia Lee-Sheng to run in the October 2015 At-Large primary. She explained in an interview with The Louisiana Weekly, “During my six years in office I’ve been able to tackle some decade-long problems with success. Fat City is a different place now because I always believed it could be better. I’ve worked with the State legislature to bring drainage improvements for long-eroding canals. I’ve also pushed for a lot of beautification through landscaping, sculptures and murals because I’m certain there is a direct link between what we look like and our economic health and vibrancy. I’ve led the charge on these projects and I’d love the opportunity to tackle some parish-wide issues so that Jefferson Parish continues to attract the next generation.”

Lee-Sheng’s parishwide campaign is predicated on three platform planks. Foremost, she ob­served, “We need to be able to continually attract young families to this Parish and one of the ways we can do so is through finding creative ways to revive our older housing stock.

“When people make decisions to purchase a home and start their families in Jefferson Parish then we are assured our schools, playgrounds and libraries remain active, busy, and vibrant. We know our businesses will succeed as the customer base keeps growing. It all starts with the housing choice and we need to ensure that Jefferson Parish has all the options available for them to make the decision to live here.

“Secondly, to achieve that end, We also have neighborhoods where we could just do better. For run down residential properties we have worked with code enforcement to issue property violations.

“A property that is an eyesore and not maintained brings down property values for the surrounding neighbors who properly maintain their homes. In commercial areas we need to rejuvenate interest and investment to make sure properties are put to their best and highest use. I have invigorated the commercial property interests in both Fat City and Bucktown by sponsoring legislation that re-examined and changed the property zoning and I hope to continue in other parts of the parish as well.”

Yet, no one is comfortable in relocating, even a decade after the storm, without security against flooding. “There have been major structural improvements to our drainage facilities forced by the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. But we are also at risk for strong and frequent rain events that drop a significant amount of water in a short period of time. Our current way of draining water by pumping to the lake or the river causes land subsidence.”

“Land subsidence forces us to need more pumping capacity thereby increasing our drainage needs and resources. It is a vicious cycle that will need to be improved upon as we look at drainage for the 21st century. If elected to an at-large council position I will be on the forefront of this issue to set the groundwork for the next generation to live more cohesively with our waterways.”

Jefferson Parish is beginning to experience serious abandonment and blighted homes that threaten to make marginal neighborhoods denigrate, and accelerate outmigration. As to what could be done to seriously reverse this pattern, she replied, “We need to get these homes into the hands of property owners that will maintain and have pride in their property. We must ensure that all violations are quickly cited and enforced. When property owners are held accountable to the rule of law in ensuring that their properties are well-maintained, secure, and presentable they are forced to make the financial decisions to reinvest or sell.”

“The strategy is often a property-by-property battle that takes time but is well worth the effort. (We have recently worked to demolish a vacant, abandoned property near Causeway Boulevard.”

At current rates of growth and demographic change, Jefferson Parish will be a minority-majority parish in the next 20 years. When asked how Jefferson government policy should change to reflect this major demographic difference, Lee-Sheng said, “I believe people of all races and cultures want the same things from their community. They want to feel secure and safe. They want economic opportunities for themselves and to know that there are enough opportunities so that their children can find jobs in our community and not move away for higher-paying salaries.

“They want to feel pride in what their neighborhood looks like. Many of the issues that may come to the forefront in the next 20 years would be housing (discussed above) and transportation. I have been an outspoken supporter of Transportation Network Companies (Uber, Lyft, Sidecar) so that all areas of this parish are adequately served. I have also supported the use of our public right of ways and parks to support cultural events at a low cost so that we may better celebrate the diversity within Jefferson Parish.” Also to the end of diversity, “I support the DBE contracting programs so that more businesses in Jefferson Parish have an opportunity to participate and gain experience.”

Making the parish thoroughfares more attractive has been a major focus of the District 5 Council­woman. “If you look at the last decade I believe our parish has really moved forward with beautifying our public rights of way through the planting of trees, landscaping and displaying works of public art. This in turn has been the reason for much economic prosperity and is why we have seen an economic renaissance of sorts on Veterans Boulevard.

“For the past year I have been working on a beautification project along W. Esplanade Boulevard by examining every u-turn lane and finding space with which to add decorative lighting, trees and plantings. We’re also designing some decorative signs at the entrance points for Bucktown. In a few months this project will finally be underway and not only will it be a boost in the aesthetics of W. Esplanade but will improve the home property values throughout that corridor as well. “

For a suburban Republican, Lee-Sheng leaned towards greater cooperation with the City of New Orleans. When asked, should Jefferson join the RTA, she answered, “In the future I think it is crucial that Jefferson Parish work together with Orleans Parish to support the needs of both of our citizenries. A more regional outlook on many public policy issues will greatly benefit both parishes. Transportation is an obvious choice and I would certainly be open to expanding our role within the RTA and exploring more opportunities for transportation integration between our parishes.”

To that end, the mayors of Westwego and Gretna both seek pedestrian ferry service connecting them with East Bank Orleans Parish. Gretna wants to reconnect to Canal Street and Westwego to Audubon Park and the Riverbend so as to use their historic properties to attract young professionals and participate in the “uptown “boom.” When asked of the practicality, “As I mentioned above, if elected to an at-large council seat I will look for more ways we can work with Orleans parish to better serve the common needs of our citizens. The bottom line is that we have people in Jefferson Parish who work, play, and spend money in Orleans Parish. The same is true for the New Orleans citizens who frequent Jefferson Parish. I believe the more ways we have of connecting our two parishes through both public and private transportation options, the better it serves both of our economies.”

The predominantly African-American neighborhood in South Kenner still lacks a library branch over two decades since the previous one was closed during an economic crunch. That’s too long, according to Lee-Sheng. “South Kenner is in need of more direct Jefferson Parish library services again and I would look forward to working with the Mayor of Kenner as well as the Jefferson Parish Council Member in District 3 to make this a reality. I know there are discussions of a new branch and perhaps a library branch in Rivertown would further revitalize an area with so much potential for us.”

Many parochial and municipal bodies have used roll forwards on millages after rates have rolled back following higher property reassessments. Majorities of these bodies do this without a public vote, and some call this procedure “a stealth tax increase.” Lee-Sheng said of the practice, “I have not voted for the roll-forward of a millage and it is not my intention to do so.”

Jefferson’s number one challenge, she stated, was the “need to work more with our surrounding parishes to become more regionally oriented so that we may attract large corporations both domestic and foreign.”

“This is the only way,” she continued, “our area will be able to compete with the large growing cities in the southern United States.”

The primary is in October with a runoff in November.

This article originally published in the May 4, 2015 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.