Bio: Troy Henry was born
and raised in the Lower 9th Ward, then Pontchartrain Park, and now
lives in New Orleans East. His family has a long legacy of leadership
and improving the quality-of-life in the community. His mother was a
school teacher, for 35 years his father owned and operated the Lower
Ninth Ward’s only neighborhood pharmacy, and his grandfather, Clarence
“Chink” Henry, was President of the Local ILA 3000 Longshoreman’s
Union. Troy graduated from St. Augustine High School, completed
undergraduate studies at Stanford University, and then earned dual
Masters degrees at Carnegie-Mellon University. After
spending 20 years as a corporate executive, Troy and his wife moved
back to New Orleans with their three kids. Years later, he started his
own successful company, Henry Consulting.
Troy
has played a leadership role on some of the most important and
successful projects in the City of New Orleans since Hurricane
Katrina,
and he’s also worked effectively with city governments and elected
officials throughout his career, including at the state
and federal
level. Troy’s vision is for the City of New Orleans to have more
professionalism in City government, greater transparency and
accountability, improved streets and infrastructure, less crime and
blight, and a strong economy.
Troy
and his wife Marcia have been married for 25 years and have three kids,
Brandon, Monique, and Nicole. He has 20 years of executive management
experience at some of the largest U.S. corporations. He is former
President of United Water, the
nation’s largest water and
waste-water management company. He led significant recovery efforts in
New Orleans including the Unified New Orleans Plan (UNOP), Energy
Smart, and the redevelopment of the historic Pontchartrain Park
neighborhood. He assisted local, minority and women-owned businesses
secure over $150 million in contracts since Katrina.
His community involvement includes:
* St. Augustine High School, Chairman of the Board
* New Orleans Regional Black Chamber of Commerce, Board Member
* Louisiana Children’s Museum, Board Member
* New Orleans Public Belt Railroad, Board Member
Response to Candidate Survey Governance
1.
What specific steps will you take to ease citizens’ ability to work
with city government and to access public records, information, and
services? Also, how will you make city government more accessible and
responsive to non-English speakers?
As
Mayor, I’ll place all public records on-line and will honor public
records requests in accordance with State law. Also, my Administration
will not have an adverse relationship with the media. In fact, I will
regularly provide, to the public and the media, comprehensive
information regarding the City’s progress and my Administration’s
performance. To better engage citizens, I will hold monthly
meetings/forums in each of the City’s 5 council districts to discuss
key issues in each of those areas. I’ll also hold quarterly public
meetings where residents can ask questions of each of my cabinet
members about the performance of their respective Departments.
Additionally, I’ll hold annual Community Congresses (similar to the
citywide meetings held during development of the Unified New Orleans
Plan) that allow residents to provide feedback to my Administration
about the City’s progress and also to set the City’s priorities for the
upcoming year. Regarding making city government more accessible and
responsive to non-English speakers, our City’s two main constituencies
besides non-English speakers are Vietnamese and Hispanic. It would be
ideal if the City could hire personnel specifically to provide
translation services to help those citizens to navigate local
government. But first, I will reach out to leaders in those communities
to learn more about how Vietnamese and Spanish speakers prefer to
interact with government. Then I would begin working with community
based organizations serving those constituencies to help provide
government services and information.
2.
Our city has suffered in recent years because of ongoing quarrels and
distrust between the Mayor’s office and the City Council. What
immediate steps will you take to work with the City Council on critical
issues facing our city? Please be specific.
First,
I have to fix the Mayor’s Office. There is a lack of leadership,
collaboration, information sharing, and a host of other challenges that
I have to address within the Executive Branch before people begin to
develop a level of trust with the Mayor’s Office. Fixing that office is
critical for city government to begin performing at the high standards
that New Orleans residents expect and deserve, and that’s why the first
pillar of my campaign platform is Re-Engineering City Government. That
initiative will begin immediately, on my first day in office, and it
will be completed within the first six months of my Administration. The
next thing I commit to doing is respecting each branch of government,
which includes respecting the City Council as a co-equal branch. I have
the responsibility of involving the Council, early and often, in
overall planning, budgetary matters, and assisting with providing
residents with information.
3.
Citizens and organizations such as the NAACP and the Louisiana Justice
Institute have voiced concerns about a number of issues involving the
Office of the Inspector General, including: Inspector General turnover;
OIG office and Ethics Review Board misconduct in spending, hiring, and
firing; allegations of racism and sexism in the office; and the lack of
a policy and procedures manual. How will you address these concerns
working in coordination with the new advisory committee, and make
changes that are both needed and acceptable to concerned citizens?
The
OIG’s office is law, so we should learn to accept. It’s here for a very
good reason. As there are countless examples of corruption, ineptitude,
mismanagement, and underperformance in New Orleans government, people
are rightfully concerned about how their tax dollars are being spent
and how government officials are conducting themselves. I think the
issues are polarizing now because the OIG’s mission is not clearly
defined. The Ethics Review Board and the OIG must clearly state and
communicate the core mission of the office in order to be successful.
Being successful means not only that the OIG’s office is
well-functioning and expertly performing, but also that the office has
established a relationship of trust and confidence with the community.
My Administration will be fully transparent, so for me, having 3rd
party review is welcome. Many of the organizations that I’ve worked for
or led have had similar types of oversight from federal, state, or
local agencies. So I’m keenly familiar with the processes and extremely
comfortable with the oversight and review. Also, a well-functioning
city government — the kind that residents will have in a Henry
Administration — makes the OIG’s work really simple.
4.
Some say the budget approval process does not provide enough time for
thorough review, does not allow for community participation, is not
readily available for public scrutiny, and lacks full disclosure of
each agency’s budget. Are these valid criticisms, and, if so, how would
you address each?
The
criticisms are valid. I don’t believe that the Nagin Administration’s
budget numbers can be trusted. And in fact, I’ve spoken with
Councilmembers who have said that the Administration’s financial
projections are unrealistic. My Administration will vastly improve the
City budgeting process by working with the City Council on budget
matters far in advance of budget deadlines set in the City Charter. We
also have to set priorities for spending to ensure that the taxpayer
dollars are spent on the City’s real needs — our spending should be
data-driven and based on what the community has established as the
City’s priorities, not based on politics. We’ve had a few planning
processes to give us guidance on the community’s short-term priorities,
and we’ll have to continue to engage residents to re-set some
priorities on an annual basis (I covered some of this in question #1).
I also believe that full transparency is the key to renewing citizens’
faith that City government is spending their money wisely and working
in their best interests. Additionally, my Administration will produce
programs, policies, and procedures that are sustainable, that people
adopt as a way of life, so the City can continue to be a “Model City
for the 21st Century” no matter who’s in office.
5. What are the qualifications you require for hiring a Chief Administrative Officer?
My
CAO must have extensive management experience, preferably as a CAO or
City Manager. That person will be able to work collaboratively with
others, understand finance and budgeting, effectively communicate, and
get results. I will also require all members of my staff to have and
practice the highest degree of ethics in word, deed, and associations.
My CAO must make a full commitment to performance management in all
areas and aspects of city government.
Community Development
6.
How will you address quality of life and employment concerns for young
professionals, both natives and newcomers, so that New Orleans can
remain nationally competitive and attractive as a place to live?
New
Orleans has great people, food, history, and culture, but we also need
a strong and diversified economy, with good paying jobs, so we can
retain and attract the talented individuals that will help our city to
grow and prosper. I want to bring 40,000 to 50,000 new jobs to New
Orleans by doing extensive recruitment of at least 200 of the
Fortune-1000 companies to move some of their business units/services to
the City. I’ll also ask President Obama to show that the federal
government believes in the quality of the levees that they built to
protect our City by moving thousands of federal jobs to the area. I’ll
lead this recruitment effort while working closely with other City and
regional leaders in the public and private sector to ensure success.
The City itself can also be an economic development engine. Every year,
the Administration spends millions of dollars on City contracts. I’ll
make every effort to ensure that those taxpayer dollars are recycled in
our own community by choosing capable and qualified local firms to do
work in the City.
Economic Development
7.
The Port of New Orleans is a vital economic engine for New Orleans and
the region. How will your administration work closely with Port
officials to realize critical infrastructure investments to ensure the
Port’s competitiveness with other Gulf Coast and East Coast ports?
The
City’s major riverfront investment will be through Reinventing the
Crescent, our master development plan for six miles of riverfront from
Jackson Avenue to the Holy Cross neighborhood. A major port-specific
project will be to develop additional cruise ship terminals so that New
Orleans can compete with cities like Miami, currently the top cruise
port in the nation. I will continue to support the City’s multi-year
$250+ million investment in Reinventing the Crescent because it will
enhance the riverfront, the City, and our overall quality-of-life, as
well as spur an additional $3.6 billion in private investment,
particularly in residential and commercial development. Those
investments along the riverfront, enhancements to the area along the
port, and the development of new cruise ship terminals will enable the
port to better achieve it’s short-term and long-term objectives.
8.
Will you revive the public-private partnership responsible for economic
development that was discontinued by the current Mayor?
I
support a Public Private Partnership for economic development, and I
will immediately revive that discussion with the business community.
However, I’m not in favor entirely stripping that function from the
Mayor’s office because I will play an active role in fostering economic
development in our City. My plan is to bring 40-50,000 jobs to New
Orleans by extensively recruiting business from Fortune 1000 companies.
I understand how to accomplish that because I’ve done it before as an
executive at some of those same companies. I would like the Public
Private Partnership to work with me to accomplish the Administration’s
economic development objectives. But I also understand that our City
needs a long-term economic development plan that is sustainable
throughout future Mayoral administrations.
Environmental
9.
As Mayor, what steps can you take within 4 years to ensure
implementation of federal, state, and private coastal restoration
projects; and which efforts do you think are most likely to be
successful?
Having
an effective and communicative relationship with the State and federal
agencies responsible for coastal restoration (e.g., Coastal Protection
and Restoration Authority, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, etc.), our
Congressional delegation, as well as with our regional partners in
Jefferson, St. Bernard, and Plaquemines parishes is the first step.
Many of New Orleans’ levees may have been strengthened, but our first
lines of defense against disastrous hurricanes, for the most part, lie
within those other parishes. It will be my job as Mayor to ensure that
those other stakeholders understand New Orleans’ priorities; and also
that they understand New Orleans’ local, regional, and national
significance and how the decisions they make within their own
jurisdictions will impact the City of New Orleans (and the much larger
geography that New Orleans affects). Since the State will not commit
(in the short term, at least) to allowing the Mississippi River below
New Orleans to naturally flow and deposit sediment, I think the
sediment diversion and wetlands development projects will be the most
successful. I will also continually advocate for Smart Growth in New
Orleans and the surrounding parishes, including advocating for
legislation that incentivizes local governments to implement regional
land-use zoning.
Candidate Troy Henry said "he supports the green collaborative and that promoting a green community will be a high priority should he be elected." [A Green Platform for New Orleans' Next Mayor and Council, hosted by Global Green 1-26-2010]
Infrastructure
10.
How will you address neglected properties, both public and private,
such as city-owned buildings, the Hyatt Regency, recreation centers,
and the old Tulane Public Health School building; crumbling
neighborhood streets; and widespread blight left in disrepair since
Hurricane Katrina?
The
City needs a property disposition plan for properties that are
city-owned. If one doesn’t currently exist, one of my first tasks as
Mayor will be to develop one. I also don’t trust the current
Administration’s judgment regarding how recovery dollars are being
allocated, so I’ll review the status of the City’s recovery/rebuilding
projects to ensure that the dollars are being spent where needed.
Additionally, we’ll conduct a top-to-bottom review of the City’s
recovery/rebuilding process to look for ways we can be more efficient
and speed up the process. We also need to begin aggressive code
enforcement (where appropriate) against properties that have been left
to rot by property owners who have the means to repair their property.
If property owners have financial challenges to rebuilding, we must
work collaboratively with non-profits and NORA to provide residents
with opportunities to rebuild or purchase affordable new,
energy-efficient homes (similar to the program being implemented in
Pontchartrain Park). For larger properties, particularly ones that are
privately owned, a one-size-fits-all approach won’t work. Each property
will require a customized approach/strategy that addresses the
challenges associated with that particular site. I won’t presume to
know how to address those properties until I have a full understanding
of each of those challenges. But I will work collaboratively with the
community and other key stakeholders to develop solutions.
Education
11.
What is your view on city government’s role in education (for example,
do you support a mayoral takeover of public schools)? State your goals
in this regard and a strategy for achieving them.
I
support what works. The bureaucratic, top-down management structure
that New Orleans had pre-Katrina was not working. Our current charter
school model needs improvement, but it’s been a huge success thus far.
Since Katrina, we’ve seen test scores in Orleans public schools
skyrocket. I believe it’s because charter schools have a degree of
independence that fosters creativity in curriculum, teaching methods,
student activities, and overall management at each school. The charter
school model also fosters competition amongst schools, so the
principals, teachers, and support personnel at each school are
incentivized to perform well. In summary, what we’re doing now is
working, so I don’t support a mayoral takeover. But I do think the
Mayor can help our schools to continue making progress. We can fully
fund NORD programs and work collaboratively with our school leaders to
direct kids to those programs. We will incorporate student internships
into our economic development initiatives. The City also owns vacant
buildings that may be used by charter schools seeking space to operate.
Housing
12.
What concrete steps will you take to ensure that the city’s low-income
residents are able to secure affordable, safe, and secure housing?
One
of the biggest obstacles to affordable residential housing development
is the cost and risk of pre-development. Because the City is still
recovering, we should underwrite some of that risk so that developers
will be incentivized to build in New Orleans. Developers should also
work through community based organizations to build capacity in those
organizations for meeting the needs of low-income residents. We’re
already doing some of that now in redeveloping the Pontchartrain Park
neighborhood where I grew up. The development team did all of the
pre-development work and carried all of the costs. After the work was
completed and stakeholders saw demonstrated progress, the philanthropic
community and NORA essentially refunded those costs. Throughout the
process, we worked with the community, City (City Planning, NORA,
Safety and Permits, etc.) and State officials, the LRA, HUD, FEMA,
Department of Energy, and Congress to clear obstacles to development
and to package incentives to lower costs for homebuyers. We’ve been
successful enough to place the lowest income buyers into 3-bedroom,
2-bathroom, Silver LEED-certified, hurricane-fortified, homes that have
been raised to grade elevation, but are still fully compatible with the
surrounding community. I’ll ensure that NORA is funded and empowered to
continue these activities. I will also demand more accountability,
transparency, and performance from HANO and HUD. It’s a travesty that
HANO has been allowed to mismanage so much money, property, and so many
people’s lives over the last few decades. I will work with the Obama
Administration and HUD to clean up that agency, but I’ll also use the
Mayor’s bully pulpit to demand action. Finally, we have to solve our
homelessness problem. We have to find the best way to provide more
housing units, and we must work collaboratively with the non-profits
and advocacy groups that are working diligently to solve this problem.
I’m not sure what the perfect solution is right now, but I do know that
whatever action is taken will be based on collaboration with those
groups, community leaders, and other elected officials, a full
assessment of needs within the ranks of the homeless, and an assessment
of methods that have worked in pockets of homelessness throughout the
country.
Public Safety
13.
Responsibility for the safety and development of young people in the
Youth Study Center falls to the mayor and his/her appointees. What will
you do to ensure that the renovation/rebuilding of the YSC will result
in the best possible environment for rehabilitation of youth, and that
the process of construction is aligned with reform and best practices?
What is your vision for the new facility?
First,
the Youth Study Center needs classrooms. It needs increased bed space,
recreational areas, and classrooms that have the same technology that
is available to other students. It also needs a staff of trained
professionals. The current atmosphere at the Center is not conducive to
learning at all. In fact, in lawsuits filed against the Center,
conditions sited at the facility include the existence of rats and
mold, a lack of educational services and adequately trained staff, and
the practice of holding youngsters in cells for at least 20 hours a
day. For the Center to be effective, counselors need to develop
strategies that deal with the youngsters as individuals and address the
needs of the whole person. For instance, there should be a Physical
Education program for physical activity and wellness, also group
counseling for substance abuse and teen pregnancy. There should also be
increased educational requirements, especially in literacy, for
youngsters housed at the facility.
14. What is your position on conducting a national search for a city police Superintendant?
I
think we should search nationally (including New Orleans) for the best
man or woman to lead the Police Department. And I’ll immediately
convene a group (that includes law enforcement experts, criminal
justice system advocates, community leaders, etc.) to conduct that
search.
15.
Prosecutors are facing the intractable problem of persuading witnesses
and victims to testify in criminal cases. Citizens are distrustful of
the New Orleans Police Department. What steps will you take to remedy
these problems?
It
begins with my leadership as Mayor, and with the person that is
selected as the new Police Superintendent. The Police Superintendent
and leadership within the Police Department will be held to high
standards of performance, accountability, and transparency. Their
success will be measured by specific goals of crime reduction, police
professionalism, response times, public satisfaction, and the
Department’s ability to work effectively with the other agencies that
comprise the Criminal Justice System, including the District Attorney,
Sheriff, Judges, Office of the Public Defender, federal law enforcement
agencies, and others. The Department must also establish a more
effective and continuous relationship with community residents.
Community Policing has never really been instituted by the Department,
but it has proven effective in other communities that have dramatically
reduced crime, such as in New York City. Once the arms of the criminal
justice system begin to operate together effectively, I believe
citizens will begin to develop enough trust in the system where they
feel comfortable working in partnership with us, then we’ll be even
more effective. The Vera Institute of Justice (nationally renowned for
working with municipalities to develop effective Public Safety
programs) developed, with the City Council, a proposal to enhance the
Criminal Justice System and public safety in New Orleans. I fully
support their objectives, and as Mayor I’ll ensure that those best
practices are implemented.
16.
Formerly incarcerated persons compose ten percent of New Orleans’
population and the recidivism rate in our community is fifty percent
within five years. What are your plans to make the employment of
formerly incarcerated persons a condition, or a factor, in the awarding
of city contracts? What efforts will you take to create incentives for
businesses within Orleans Parish to hire formerly incarcerated persons
in our community?
In
addition to bringing 50,000 new jobs to the City of New Orleans, I’ll
work with community based organizations like the Khalil Osiris’ Circle
of Courage Project to address problems of recidivism and employment of
ex-offenders. First, I think that providing good economic/job
opportunities for residents is a crime-preventive measure that gives
individuals an alternative to choosing illegal ways to earn a living.
After a life of criminal activity and incarceration, I think it’s
important to first give individuals the skills and tools that are
needed to confront and address behavioral and emotional problems that,
if not properly addressed, may hinder that individual’s success in the
work place and could ultimately lead them back to being incarcerated.
Mr. Osiris and others have developed successful programs that help
ex-offenders to resolve those issues. The programs also lead
ex-offenders back to school, community colleges (for learning trades),
or even universities. I’ll encourage the business community to engage
those programs and to provide ex-offenders with employment
opportunities. I think those are the best ways to lead formerly
incarcerated persons to jobs and to reduce recidivism. I also think
more research is required before the City makes employment of formerly
incarcerated persons a condition, or a factor, in the awarding of city
contracts. And I’ll commit my Administration to conducting the research.