Cedric Glover

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Cedric Bradford Glover (born 08/09/65) is the Democratic mayor of Shreveport, Louisiana. He defeated the Republican candidate, former city attorney Jerry Jones, in the November 7, 2006 general election. Glover, a graduate of Caddo Magnet High in Shreveport, is the first African American mayor of the city.

The youngest son of Elizabeth Bradford Glover and the late Clarence Ernest Glover Sr., Cedric Bradford Glover, is a lifelong resident of Shreveport, LA, and was educated in the public and private schools of Caddo Parish. Early on, Cedric's parents instilled in him and his siblings a sense of community and civic commitment.

These traits manifested themselves early in Cedric's life. He started, what, at that time was the only black Boy Scout Troop in the entire nine parish Norwela Council area. He later served with the Volunteers of America Lighthouse program as a Program Coordinator. During this time, he was elected Treasurer of the Shreveport Chapter of the NAACP, and President of the Martin Luther King Jr. Civic Club. As President of MLK Civic Club, Cedric had an opportunity to lead and advance an entire neighborhood. The MLK area at that time was beset by the twin scourges of crack cocaine and gang violence and void of any constructive activities for the community's young people. Cedric was active in efforts that culminated with the deployment of Operation THOR in the MLK area. Operation THOR, which is an acronym for Take, Hold, Organize, and Return, represents the largest mobilization of law enforcement in Northwest Louisiana history and served to break the stranglehold on the community by the drug dealers and the gang bangers.

Prompted by the urging of many, Cedric offered himself as a candidate for the Shreveport City Council District A seat. In of November 1990, Cedric became the youngest individual ever elected to the Shreveport City Council. While on the City Council, he served terms as Council Chairman, Chairman of the Public Safety Committee, and was selected Public Official of the Year by the Shreveport Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers. He also received the Louisiana Municipal Association's Community Achievement Award three times, as well as the Shreveport Negro Chamber of Commerce Political Achievement Award.

As Councilman, Cedric also secured more than thirty million dollars in capital construction dollars for his district, and increased the Parks and Recreation budget by 30 percent and declared war on liquor stores selling to minors, resulting in the first liquor license revocations in the City's history. He also championed and advanced the concept of Community Oriented Policing, at a time when most in law enforcement saw little value in it. Probably most remembered for the time and effort he put into getting to know and understand the challenges met by the various City departments, a commitment that extended as far as his spending a day riding as a crew member on the back of one of the City's garbage trucks.

During his tenure on the Council, he was a board member of the Greater Shreveport Economic Development Committee, Goodwill Industries and the Metropolitan YMCA, and became the youngest graduate of the Leadership Louisiana Program.

In October of 1995, Cedric was elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives. During that time, as a member of the House, he was elected to the Executive Committee of the Louisiana Legislative Black Caucus. He was also selected as Legislator of the Year by the Rural Caucus, and selected as Legislator of the Month by the Louisiana Municipal Association, Citizens Against Crime Inc. for instituting the first computer automated crime victim notification system in the entire state of Louisiana.

On November 7, 2006, Cedric B. Glover, made history as the first African American Mayor of his hometown, Shreveport, LA. He considers it an honor to serve as Mayor of Shreveport, and will strive to make the city safer, grow the economy, and make Shreveport, 'the next great city of the South’!'