Don’t forget to listen to those who elect you

Shreveport City Council member the Reverend James Green has had a knack for saying so much that isn’t so. Just a couple of years ago, he proclaimed during a Shreveport City Council meeting that “We, as black folks, we ain’t ever messed nothing up. We’ve never messed it up. What you see in the city is not because you had a history of four blacks (on the Council) who messed this up.” So, white people are the problem?

Then there was the time Green used his elected office (again during a Council meeting) to urge advertisers to boycott a local newspaper by refusing to purchase any advertising from that newspaper because it published articles that were critical of Green’s service on the Council. So, are people who disagree with him also the problem?

Remember the time he unilaterally directed the city of Shreveport’s payroll department to increase the (collective) salaries of the City Council clerks by over $40,000 per year without even as much as asking any of the other Council members or the city attorney for their opinion before doing so? He was forced to walk back later that decision because his actions were determined to be illegal. So, are people who follow the law also the problem?

Oh, and then there was that time he was pulled over by Shreveport police and flashed a City Marshal badge without a commission card. When questioned about why he was carrying a City Marshal’s badge, he told the officer, “That ain’t your business,” because they give the badge to “certain people,” and Green said he was “a certain person,” whatever that means. So, people who don’t recognize his importance are the problem, too?

Whatever the issue might be for Green, someone else is always to blame.

So, while Green’s behavior at the most recent Shreveport City Council meeting doesn’t necessarily surprise anyone, it’s still unacceptable.

Here’s what went down: During the public comment section of the Council’s agenda for this particular meeting, a local citizen remarked that the Council was wasting time denouncing President Trump and discussing the Department of Government Efficiency rather than solving local issues like crime, trash pickup, water bills and blight. This particular citizen did not call out Green or disparage any Council member directly.

But instead of showing respect and humility during this part of the meeting, Green responded to the citizen by asking, “What happened to your brain?” He went on to ask again (and again), “How did your brain come to a point” where you could question or otherwise say to us what we can and can’t do?

Now, let that sink in. A public servant, paid by the taxpayers, looked a citizen in the eye who had the “audacity” to question the Council’s priorities. Instead of listening, Green dismissed her by demeaning her.

And why? Because she dared to question her City Council?

Because she expressed an opinion (at odds with Green’s) that the Council’s purpose isn’t to pass symbolic national resolutions, it’s to fix potholes, fund police, improve drainage, keep the lights on and make sure our water isn’t the color of sweet tea?

Green mansplained, browbeat and belittled this constituent, all in one breath.

That’s not leadership. That’s not service.

And that’s not right.

Author John Maxwell writes, “The moment a leader begins thinking he’s special is the moment he begins separating himself from the people he was called to serve.” And goodness, from the litany of Green’s shenanigans since he was elected to the City Council, Green has separated himself as a “certain person” (and those are his own words).

He’s forgotten that leadership is not about being special or a “certain person”; it’s about serving those who aren’t treated special every day of their lives.

If Green (or any Council member) thinks they are too “special” to be questioned or too “important” to be criticized, they need to resign. Leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less. And the best leaders are not the loudest or the most aggressive. They are the ones who listen, even when it’s uncomfortable, especially when it’s uncomfortable.

Green responded with contempt when he said, “What happened to your brain?” as if he were some kind of philosopher-king above reproach. That’s not the heart of a servant-leader. That’s the ego of someone who thinks the people serve him.

Leadership is not about always being right. It’s about being willing to get it right.

So, Reverend Green, please remember you’re a public servant. When someone walks up to that podium with something to say, your job is to listen — not agree, not affirm, but listen.

If you don’t, someone might even ask a “certain person” like yourself, “What happened to your brain?”

Louis R. Avallone is a Shreveport businessman, attorney and author of “Bright Spots, Big Country, What Makes America Great.” He is also a former aide to U.S. Representative Jim McCrery and editor of The Caddo Republican. His columns have appeared regularly in 318 Forum since 2007. Follow him on Facebook, on Twitter @louisravallone or by e-mail at [email protected], and on American Ground Radio at 101.7FM and 710 AM, weeknights from 6 - 7 p.m., and streaming live on keelnews.com.