Big Easy Budget Equity Voter Guide
Overview:
City budgets are moral documents – and critical sites for intervention in working to create safer, healthier communities. In New Orleans, the Big Easy Budget Coalition (of which the Vera Institute of Justice is a member) has been advocating for a more transparent budget process that sees public safety as a fiscal priority that, like public health, requires holistic approaches across many city agencies. This Big Easy Budget Voter Guide is a tool for New Orleanians to understand how candidates for office across the city in 2025 envision the city budget process. All candidates running for mayor, city council, assessor, and county clerk were sent a five-question survey focused on their ideal budget, as well as accountability and transparency. It is an educational tool, and does not constitute endorsement of any candidate. For the sake of brevity and readability, some candidates’ responses have been summarized, the full transcript of their responses can be found here.
Why:
New Orleans needs effective, community-driven, evidence-based strategies to help the city thrive and break cycles of violence and poverty. Millions of dollars have been spent reacting to problems after the fact, instead of fixing them at the root. Public safety requires investing in preventative public health approaches, housing, youth development, and other proven programs that provide long-term solutions to poverty and violence. Yet it is harder than ever for New Orleanians to find affordable housing, quality food, decent wages, and a sense of safety in the community. Budget transparency and community education are necessary to address the causes of violence in New Orleans and cut through political theater.
Who We Are:
The Big Easy Budget Coalition is a collective of 30+ dedicated community organizations united by a shared vision of a more equitable and prosperous New Orleans. Our mission is to advocate for budget priorities that address the root causes of violence, poverty, and inequality in our city, ultimately creating a safer and stronger New Orleans for all residents. We represent a wide variety of sectors who do all kinds of important work in our communities and have strong bases of support. For more information about the Big Easy Budget Coalition, follow us @Bigeasybudget or bigeasydeal.org
Methodology
With support from survey experts, we crafted a short five question candidate survey that focused on what candidates’ ideal budget would look like. We also asked them about accountability and transparency in the budget process. As a coalition, we were also interested in their willingness to work with us and their interests in the Big Easy Deal. This survey was sent out to all candidates running for Mayor, City Council, Assessor, and County Clerk, including those running unopposed. Excluding unopposed candidates, the voter Guide response rate: 65% with more than half of candidates responding in all races. We used OpionionX to gather responses and Canva and Datawrapper to visualize the results.