Day in the Life of Shreveport Mayor Tom Arceneaux: Behind the Scenes

This is the story of how curing a random breakfast craving ended up landing me a temporary gig as the Mayor of Shreveport’s "honorary head of security."

If you know me, you know I never shy away from putting my thoughts on social media. I live for finding hidden gems and uploading food videos of the dishes I love. So, when my friend text me saying she was craving a delicious breakfast, we naturally ended up at Shreveport Biscuit Company.

Shreveport Biscuit Company makes some of the best sausage gravy on the planet, and I love ordering random biscuits just to smother them in it. Listen, I’m not Cajun, but eating that feels so heavenly it must be somewhere in my genes!

Anyway, while we were there enjoying our breakfast, we started playing one of those table icebreaker games. The card read: "If you could be an assistant for anyone, who would it be?" I pondered a minute and I said Mayor Tom Arceneaux. I’ve seen him at local events jumping into line dances, and I just figured it’d be hilarious to see what his day-to-day actually looks like.

Well, the video of my answer made its way to Shreveport's First Lady, who showed it to her husband, and he said, "Well, okay, let’s do it."

The Most Annoying Day of His Mayoral Career

Mayor Arceneaux had absolutely no idea what he was in for. We had a day so packed with adventures that I literally ended up ditching him before my shift was over because I was starving, exhausted, and ready for bed!

But man, it was one of the most rewarding and eye-opening experiences. Riding shotgun, I immediately asked the hard-hitting questions, like why he was driving us around in a 12-year-old vehicle instead of a shiny new Escalade. He just chuckled and said there was no need.

We grabbed a meal at Strawn’s, where I got to sit with a total celebrity. It was crazy watching him pause and make time for every single person who came up to say hello.

I’m convinced the guy does brain exercises every morning. He and I both woke up at 4:30 a.m., and while I was ready for a nap, he was off to comb through contracts. He is sharp, completely unbothered, and handled a loud Latina trying to hijack his security detail like a total pro. Spoiler alert: a political run is not in my near future.

The Mayor’s Official Recap (And How I Survived It)

Mayor Arceneaux took to social media to share his side of our wild day, trading the radio booth for City Hall. Here’s a look at the massive schedule we tackled:

Morning Radio on Kiss Country: The Mayor showed up to join the Krystal & McCoy show to talk about the job shadowing day ahead.

Bill Cockrell Pool Grand Reopening: We started bright and early, celebrating the upgraded community pool. The new slides are terrific!

Stromile Swift Day at LSUS: We surprised Shreveport’s own NBA legend Stromile Swift at his youth basketball camp with an official city proclamation declaring June 9th his honorary day.

Chamber of Commerce Leadership Class: We headed to the Southern Hills Community Center to speak with local emerging leaders who are investing in the future of our city.

The Everyday Grind: I watched the real work of local government go down, from digital media recordings and signing a stack of documents to sitting through a City Council meeting.

Revel 50 Kickoff: We capped off the evening by celebrating the massive 50th Anniversary lineup announcement for the Red River Revel!

Huge thank you to Mayor Tom Arceneaux for being such an amazing sport and letting me shadow him for the day. Shreveport truly has so many incredible people investing their time and energy into making our city great.

Check out the video below to see the full day of antics, and let me know in the comments, do you think I have a future in local government, or should I stick to the radio mic?