Frequently Asked Questions about the Citizen Participation Process

What are the goals of the Citizen Participation Process?

The goal is to create a formal relationship between City Government and citizens. We do not yet know what form this relationship will ultimately take, but we know what our goals are: to ensure that City Government must engage with citizens, that citizens have a voice in the decision making process before decisions are made, and that our city comes back the way we want it to.

Who is running this process?

The process is citizen-driven. The Neighborhoods Partnership Network and the Committee for a Better New Orleans/ Metropolitan Area Committee are helping to facilitate this process, have opened an office at 3500 Canal Street, and hired staff to help, but neither organization is directing the process and the development of Citizen Participation. Those decisions will be made by the individuals who get involved, and anyone can get involved.

What is the next step?

These forums are acting as a way for us to get in touch with people who want to become involved in this process. The next step is to hold a two-day retreat here in New Orleans to discuss different models and ideas for Citizen Participation. The retreat will lead to the creation of a citizen-driven Steering Committee, who will ultimately be in charge of directing the process.

How is this funded now?

Grants from national and local foundations are currently funding this process. NPN and CBNO/MAC are not privately funding this process, and do not have a private agenda for this process.

How will this be funded in the future?

That is a question that the citizen’s committee will have to decide; this will probably be the hardest question to decide. It has been expressed that it would be desirable to have it written into the budget as a project that gets recurrent funding without having to go through the budget processing. This would be a safeguard from having this process corrupted or completely wiped out by any person inside the city government who may be unhappy with it. It would hopefully keep citizen participation separate from politics. This is only a suggestion, however.

My neighborhood/other community group already has a great relationship with our City Council representative. Why should I want to jeopardize that by supporting this?

It is wonderful that you have a close relationship with your representative, and this process is not trying to endanger that relationship. This process could benefit your relationship with City Government in many ways. Whereas you may have a great relationship with your current representative, there is no guarantee that you will have a similar relationship with representative that may replace them in another election cycle. Moreover, CPP would hopefully free people up to vote based on issues, and not based on relationships or political strategizing. Additionally, CPP would bring everyone to a level playing ground, improving everyone’s relationships with their representatives.

December 7, 5:30-7:30

3500 Canal St, 2nd Floor

Come Visit NPN’s New Offices and Community Resource Library!

Activities: Cookie decorating, Local Artists sell gifts, Door prize, Delicious food & drinks, and Community.

And don’t forget, Bring a Neighbor!

NPN & YURPs are partnering to host a forum in New Orleans East, November 7, 6-8pm

Where: Thomas Thien Sunday School 5069 Willowbrook Drive

What: NPN and the Young Urban Rebuilding Professionals are hosting a forum on the ways that race and class affect the rebuilding efforts of our communities.

Come join the small group discussions and audience participation exercise that will address how to collaborate meaningfully with young professionals and your neighborhood.

Broadmoor’s friends at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, in partnership with Bard College of New York, are planning a FREE event for the public – especially for neighborhood leaders – to help folks use data more effectively for fundraising, project implementation, project management, etc. See the email below.

Please consider attending, and kindly pass this email onto anyone else you think might benefit from attending the event. All are welcome. The free GIS training has limited space and is first-come, first-served so be sure to sign up immediately if you would like to attend this workshop. The data event at the CAC on November 3^rd has plenty of space to accommodate any who would like to attend.

For detailed information on the Nov 2 and 3 events download the following pdfs,

November 2 workshop

November 3 invitation

“It Takes a Village: Community Participation & Education”
Wednesday, October 24  6-8 pm
at Warren Easton High School 3019 Canal St

How Can We Participate Effectively in Our Neighborhood Schools?

Participating Education Advocates:
Karran Royal, Oak Park Civic Improvement Association
Hal Brown, Board Chairman NO College Prep
Shakoor Aljuwani, St. Luke’s Homecoming Center
Mid-City Neighborhood Organization

Please come join our roundtable discussion.  Refreshments provided. 

NEW ORLEANS - - Not even Hurricane Katrina can keep the people or businesses of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast region down. It’s no secret that $10 billion worth of public and private projects are up for grabs as the rebuilding of the Gulf Coast kicks into high gear.

After receiving a grant of $3.2 million from the BP Foundation, the National Urban League and BP America have developed the Gulf Coast Economic Empowerment Program to help small and minority-owned businesses become part of the rebuilding process. The program offers training and resource support, enabling the businesses to pursue and secure contracting opportunities and resources in New Orleans and along the Gulf Coast in the housing and construction industry sectors. (more…)

7pm, University Center, Grand Ballroom 

The debate will be moderated by Roop Raj of WDSU-TV and will be held at Xavier University, University Center, 3rd floor auditorium. The forum will give voters the opportunity to hear directly from the thirteen candidates on their vision and plan for the future of New Orleans and its recovery. The debate can be viewed live via web-cast from anywhere in the country on WDSU.com.

The Forum will begin with brief opening statements from each candidate. This will be followed by a series of questions posed by the moderator. Candidates will be asked to respond to questions on a wide spectrum of issues related to the recovery of New Orleans and our neighborhoods. Questions will be supplied by the sponsoring organizations; however, citizens in attendance will have an equal opportunity to submit questions for the candidates.

Grand Opening Extravaganza! On Saturday, October 27, 2007 from 2 pm to 4 pm, the Central City Renaissance Alliance will celebrate the Grand Opening of its new offices, a new website www.myccra.org and the role it expects to play in three large development projects slated for Central City.

Date: Wednesday October 10, 2007
Time: 6:30pm
Location: Crystal Palace Reception Hall
10038 Chef Menteur Highway
(@ Chef Hwy. and Read Blvd.)

CONFIRMED CANDIDATES: Virginia Boulet, Quentin Brown, Kimberly
Butler, Jacquelyn Clarkson, Dyan French, Kaare Johnson, Joe Jones, Thomas
Lewis, Malcom Suber, Tommie Vassel, Cynthia Willard-Lewis

MODERATED BY: Cyndi Nguyen, Reporter ABC 26
SPONSORED BY: ACORN♦Eastern New Orleans Neighborhood Advisory
Commission♦Holy Cross Neighborhood Association♦Irish Bayou Community♦Lake
Bullard Homeowners Association♦Lake Catherine Civic Association♦Lower Ninth Ward
Neighborhood Council, Inc. ♦ Mary Queen of Viet Nam Community Development
Corporation♦ National Coalition of 100 Black Women♦ Neighborhoods Empowering
Neighborhoods♦New Life Intracoastal Community Development♦Oak Island
Homeowners Association♦Venetian Isles♦Vietnamese American Young Leaders
Association of New Orleans♦Wimbledon Civic Association

Translation services will be available in Vietnamese and Spanish
For more information please contact Mai Dang at
MaiDang@mqvncdc.org/ 504.344.7806

On Tuesday October 16th 2007, a nonpartisan community issues forum for all 13 candidates for the At large city council seat will take place from 6 pm to 8:30 pm at the Ben Franklin High School, located at 2100 Leon c. Simon Blvd ( on the UNO campus). The emphasis of the forum will be on the issues involved in the recovery and rebuilding of the city, especially as the recovery affects flooded neighborhoods, dispersed citizens, low income and public housing residents, African Americans and other racial groups. The candidates will be questioned on a variety of citywide and neighborhood recovery issues such as: (more…)