Mayoral Candidate Wants to Expand Gambling
Ed Bradley, the mayoral candidate for Shreveport, said on Monday that his plan to revitalize the city's downtown would involve the expansion of gambling.
Bradley is about to embark on a mission to convince the state to lift size restrictions on riverboat casinos and to also give gaming companies a one-time tax break on any new capital investment.
"What would happen if they decided to close these boats down and move? What do you think this city would look like without 9,000 jobs?" The mayoral candidate said at a mostly empty Red River Entertainment District where many businesses have failed.
"So goes gaming, so goes our economy," he said, "and I think we've got to realistically look at gaming at a sense of what it is: It's a business, and it's a business that is flourishing all around the country ... Where would we be without gambling?"
Bradley is also planning to draw in more people downtown to live in lofts and similar apartment type housing. He would be offering city tax breaks for 10 years as a means to encourage people to do this. Bradley said that retail shops and grocery stores would naturally follow.
Bradley denied the perception that Shreveport is not safe at night.
"There can't be much (crime) because there's not a lot of people down here," he said.