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Leadership takes new direction with alumnus

Being the sixth child of seven siblings cannot be easy, but it might be the key to becoming the next mayor, at least for one mayoral candidate that is. Hailing from Shreveport, La., Steven Jackson is an alumnus of the Grambling State University and has recently announced his candidacy in the race for Mayor of Shreveport. 

During his time at GSU, Jackson was elected as SGA Vice President and became SGA President the following year. Jackson’s reign as SGA President was an advantageous one as he was elected by eight additional SGA Presidents of the University of Louisiana Systems (ULS) to join the board. 

This experience allowed Jackson to act as the student member of the ULS Board of Supervisors. After receiving his bachelors at GSU, Jackson furthered his education by completing his master’s program in Liberal Arts at Louisiana State University- Shreveport in the spring of 2012. Adding to his credentials, Jackson worked for the city of Shreveport administration serving as executive assistant to former Mayor, Cedric Glover. 

Jackson has also served as a Shreveport commissioner, with a previous title of District 3 commissioner. At this time, Jackson was the youngest person to ever serve on the commission. 

During the fall 2015 election, Jackson was able to win the votes of Caddo Parish residents by 64%. Jackson went on to serve as vice president of the commission in 2016 and commission president in 2017. 

After winning the election, Jackson made history yet again as he is the youngest person to ever serve as President of the Caddo Parish Commission. Within the Shreveport community, Jackson has made quite the name for himself as his list of accomplishments continue to grow. 

A few of Jackson’s accomplishments include being recognized by the Young Professionals Initiative (YPI) as one of Shreveport’s 40 under 40 young professionals, as well as the Shreveport Bossier Chamber of Commerce.  

To better the community, Jackson assisted with raising one million dollars to aid in building a park and establishing the Caddo Parish’s Safe Summer Initiative. The Safe Summer Initiative increased the amount of youth employment over the summer months and provided many safe recreational activities in response to violence.  As the elections get heavy, Jackson wants to thank his alma mater for the memories.

“I truly appreciate the support,” said Jackson. “It is an honor to serve the community know that GSU prepared me to be a sergeant leader.”

 The elections began with candidates qualifying for the local elections in July. The primary election is on Nov. 6, and the run-off election on Dec. 8