A young attorney, Timothy David Ray says he is running for the District B seat because “it’s time for my generation to pick up the mantle, step-up and carry-on the work in our communities.”
“New Orleans needs fresh ideas from a public servant who will lead all New Orleanians forward together. I am ready.”
He points to his sharp focus and high energy level, his ability to read, study, listen, plan, implement and monitor progress, and his experience with building coalitions. These skills, he says, allow him to look past symptoms and see underlying causes.
Specifically, he would “increase housing subsidies for both low-income and moderate-income households, offer incentives to developers to increase affordable units. . . and work with HANO to renovate and place many of our properties into use by residents.”
He would amend the Smart Housing Mix Ordinance to include mid-range income families.
“I also support incentives for developers to increase affordable housing units and increase the affordability term of those units. I would support density increases, zoning exemptions, and tax abatement incentives to help us achieve our goal of more quality affordable housing for longer periods,” he says.
Public safety is another one of his top priorities. He sees crime as a symptom of other realities such as homelessness, poverty, the lack of education, and the lack of public investment in poor neighborhoods and communities.
Ray says, “It’s not enough for our city to react when violent crime hits the French Quarter. We have to focus on the root causes of crime and provide resources for at-risk citizens like jobs, education, mentorship, housing, mental healthcare services and healthcare services.”
He advocates the increased use of diversion programs. As the son of a retired New Orleans police officer, he says, “I know there are outstanding, upstanding officers that serve our city. We need to help more of our citizens meet those officers.”
In the area of economic development, he thinks City Hall should maintain an office of entrepreneurial development that would support local creativity by offering guidance through every phase of starting a business.
