The 2026 regular session of the Louisiana legislature ended on June 1st. Among the many important and, at times, divisive, issues decided during this fiscal session, the topic of flood protection in greater New Orleans was included.
Citizens for 1 Greater New Orleans made multiple trips to Baton Rouge to meet with legislators and testify in committee hearings. Crucially, we witnessed the Senate confirmation hearings of all six current board members of the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority - East. Our Chair, Blair duQuesnay, made a powerful public comment at the end of one of those hearings, noting our concerns about ongoing political interference with flood protection. You can view her testimony below.
At the close of the session, the Senate confirmed all six members of the SLFPA-East board, including the President, Peter Vicari, who admitted to signing the egregious employment contract drafted by the Chief of Police.
However, in a dramatic turn of events, former SLFPA-East board President, Roy Carubba resigned from the board in late May and Police Superintendent Joshua Rondeno was placed on administrative leave and later fired from his position. We are hopeful this signifies a righting of the ship at SLFPA-East.
SB 56 from Senator Connick passed during the session, was signed by the Governor to become Act 734, and will be effective August 1, 2026. This bill consolidates the Lafitte Levee District into SLFPA-West and increases the SLFPA-West board from seven to nine commissioners. Notably one commissioner must reside in Lafitte, and will be a purely political pick instead of following the independent nominating committee process. The Mayor of Jean Lafitte and the city council will submit three names that will be chosen by the state Senator and Representative for the Lafitte area. This opens a slippery slope to the reintroduction of politics at SLFPA-West, and we will be monitoring the situation closely.
SB56 included amendments from Senator Talbot to address the role of the Superintendent of Police of SLFPA-East, to ensure that the Police Chief may not hold a dual role in with “authority over any administrative, fiscal, personnel, procurement, policy-making, or other nonlaw enforcement functions” as former Chief Rondeno was given. It also enshrines in law that the SLFPA-East Police Chief may not earn more than the salary of the State Superintendent of Police. While we agree with and support these provisions, we find it unfortunate that legislators need to pass laws to clean up the misdeeds of a repoliticized levee board.
A return to good governance of the levee boards without political interference will ensure that lawmakers do not have to legislate every misstep of the board.
We want to thank Senators Connick and Talbot for their leadership and commitment to proper flood protection governance. We also want to thank Representative Freeman for her guidance and support during the session. We acknowledge any other work that may have been contributed behind the scenes to ensure a commitment to keeping the region safe during storm season.
In the News
Citizens for 1 Chair Blair duQuesnay Sits Down with Louisiana Public Broadcasting to Discuss Leadership Turmoil at SLFPA-E at the Start of Hurrican Season Christina Jensen, LPB LA Speaks
Flood Protection Authority-East to Meet for the First Time After Leadership Shake-up, Key Officials Gone David Hammer, WWL
Leaked AG Report Faults Former Flood Authority Board but Says Current One Still ‘Dysfunctional’ David Hammer, WWL
Leaked Report Finds New Orleans Levee Board ‘Chaotic and Dysfunctinal,’ Alleges Misconduct Alex Lubben, Times Picayune
‘Cursed Since the Biginning’: Gov. Jeff Landry Addresses Turmoil at New Orleans Flood Agency Alex Lubben, Times Picayune
Letters: Nonpolitical Flood Protection Authority Reduced to Chaos Windell Curole
New Orleans Levee Police Chief Placed on Leave After Lawmakers Question Contract Alex Lubben, Times Picayune
New Orleans Flood Agency’s Police Chief Joshua Rondeno Fired Alex Lubben, Times Picayune
Upcoming Dates
SLFPA-East Board Meetings
July 16th at 10am
Orleans Levee District
6920 Franklin Avenue
New Orleans, LA
August 20th at 10am
Orleans Levee District
6920 Franklin Avenue
New Orleans, LA
SLFPA-West Meetings
July 28th at 4pm
August 25th at 4pm
7001 River Road
Marrero, LA 70072
We encourage you to join us at the board meetings in person.
You can live-stream SLFPA-E meetings at THIS LINK.
What can YOU, the citizens, do to combat this backwards slide?
Citizens for 1 Greater New Orleans will continue this advocacy work throughout storm season and in preparation for next year’s legislative session. If you are interested in becoming a Citizens for 1 volunteer, please email citizensfor1admin@gmail.com to be added to our volunteer support list.
MORE WAYS TO HELP…
* SHARE THIS EMAIL with your neighbors. Ask them to sign up to receive future communications for Citizens for 1 Greater New Orleans.
* FOLLOW Citizens for 1 Greater New Orleans on Instagram and Facebook + SHARE our content.
* LET YOUR REPRESENTATIVE and SENATOR in the state legislature know your concerns. You can look up your elected official using your home address on this website.
CLICK HERE TO FIND YOUR LEGISLATORS
Email your legislator. Tell them that recent events at the Flood Authority East have raised your concerns. Ask that they develop a solution to remove politics from the work of flood protection and STOP funneling more of our flood protection tax dollars to police protection for a few neighborhoods.
NEVER AGAIN!
Citizens for 1 Greater New Orleans
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