By Claire Byun

cbyun@nolamessenger.com

Nearly a year after the Orleans Parish Libertarian Party first launched opposition to the city’s plan to double traffic cameras, the group is still finding avenues to remove them.

One of those avenues, by way of petition, is gaining steam.

The Orleans Parish chapter is active in lobbying against new laws it opposes, and party members have long described their belief that traffic cameras and other forms of government surveillance represent an unnecessary intrusion into citizens’ private lives. Party members also see the cameras as simply a revenue booster for the city, rather than a safety improvement as was posed by city administration.

Mike Bowler, of Bowler Consulting LLC, has proposed a petition that would add a charter amendment on the upcoming mayoral and City Council ballots removing all traffic cameras from Orleans Parish. Bowler said getting that amendment on the ballot is much easier than people think.

Due to city law, only 10,000 signatures of Orleans Parish registered voters are required to get a charter amendment on the ballot.

“People wonder why it’s never been done before, and I don’t know the answer,” Bowler told the Libertarian party during their monthly meeting Monday.

Bowler is hoping to raise $65,000 to cover campaign signs, ads in print media, print materials and attorney fees in case of a legal battle. Mike Dodd, chair of the Orleans Parish Libertarians, said very little of the money needs to be spent actually getting signatures.

“I suspect we can drum up some volunteers, so we don’t have to pay anything,” Dodd said.

Rather than pursue huge donations from groups or activists around the city, Bowler is looking for smaller, personal donations that add up over time. There is no deadline for the petition. As of Tuesday, $160 has been raised.

Mayor Mitch Landrieu’s administration, which announced last year that the city would expand its traffic camera program in 2017, cites the electronic eyes as a safety measure, though it is also expected to garner about $5 million a year in new revenue for the city.

There are more than 100 cameras around the city – many near school zones – already. Jake Rickoll, Libertarian party member, argued a crossing guard with a stop sign would be more effective at ensuring the safety of school children than a camera.

“Let’s talk about what is effective and cameras are not it – they are all about the money,” Rickoll said.

Several other party members argued the cameras are purely for revenue – which, they agreed, the city needs – but suggested other ways to rake in money that doesn’t involve surveillance. To get the amendment passed, however, the group needs to frame it in a more personable way, suggested City Council District A candidate Aylin Maklansky.

Maklansky jumped into the party meeting to gauge what issues were most important to those in her district, she said. Party members threw some platform questions at her – which she answered – but later explained what they want to see in a City Council member in the future.

The removal of traffic cameras was, obviously, key.

“Sixty-five percent of this city’s population makes under $35,000 a year,” Maklansky said. “What does it do to a person’t budget to get a $110 ticket? That’s how you’d have to frame it.”

The Orleans Parish Libertarian Party meets the third Monday of every month. For more information, visit their Facebook page.