NEW ORLEANS — Today, the newly seated Sewerage and Water Board elected its first citizen President in decades, naming Jonathan Stewart as Board President for a four-year term.
Mayor Helena Moreno congratulated Stewart and pointed to his elevation as evidence of accelerating reforms made possible by the passage of the Mayor and Council’s local and state legislative agenda.
“The people of New Orleans deserve better results from the Sewerage and Water Board, but for too long complex governance and operational challenges have stood in the way. Today, we are marking another step forward in finally and permanently solving these complexities with solutions long sought by good government and citizen groups,” said Mayor Moreno. “Our vision includes finally merging the SWBNO into the City so it functions as an arm of the City, in lockstep collaboration with other city departments like public works and infrastructure operations. This will massively increase efficiency and effectiveness while putting aside the hurdles placed by previous structural and governmental impediments.”
Among the newly enacted changes under State Act 938 and the Council’s PUMPs Ordinance, the SWBNO now for the first time selects a board president from their membership, a substantial change endorsed by the Mayor removing the former structure in which the Mayor automatically assumed the board presidency.
“I want to thank Mayor Moreno and the entire board for entrusting me with leadership as we steer the board towards a more effective and efficient model in collaboration with the City Council and the Mayor. My role is enacting reforms and over the coming years, steer the board’s integration into the City government so that the people of New Orleans finally get the level of service and critical water operations they deserve,” said Stewart.
Stewart, a New Orleans native, Tulane graduate and mid-city resident, assumes the presidency from Mayor Helena Moreno and as a result of a series of landmark reforms propelled by Moreno and the City Council to reshape the Sewerage and Water Board’s governance and operations.
Concurrently, the new board also unanimously endorsed a resolution brought by the Mayor to direct the work of integration and operational efficiency, which included directing the board to name a transformation official in the coming months to help guide the necessary logistical and operational mergers into City Hall over the next two years.
To read the full board resolution: Click Here
Jonathan Stewart’s Headshot: Click Here