Media – Bart Everson

Losing Louisiana: Current Conditions (18 November 2021) Ashé CAC video

Just Calvin (12 November 2021) video interview

DSA New Orleans Fall 2021 Voter Guide (11 November 2021) article

Bart Everson (G) is 2021’s climate candidate, running on the Green Party ticket. On his website he says that his campaign focus will be on “strengthening the movement for ecological sanity, a collective vision that integrates social justice, grassroots democracy, and nonviolence.” He proposes a fiercely anti-capitalist Green New Deal for New Orleans that advocates for regional self-sufficiency and worker-run cooperatives. He broadly supports the Gulf South for a Green New Deal platform. He was calling for Entergy to be held accountable before Hurricane Ida, and is “philosophically opposed to privatization.” He would like to expand transportation infrastructure in the city. Of the three (remaining) candidates in this race, Everson is the only one to state he favors a short term rental regulation strictly tied to homestead exemption status. He also favors UBI and recreational drug legalization. Prior to running for office, he spearheaded the community driven effort to create the Lafitte Greenway linear park.
His writing on public affairs has appeared at Mid City Messenger and on his personal blog, which has archives going back as far as 1999, but took on particular significance during the post-Katrina period in New Orleans when Everson was a prominent voice in the Web 1.0 proto-social media community that sprung up in the aftermath of the storm. In 2007, Everson participated in a march on City Hall to protest a spike in crime and the general sense that the city was not recovering well. Audio from all of the speakers at that event still survives on the internet as does the text of the speech as written by Everson which concludes: “We know that law enforcement alone can’t solve these problems. We need long-term solutions too. We must have better schools. We must have an economy beyond tourism. We must pay workers a living wage. We must fight racism and classism. It will take all of us. It will take community involvement. Well, look around. The community IS involved. And we will stay involved. To our political class: You’re on notice. We will be watching.” During a televised debate this year, Everson added that today he regrets saying in his speech that New Orleans needed more police. He now says, in fact, we should have “as few police as possible.”

The Collective Social Network (11 November 2021) Video interview

Urban Conservancy (8 November 2021) questionnaire responses (note: unusual format may require zooming and horizontal scrolling; see also spreadsheet)

Big Easy Magazine’s November 13th Voter Guide; We Inform, You Decide (5 November 2021) Big Easy article

Green Party endorsed-candidate Bart Everson entered the race to raise awareness about the impact of climate change and the need to address that and other “green” issues more directly. If elected, he pledges to hold Entergy accountable. Everson supports investments in solar power to lower overall utility rates. He believes that New Orleans is one of the most vulnerable cities in the world to climate change and that the city should be in the forefront of meeting this challenge. Everson says that climate change is real, and this reality needs to be at the top of every policy discussion and decision at every level of society, from the global level right down to city government.

League of Women Voters (date?) survey responses

Lower 9th Ward Voter’s Coalition Student-led Virtual Forum (2 November 2021) 30-second candidate videos

Voter Education Guide (30 October 2021) Antigravity article

Rounding out this race is I’m-here-too-guys Bart Everson. Everson is a member of the Green Party—which has endorsed him—and is running on a primarily climate-focused platform. Everson says his number-one priority if elected would be to “hold Entergy accountable.” In response to our survey, he calls for deprivatization and/or demonopolization of city utilities, and rightfully points out how low-income households in New Orleans bear some of the highest energy rates in the nation. He says he wants to invest in community solar power as a means to lower rates and move towards cleaner energy reliance. Everson is a member of the Greater New Orleans Interfaith Climate Coalition (he is on hiatus for his candidacy in this race), which brought a recently-accepted recommendation to the Ethics Review Board that city officials should not be able to accept donations or money from the utilities they regulate.
Everson works at Xavier University and produced Rox, a public access TV program in the 90s, which he claims was the first TV show on the internet. Everson’s claim proves difficult to dispute, and in this latest edition of actual-real-facts-about-New-Orleans-political-candidates-too-wild-to-be-made-up, his own involvement began after he was court-ordered to complete community service at the station following an arrest for streaking.
In response to our survey questions, Everson said he supports the decriminalizaton of sex work, as well as all recreational drugs, adding that he supports a harm-reduction approach to drug use. In response to a question about landlords, he said “Our system whereby land can be owned by non-resident landlords does not serve us well, as revealed after Katrina. Ownership without occupation is tyranny.”
SUMMARY: Most of the candidates said the “right things” in response to our survey questions and in debates. They all came out in support of decriminalizing sex work, and spoke about regulating and holding Entergy accountable. But Bart Everson’s responses are not in the same contention with past actions and monies received as his opponents. We like him, but he’s a long shot for this race.

“Political Slash Fest: New Orleans at-large council race sees lots of bad blood spilled among leading candidates” (24 October 2021) Gambit article

“New Orleans council hopefuls express sympathy for Jared Brossett after DWI arrest” (21 October 2021) Times-Picayune article

Everson said the whole ordeal is proof of New Orleans’ need for a more robust public transit system, one of the key planks of his platform.

Green Party US (21 October 2021) profile and video

“Morrell, Palmer & Everson Found Common Ground on Many Issues” (20 October 2021) Big Easy article

Ever the progressive, Everson impressed many audience members who had never seen or heard him before with his simple, common sense, and direct answers. When he didn’t have knowledge in a subject area, he wasn’t afraid to say so – a totally refreshing reflection of how a good public servant should act.

“Division 2 Council candidates talk policy at Gambit debate Wednesday night” (20 October 2021) Gambit article

Everson, who arrived by bike, focused largely on environmental concerns but also the need for more radical change in terms of fixing violent crime.
“We have to try doing something radically different,” he said. “We should implement universal basic income, get rid of poverty, legalize drugs and invest in education and health.”

“Candidates won’t say whether they think Brossett should drop out of council race after DWI” (20 October 2021) Gambit article

Xavier University staffer Bart Everson, a Green Party candidate who is running on a climate change focused platform, said that the incident underscored the need for a better public transit system and mental health treatment.
“If we had a robust public transit system, maybe this wouldn’t have happened,” he said.

Gambit hosts New Orleans City Council At-Large Division 2 debate (20 October 2021) forum video

Bart for Council (20 October 2021) 30 second audio

New Orleans Complete Streets Coalition (19 October 2021) forum video
See also: Candidate responses to Complete Streets survey

Ringside Politics with Jeff Crouere (18 October 2021) WGSO audio

“Hot Seat: New Orleans City Council At-Large” (17 October 2021) WDSU video

“Council at Large Race” (15 October 2021) Fox 8 news package

The New Orleans Tribune (13 October 2021) interview video

Louisiana Fair Housing Action Center (11 October 2021) forum video

Green Wave Candidate Showcase (6 October 2021) interview video

Urban League + Power Coalition (5 October 2021) forum video — Don’t miss this one!

“4 New Orleans City Council at-large candidates vow to fix crime, blight” (3 October 2021) Times-Picayune article

Get Yours Today! (29 September 2021) Anchor / Spotify / Apple / YouTube

The Ryne Show (21 September 2021) Spreaker / Listen Notes / Google / Apple

“Progressive New Orleans Coalition backs newcomers” (17 August 2021) Gambit article

“Here’s how 4 City Council candidates want to address blight, crime in New Orleans” (17 August 2021) Times-Picayune article

New Orleans Coalition (16 August 2021) forum video

Voters East of the Industrial Canal (13 August 2021) forum video

Step Up for Action (9 August 2021) forum video part 1 and part 2

Long Live Alternative Parties (6 August 2021) interview audio

Radio Phoenix/Inagaddadavida (4 August 2021) interview audio