At the end of the Shreveport city council work session on Mon. Feb. 7, council chairman James Green read into the record a statement to explain his council committee appointments.
This author published on Jan. 28 "Council President Green Plays Politics Big Time With Committee Assignments."
He stated that these appointments were NOT newsworthy in his opinion.
He also added that he refuses to talk to the media because they give you 45 seconds and then twist comments to satisfy their stories. "I will tell my own story."
Green's message was entitled "The Standard".
Green explained (twice) that the art of politics is "who got what, where, when and how". And that this is a "process of asking, negotiating, and receiving."
"Sometimes we read from different rule books but the game is still the same...we only have different players."
He emphasized that there was no entitlement to committee chair seats.
He mentioned several times that four council members communicated with him their desires to be appointed a committee chair and two did not. By listing the four, he identified by reference but not by name council members John Nickelson and Levette Fuller who failed to make a request to chair a committee.
Evidently Green felt that it was incumbent on the council members to take the initiative on committee assignments. He NEVER said that he started the discussion on committee assignments/chairs with any of the council members, much less Nickelson and/or Fuller.
Green also said that Politics 101 is "when you get elected you ask to be on a committee."
Politics 102 is that "once you have been elected then you ask to stay on a committee.
"The people who called got chairships. Those who did not call, did not. Four called and two did not."
Green did NOT mention that both Nickelson and Fuller voted NO on his selection as committee chair.
He also questioned the letter by NIckelson to the Legislative Auditor because he did not believe Nickelson was in fact the chair of the Audit and Finance Committee as indicated on the letter on the date it was sent.
By text, Green was asked for a copy of his speech and advised it would be published verbatim upon receipt. In the alternative, readers can hear his remarks in the recorded session on Mayor Adrian Perkins FB page of the work session (not the special session on liquor license appeal.)
