Adrian Perkins


Adrian Perkins is a Democratic Party politician and the mayor of his native Shreveport, Louisiana. On December 8, 2018, Perkins defeated incumbent Ollie Tyler, a fellow Democrat, in a run-off election. This was Perkins' first run for office.
On July 22, 2020, Perkins announced that he was running for the United States Senate in 2020, challenging incumbent Republican Bill Cassidy.

Early life and education

Adrian Perkins was born in the Cedar Grove neighborhood of Shreveport to Johnny Oliver and Archie Perkins. He attended Captain Shreve High School where he was a member of the student council and the varsity football, basketball and track and field teams.
Inspired to join the United States Army following the September 11 attacks, Perkins sought and received an appointment to the United States Military Academy, a United States service academy located in West Point, New York. While at West Point, Perkins was elected class president, the first African American cadet to graduate as class President in the 215-year history of the institution.
After leaving the army in 2015, Perkins attended Harvard Law School, where he served as president of the student government and earned his Juris Doctor.

Military career

Upon graduation, Perkins was commissioned as a field artillery officer and posted at Fort Stewart, Georgia. During his career, Perkins was also posted at Fort Sill, Fort Benning, and Fort Campbell and served deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.
Perkins achieved the rank of captain and served as a company commander before separating from the army in 2015. He is a Bronze Star recipient.

2018 mayoral race

On April 26, 2018, Perkins announced he would be running for mayor.
On November 6, 2018, Perkins came in first with 17,466 votes and 28.86% during the blanket primary, yet failed to garner a required 50 percent plus one vote to win outright.
On December 8, 2018, Perkins handily defeated incumbent Ollie Tyler in the runoff to become the 58th mayor of Shreveport and its third consecutive black mayor.

Issues

Insurance change

Mayor Perkins changed the city's insurance companies; his goal, as he explained earlier this year, was to lower costs and bring in more minority participation. This new policy with the Frost Company cost substantially more for far less coverage. The change took place the day before he officially took office, apparently through a staff misunderstanding.

Economic development

Perkins supports expanding Shreveport's budding tech industry through "facilitating the growth of local entrepreneur's ideas and businesses by investing and promoting their models."

Energy

Perkins supports expanding Shreveport's oil and gas industry, one of the largest industries and employers in the state of Louisiana.

Infrastructure

Perkins supports infrastructure investments for the Shreveport Regional Airport and city water and sewage systems.
After taking office, Perkins called for an $18 monthly fee for residential and commercial garbage pick-up to be added to municipal water bills to pay truck drivers better and maintain the city's credit rating. The city council, however, rejected Perkins' proposal in a six-to-one vote but held out the possibility of a garbage fee at a lesser amount.

Public safety

Perkins aims to increase public safety by " identifying at-risk youth heading for trouble and offering an alternative route; working alongside the Caddo District Attorney's office to implement programs for job training; building a robust and effective economic stimulation plan that will offer jobs instead of incarceration; and listening to our first class police officers, city leaders, and our community to develop more tailored policing methods."

Saggy pants ordinance

Perkins announced in May 2019 that he opposes his city's ban on persons wearing saggy pants in public. The Shreveport City Council introduced legislation to repeal the ordinance, eventually voting to repeal on June 11, 2019. The matter promptly attracted national attention. Opposition stemmed from the fact that 98 percent of those arrested for violation of the ordinance are Black, and 100 percent of youth cited for violation of the law are Black.