“Across New Orleans, millions of dollars for community investments were stripped away with the stroke of a pen. In my district alone, the Governor vetoed $1.7 million for an early learning center, $6.5 million for a Volunteers of America healthcare hub, and $1 million for a housing resilience hub. Those are just a few examples. Across the city, many more worthy projects were vetoed, including funding for a homeless youth shelter and other critical programs serving our most vulnerable residents.
These were not political projects. They were investments in children, healthcare, housing stability, workforce development, and public well being.
When government chooses to deny resources to communities because of political disagreements, that is not leadership. Leadership is about serving people, not settling scores.
The people harmed by these decisions are not politicians. They are working families, children, seniors, patients seeking care, and young people in need of shelter and support.
I will not be intimidated, bullied, or silenced by attempts to punish New Orleans for refusing to fall in line politically. My responsibility is to fight for the people I represent, and I will continue doing exactly that.
Louisiana deserves leadership that brings people together and invests in our future, not leadership that governs through vengeance, division, and political retaliation.”