I Didn’t Care About Politics Until I Looked Under the Hood

I wish I could tell you I’ve always been a civic-minded citizen. I wish I could say I spent my weekends reading parish ordinances for fun.

I’m not going to lie to you.

Until a cold, rainy Sunday in January, I didn’t pay much attention to local government. I didn’t know how drainage worked. I didn’t know what a “millage” was. I didn’t know who met where or when.

And honestly? I’m not ashamed of that. That’s how it usually happens. You either inherit a seat at the table through family lineage, or you get thrust into it because of a crisis.

For me, it was the crisis. The flood happened, I got mad, and I went looking for answers.

What I found pissed me off more than the water did.

I found a system that was completely inaccessible. It reminded me of my time working at the Parish School Board years ago—I was the youngest woman in the office, watching an entire accounting division run on a system that looked like it was from the DOS era. I was flabbergasted then, and I was flabbergasted this year.

The irony is thick. We live in the highest-taxed state in the country, yet the excuse is always “lack of funding.” Meanwhile, in my personal life, I have an AI chatbot organizing my entire existence for the better, but our local government can’t even provide a simple, updated contact list for the people paying the bills?

It is 2025. That is unacceptable.

So, I spent the last ten months doing the work. I watched every livestreamed council meeting. I showed up to the drainage board. I dug deep.

Initially, I wanted to “Decode” the whole parish. Then I realized our local government has nearly 40 separate boards and commissions. (Let that sink in).

So, I decided to start at home.

Introducing: “District 4: Decoded.”

This is the first of many civic engagement projects from AI & Her. It is the resource I wished I had in January. It cuts through the noise and gives you the raw data for the district we live in.

Inside, you’ll find:

• The Money: A breakdown of the 12.63 Mills you pay for drainage and the 11.00 Mills for water/sewer.
• The Who: The specific board members for Water & Sewer Commission No. 2 , Recreation District No. 3, and more.
• The Where: Exactly where these meetings happen, from the Community Center on Bellview to the Fire Dept on Hwy 182.

The Pledge: A Living Document

Here is the reality of local politics: It moves.

Board members resign. Terms expire. Seats get filled and then vacated again.

Because of that, “District 4: Decoded” is a Living Document.

I am pledging to keep this resource alive. I will continue using AI to monitor changes and update the file so that you always have the most current intel. You don’t have to worry about if the info is stale—I’ll do the refreshing for you.

I’m not asking you to become a politician. I’m just asking you to stop accepting “it’s complicated” as an excuse.

It’s not complicated. It’s just unorganized. And we fixed it.