Mayor Glover, why don't you want to answer my questions?

Earlier this week, the local community was horrified to learn of the death of a 12-year-old Stonewall boy. A repeat convicted sex offender was arrested and charged with the killing.

After learning details of the death many citizens were shocked to learn the convicted sex offender, Brian Douglas Horn, 34, was working as a taxi driver. They couldn't believe that a sexual predator could hold a job that gave him easy access to potential victims, who would be unaware of Horn's criminal history.

So, I started working on a story about what employment opportunities were available to convicted sex offenders. Turns out there are few state laws that prohibit what jobs or vocational licenses sexual predators can hold. Read the story here: http://bit.ly/amkK90.

I digress.

As part of that story, I called several statewide government agencies and private businesses. I even sent e-mails to Bossier City and Shreveport asking about their hiring practices.

Bossier City spokesman Mark Natale responded quickly and answered my questions fully. But my missive to Shreveport Mayor Cedric Glover went unheeded. (I also copied my e-mail to the city's public information officer Gwen Campbell and assistant CAO Rick Seaton.)

Quite frankly, I'm perplexed.

Seems like now would be a great opportunity to assure citizens that Shreveport checks into the background of prospective employees, and also to explain how the city safeguards citizens when hiring workers.

So, why the silence? The only thing I can determine is Mayor Glover may not want to answer the questions because he's afraid citizens might not like the answers.

Then again, maybe he doesn't think he has to answer questions. After all, he is mayor.