Our Opportunity Agenda

New Orleans Can't Wait

As Mayor of New Orleans, Senator Royce Duplessis will usher in a new generation of leadership, bridging our city’s rich past to our promising future. This is our time, and Royce knows moving our city forward requires a bold vision. Royce will roll up his sleeves on day one to make housing more affordable, reduce flooding, improve infrastructure, enhance city services like trash pickup and street repairs, and invest in public safety. 

New Orleans is an iconic city with a world-famous culture. But the cost of living is pushing the people who love this city to pack up and leave. From the first day of Royce's administration to the last, he will focus on improvements to retain our population, bring back residents who have left, and attract a new generation of New Orleanians.

Here is the truth: most people in this city aren’t caught up in political battles, and they are not interested in City Hall drama. They simply want to live in a city that is safe, prosperous, and functional. That’s why Royce’s plans will: 

Doing the basics is not enough. we deserve a mayor who wants more for us.

- Senator Royce Duplessis

Deliver Affordable Housing:

  • Leverage the Housing Trust Fund and other funding sources to create 40,000 new affordable housing units; this means building more units and bringing vacant units back into commerce. 
  • Install fortified roofs on at least 25% of the homes in New Orleans to lower homeowner insurance costs. 
HOUSING

Build Upon Real Public Safety Results:

  • Sustain gains in crime reduction. 
  • Provide better pay, training, and housing support for first responders.
  • Implement smarter police deployment by utilizing civilian staff for non-emergencies, allowing officers to concentrate on crime prevention.
  • Overhaul the criminal justice system through strong cross-agency coordination. 
  • Target investments in mental health, substance abuse, and youth programs. 
PUBLIC SAFETY

Grow Our Economy and Create More Jobs

  • Establish a local small business revolving loan or grant program.
  • Create a property tax incentive for commercial buildings that house entrepreneurs.
  • Build a Business Navigator Program to help our small and new businesses navigate city government. 
  • Support the expansion of the Port of New Orleans to create good-paying jobs and bring economic opportunity to parts of our city, especially New Orleans East and the Lower 9th Ward, which have been overlooked and underserved for too long. 
  • Aggressively invest in workforce development to attract new industry and provide our citizens with good-paying jobs.
  • Work closely with large employers, such as NASA’s Michoud facility, to sustain and grow catalytic economic development opportunities.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Deliver City Services That Exceed Expectations:

  • Ensure City Hall is delivering core city services efficiently and effectively, including: 
  • Resuming twice-a-week garbage pickup.
  • Holistic street repair prioritized by need, not politics. 
  • Streamlined permitting.
  • Equitable enforcement of rules.
CITY SERVICES

Prioritize Our Children, Families, and Educators: 

  • Ensure universal early childhood education for all children up to PK-3.
  • Launch a “Reading by 8” city-wide literacy initiative coordinated with schools, libraries, businesses, and community hubs.
  • Sustain programs to deliver community-based mental health services across schools and community centers.
  • Scale up career training programs so every student has a defined path from school to a good-paying job. 
  • Aggressively advocate for higher K-12 teacher and staff pay.
WHOLE CHILD SUPPORT

Invest in Mental Health and Substance Use Programs:

  • Expand treatment capacity and crisis response by building a new Behavioral Health Hospital or growing the number of psychiatric and detox beds. 
  • Increase the behavioral health workforce through training, incentives, and housing support.
  • Scale detox/residential services, enhance the Sobering Center, and embed clinicians in schools.
  • Partner with hospitals, nonprofits, and community groups to align services, share data, and track outcomes.
MENTAL HEALTH

Build Real Resilience for a Safer Future:

  • Work to install fortified roofs on 25% of the homes in New Orleans to reduce the risk of storm damage and bring property insurance rates down for everyone. 
  • Turn vacant lots and neutral grounds into sponge infrastructure to build bioswales, permeable pavement, and rain gardens in flood-prone neighborhoods.
  • Partner with organizations like Thrive to build a Home Resilience Corps that trains and hires local residents, especially young adults, to repair, weatherize, and fortify homes in low-income neighborhoods.
RESILIENCE

This agenda is not a one-time document; it will grow and improve. Being a leader is not just about talking and telling; it is about listening and delivering results for our people.


New Orleanians want clean streets, safe neighborhoods, good jobs, and a government that works. They want to stay here, raise their families here, and pass down our culture to the next generation.


The challenges we face did not pop up overnight, and there are no easy, quick fixes to our problems. It will take all of us working together and making tough decisions to put our city on a path of growth. 


For Royce, this is personal. Being Mayor is more than an office; it's a duty to build a better New Orleans for his young daughter and the next generation of New Orleanians. 


Feedback and debate are good and healthy, and Royce is ready to listen. But New Orleans can’t wait for those who are unwilling to be bold or only offer more of the same. 

This platform is not a one-time document; it will grow and improve. Being a leader is not just about talking and telling; it is about listening and delivering results for our people.


New Orleanians want clean streets, safe neighborhoods, good jobs, and a government that works. They want to stay here, raise their families here, and pass down our culture to the next generation.


The challenges we face did not pop up overnight, and there are no easy, quick fixes to our problems. It will take all of us working together and making tough decisions to put our city on a path of growth. 


For Royce, this is personal. Being Mayor is more than an office; it's a duty to build a better New Orleans for his young daughter and the next generation of New Orleanians. 


Feedback and debate are good and healthy, and Royce is ready to listen. But New Orleans can’t wait for those who are unwilling to be bold or only offer more of the same. 


Keep reading to learn more about our priorities, and know this: Royce and his team will keep listening because New Orleans deserves a leader who truly hears them.