Tonight I spoke against Councilman Daryl Hurst’s plan for a new tax to fund an economic development district for Delmont Village Shopping Center — creating another silo instead of fixing the ones we already have. I live in this district. I served nearly a decade on the Baton Rouge North Economic Development District. Politics is why I’m no longer on that board — the same politics that pushed out other effective Black leaders. Sen. Regina Barrow has been upset since I ran against her in 2019 and even ran bills to remove me. Go check the legislation she ran the last few years JBE was in office for yourself. I finally stopped getting reappointed when I realized she will ruin the whole thing to remove me. So I stepped aside. Look at it today. I’m no longer sparing leaders in this city. We losing too much. That’s the backdrop to why Baton Rouge keeps trying to create new districts: our elected officials don’t want to work together. They’ve built little kingdoms where they control the boards, the budgets, and the power — all under the banner of “economic development.” Here’s what should happen: 1. Reshape the NBR Economic Development District with a new board and more Metro Council appointments. 2. Levy a 1-cent tax across the entire district so it finally has full funding and full staffing. Not having a full team is half the battle. 3. Let the ED lead a 6-month master plan with full support from City-Parish. 4. Build from that plan — focusing on existing anchors like Southern University, the Airport, and Exxon. I’m done pretending we need to make elected officials comfortable. It’s time to shake the table. They either need to work together or admit why our districts keep failing. No one wants to call out Sen. Barrow — and what has that gotten North Baton Rouge? Nothing. A lot of talk and very little progress. We already have a model in the Downtown Development District. I laid out the blueprint tonight. If folks don’t want to use the ideas because I said them, that’s exactly why we don’t advance. Petty politics. We deserve better. - @garychambersjr