re: I am now a candidate for Mayor of Covington, UPDATE to Mayor-Elect (pg 4)

Stay strong and don't get corrupted.

Covington desperately needs some better zoning. They need to decide what kind of town they want to be. Do they want to continue being a sleepy suburb, cute small town for antiquing, or do they want to develop into a small city with a more urban core? Right now, the development seems random and unplanned. It creates an area with massive traffic, sprawl, drainage, and housing shortage issues. Covington could really be something truly special with the right zoning plan (think The Woodlands).

I think you could do something really interesting if you start crafting a draft of such a plan. Include plans for road improvements, discuss annexing more areas, areas where multi-family or mixed use should be allowed/not allowed, maybe ordinances for how commercial buildings should look facing the street to create a consistent identity, plans to reform permitting departments to make things easier for businesses, incentives for certain types of businesses to start-up or relocate to Covington, a downtown master plan, etc.

By focusing on specific issues and having a better looking plan than your opponents hosted on a professional looking website, you could quickly make yourself out to be a formidable, legitimate candidate.

If you'd like to talk about it more, email me at bryndenblackfish@yahoo.com

I'm currently unemployed and have way too much time on my hands.

quote:

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Covington desperately needs some better zoning. They need to decide what kind of town they want to be. Do they want to continue being a sleepy suburb, cute small town for antiquing, or do they want to develop into a small city with a more urban core? 

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I will pass on the whole urban core thing. Someone in a thread about St. Tammany said we tax ourselves to death. Higher taxes keeps out much of the riff raff.
Taxes aren't my concern quality of life is. As such, here is a list of concerns and suggestions:


Priority #1 - NO MORE apartments-Period. This will be tough as some of the people making money off if these are from St. Paul. You know these people so it will mean alienating friends. Do you have the balls to put Covington first?

#2- trailer parks are out.

#3- the 190 overpass. Covington is an island...you must cross a bridge to reach it. A new bridge is the only option imho. Most of this is in the works iirc

#4- lean on the school board to address the issues at Pine View middle school. It has major issues and is a killer on the local real estate scene. This will alienate some voters in the Historic West 30's. Do you have the balls to alienate those voters?

#5- turn "dry" retention ponds into "wet" retention ponds and clean out the current"wet" retention ponds. Flooded housing WILL be an issue going forward otherwise.

#6- your next police chief does NOT go by a nickname. There are two guys in house that would be great. The current guy will most likely be the new sheriff. Passing over Mr. Nickname will take balls. Will you put Covington first?

#7- have a vision for our city. I have almost nothing in common with Keith Villere politically, but what Covington is today is largely due to his vision. Watkins expanded on the arts, and Cooper has focused on tourism and infrastructure. What will your focus be?

#8- define the assets of the city and propose how to use them. The fairgrounds is a space that is woefully underutilised imo. Ditto both the park and the trace.


#9- make all streets entering Boston Street or Tyler Street right turn only at all uncontrolled intersections (no light or not a 4 way stop). Traffic is a nightmare.the lights on Boston St. have already been mentioned by others.

#10- lean on the hospital. It has gone downhill as of late due to mismanagement imo. That's not good for such a large employer.

The other candidates will be sent this info as well. May the most capable win.
Put Covington first.
Good luck!

Best of luck

Congrats, Fat Man

Fat Man won!

You don't look that fat.

Just another lying politician...

J/K

Good luck!

LOL...every time I look out my front office window, one of your big-arse signs is staring at me from across the street.

No worries, though. I’d vote for a good ol’ baw, if I could vote in Covington elections.

TD slowly but surely taking over the world

Congrats on becoming Mayor Fat Man. We have a wonderful city with a small town feel (despite the traffic). I wish you the best for your time in office.

Can’t say I’ve heard it.