Category: Shreveport City Marshal

Discussion of the administration of “Diamond” Charlie Caldwell & his utter contempt for regulations for management of a public entity

Lessons Learned December 6th

December 9, 2014 6:47 am

by Marion Marks Its_No_Secret–Shreveport_Resisted_Change

The December 6^th election was a milestone for Louisiana and Caddo/Shreveport that will require evaluation for quite a while. Mary Landrieu’s defeat will be calculated by factions in many ways, but her shadow and the repercussions throughout the state will probably be re-measured for years.

Along with the election of new faces and the return of old ones, I expect the Landrieu defeat to reverberate through the system in all three branches of government, particularly with law enforcement and the prosecutorial system around the state. Political forces work on more than two levels, and the written and unwritten codes of enforcement and prosecutions seem to rely of backing and backbone at higher levels. Some Read more

Marshal Caldwell – “Fails” as a Public Figure!

December 3, 2014 5:28 pm

throw_the_Caldwell_out by Marion Marks

Defeating City Marshal Charlie Caldwell Saturday Shreveporters will make a change to improve Shreveport’s image both inside and outside of our community. Shreveport City Court and processes of the legal system of the Marshal’s office require transparency, clear policies & procedures in an open marshal’s office to serve citizens and businesses alike. Too privileged “deals” exist with the Marshal Caldwell that violate good government. Recent Caldwell FuelMan revelations are only one example of abuse that skirts the law.

FuelMan, a system designed to save taxpayer money and avoid abuses has been drastically shorted by the manner the Marshal allows cards to be abuse. The policies are actually very clear in the rationale for FuelMan.

However, Caldwell seemingly is unfazed by Read more

City Marshal in Shreveport MUST GO!

November 20, 2014 4:15 pm

by Marion Marks

It’s four years since first rumblings to “reign” in Shreveport City Marshal Charlie Caldwell first began. Initial internal complaints pertained to deputies who were rogues, improper terminations, document obstructions, but now finally a runoff may result in cleansing the truly destructive element in the marshal’s office.(several other candidates who didn’t make it would have been far better than Caldwell!) Most deputy marshals work diligently to hold decorum in city court and keep leadership failures from affecting the business required from the marshal’s office. Yet the public has not been spared the costs affiliated with mismanagement Marshal Caldwell has dragged taxpayers through. Read more

City Marshal Showdown Starts Without Fireworks

November 13, 2014 11:47 am

by Marion Marks

The runoff for Shreveport City Marshal on December 6 pits incumbent Charlie Caldwell against the last candidate to enter the race, Crime Stopper coordinator Jim Taliaferro. A novice to Shreveport politics would see this as a white Republican against a black Democrat in a majority black constituency, and make an easy call for the incumbent. Seems to be an especially easy call, since Caldwell led the first primary with 38% of the votes from the five candidates in the race.

Other candidates who didn’t make the runoff include Joey Hester, a white Republican, with 22%; Don “D.D.” Otis, a black Democrat, with 15%; and Anthony “A.J.” Johnson, a black Democrat, with 5%. Voter turnout was 43.5%, a somewhat anemic number. But the more anemic number may be the Read more

Jim Taliaferro, Shreveport City Marshal, ABC!

November 6, 2014 2:23 pm

Reporter Art-02 by Marion Marks

Observing political races gives voters a rush on election day, but the inevitable letdown follows those who lost or required to reboot for a run off. The Shreveport City Marshal race was a special charge of energy as four newcomers took on incumbent Charlie Caldwell, a daunting task!

bad_idea Yet the incumbent record was challenged often during his first term. Caldwell, the appointed successor by Jimmie Dove, faced litigation and claims of personal improper conduct by some of his officers before he took office and throughout his first term. FOUR challengers filed to run against Caldwell!

Caldwell was sued for improper conduct while serving as an off-duty security guard at a Shreveport night club and the case settled for an undisclosed Read more

Voting ABC – Anyone But Caldwell

October 27, 2014 4:47 pm

City Marshal Election in Shreveport

by Marion Marks

MUD or sleazy advertising messages is all that I expect to see in the media and on the streets between now and the end of the day November 4^th. I only hope voters see this demonstration of disrespect to voters by handlers of the candidates as a sign that the message results in votes against the mud slingers.

IJ_Mud_1026 Certainly the MUD has stuck in many past elections, and it does move some voters who have failed to educate themselves of real issues on the election process. If voters have spent time learning about issues and candidates before now, even though the vetting process in some races is suspect, the mud slinging will not be a major influence to them. Unfortunately too many voters have such busy lives, and they vote based on last Read more

Charlie Caldwell’s Response & Reported Threat

October 24, 2014 8:52 am

Otis-Caldwell Question Interaction Signal — “Point made?” or something else?

by Marion Marks

One candidate question opens doors that voters may see & question the character and responsiveness of an incumbent. City Marshal, Charlie Caldwell obviously had strong feelings about the deputies he terminated. Some of the fired deputies have successfully sued Caldwell and were paid damages that they cannot discuss. Caldwell’s office is not the only one where this recently occurred, but the only contested race. Interestingly, Caldwell has not one, but four challengers seeking his office, including two fired former deputies.

Jason Brown, Assistant District Attorney, narrated the forum

It is my understanding the gesture recorded at the forum was aimed at fired deputy George McCain, who filed a complaint with SPD immediately. A DVD of the video was picked up in my Read more

Four Challengers to Marshal Caldwell at BNA Forum

October 21, 2014 9:20 pm

Jason Bown-Caldwell Stoic by Marion Marks

Obviously law enforcement officers see something offensive the average citizen only reads about in a few headlines. Certainly there were challenges to incumbent Marshal Caldwell during his six years since first being elected. And litigation against Caldwell was not uncommon. But the Broadmoor Neighborhood Association Forum brought a few issues to the surface.

Taliaferro Addresses Moderator, Assistant District Attorney Jason Brown kept the meeting on course and came within seconds of completing in the scheduled sixty minutes. However, the few questions that were edgy from challengers were handled well as Caldwell deflected most criticism by simply saying Read more

Ethical Government Service is Like Stainless Steel

August 18, 2014 6:00 am

Just because it shines, it’s NOT Stainless!

by Marion Marks

Caldwell_Hot_Car_Mardi_Gras — *…Life’s a party?…*

Stainless steel is not generally considered to be an exotic metal. Yet, it’s exotic in the same way we think of ethical public officials. The majority of public officials are ethical, and they work for the public good. Yet, Louisiana was still tenth in the most convicted officials in this report in the Washington Post. Locally we find incumbents who violated our trust and must be voted out of office.

Candidates file this week for November primary, and opposition filings speak volumes of the perception of incumbents. Shreveport City Marshal’s race features several challengers who began campaigning over a year ago.

The term “stainless steel” like “ethical politician” is responsible for notable myths. Contrary to myth, stainless steel does rust. And, ethical people, insert “politicians”, can and do make ethical errors of judgement – they RUST!

Political rust can be fatal in a campaign, and lapses in judgement or outright bad decisions by Shreveport City Marshal Charlie Caldwell should have consequences. Caldwell finds four faces new to politics already on the street. [Caldwell’s campaign reports HERE] The known challengers are, Don Otis, Jim Taliaferro, Joey Hester , and Anthony Johnson. Basic duties of the City Marshal are defined by the city and judges in Shreveport City Court.

Stainless steel is “corrosion-resistant” but not immune to corrosion. The term used by the US military – “corrosion- resistant steel” is an accurate description, but the Read more

Chaos in Political Brand Identification

July 17, 2014 12:00 pm

Shreveport-Caddo Election Failures

by Marion Marks

Branding began as the unique mark you put on the back end of a steer to show ownership. It evolved in politics as the symbol voters see like a party label or group of known supporters. Shreveport-Caddo voters will focus this fall on failed brand identities. Caddo Sheriff Steve Prator recently helped voters define the brand of Caddo District Attorney, Charles Scott as it relates to white-collar crime prosecutions.

Candidate identity was thought to be the job for a marketer sending out post cards, planting yard signs, seeing the candidate at a forum, or even face-to-face at neighborhood meeting. Political brand messages have become more intrusive and generally less effective with blanket advertising on infinite channels and mediums that seem a torrid beauty contest. Voters learn little about the candidate, much less about substance of the candidate. Voters generally learn who has the most money and power to throw at winning office. Too many voters fail to look below the surface of the candidate’s campaign message.

Political Branding has never been anything you could trust, but most voters made their choice based on a hunch, name recognition or the “team” the candidate had in a supporting role. Branding is a confusing concept. The “secret sauce” of marketing and branding a candidate has created media legends we see during political seasons. They speak of capturing ingredients of the secret sauce along the difficult path of winning public office.

Branding that captures votes is often as simple as a logo on the cup, but it’s really so much more. True brand identification is both seen and unseen; it’s something you often know when you see it, yet it may be undefinable. A Candidate Brand is an accumulation of all Read more