One of many elections to be held in eastern New Orleans in the month of January is the election to vote on Officers of the Executive Board of the East New Orleans Neighborhood Advisory Commission (ENONAC). The election will take place on Tuesday, January 11, 2011 at the ENONAC General Meeting. The positions to be filled are: President, 1st Vice President, 2nd Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, and two Member At Large positions. Those positions are currently held by Sylvia Scineaux-Richard, Cathy Charbonnet, Kara Johnson, Tony Le, Debbie D. Gordon, Tangee Wall and Cheryl Diggins, respectively.
ENONAC was established in 2008 when Governor Jindal signed Act 887 into law and was later revised in 2009 as Act 394, with all the rights and powers of a political subdivision of the state. Like other elected positions, ENONAC officers must adhere to Public Records Law, the Code of Governmental Ethics, including filing annual financial disclosure forms, and the Open Meetings Law.
The Commissioner Advisory Board (CAB) membership of ENONAC consists of the president or appointed representative of each neighborhood association or organization within the commission area. The party representing the association or organization must submit an affidavit attesting to their status as president or being an appointed representative from their respective organization or association. This may be accomplished by completing the form found at: http://www.enonac.org/documents/enonacneighborhoodregistration.pdf.
The purpose of the organization is to advise the appropriate governmental entities on matters of government policy to accomplish the following objectives:
- Present and further the interest of the individual homeowners in the area.
- Aid in the preservation of property values and to improve the character and integrity of individual residential neighborhoods.
- Educate and inform member neighborhood associations or organizations on matters and issues of general interest.
- Participate in planning and improvement.
- Participate with community-based organizations which seek to improve the community environment.
ENONAC provides a voice for the community to raise issues and concerns to governing authorities, and the organization has a huge responsibility in doing so. Although other areas have councils made up of groups of neighborhoods, no other community in New Orleans has an organization with the force of law behind it. Since ENONAC is a conglomeration of various neighborhoods, it is already poised to fall in line with requirements proposed in the City Charter and Master Plan for neighborhoods in each planning district to have a council of sorts, to operate in the interest of the neighborhoods within the district.
Commissioners may not be elected officials. Each candidate's nomination must be made and seconded by a Commissioner. A Commissioner may nominate him/herself but may not second the nomination. Commission members of the Executive Board serve uncompensated terms, and terms of neighborhood association presidents, who serve as commissioners, coincide with the terms of their presidency. Terms of appointed members shall be the same as the president who appointed him/her.
At-Large members serve two-year terms with no term limits. The nominations for the Executive Board will be accepted until January 4, 2011. The eligible candidates will then be voted on by the CAB membership at the ENONAC General Meeting held on January 11, 2011 at 6:00 p.m. St. Maria Goretti Community Center.
All residents of eastern New Orleans are encouraged to closely follow these elections and nominate individuals who have a proven ability to work well with others and are committed to their community. These positions should be considered as seriously as any other elected positions.
The ENONAC bylaws may be viewed on the ENONAC web site at www.enonac.org.
Please take a few minutes to click on the following link http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/CZFZKKK and fill out the survey that will help identify the shopping preferences and habits of people that work and live in the area. Thank you for your interest and support in positioning New Orleans East as a premier community in which to live, work and play.
Lisa Stafford is editor/publisher of NOELA News, a free weekly publication distributed by NOELA Services, LLC targeting residents, organizations and businesses of eastern New Orleans. Lisa Stafford may be reached via e-mail: NOELABiz@aol.com or by phone at (504) 259-3927.
Photos by Vincent Sylvain/New Orleans Agenda.
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