[StBernard] St. Bernard CAO resigns to lead NORA's land stewardship department

[Westley Annis]

St. Bernard CAO resigns to lead NORA's land stewardship department
Print Benjamin Alexander-Bloch, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune By Benjamin
Alexander-Bloch, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune 
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on November 19, 2013 at 12:58 PM, updated November 19, 2013 at 3:15 PM

St. Bernard Parish Chief Administrative Officer Jerry Graves is leaving St.
Bernard government for a new job at the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority.

The first hire when President Dave Peralta took office in January 2012,
Graves officially submitted his resignation Monday (Nov. 18). It will become
effective Sunday. He is scheduled to start his new job as NORA's director of
land stewardship Nov. 25.

"My decision was simply based on the opportunity at NORA," Graves, 32, said
Tuesday. "I am looking forward to working with them on managing LLT
properties and implementing alternative land use strategies. "

Peralta said it is a loss for St. Bernard but that he wishes Graves all the
best.

"He's a bright, intelligent young man and it's a shame for the community to
lose him, but I'm proud of him, and New Orleans will greatly benefit having
him," Peralta said Tuesday. "I hope the city of New Orleans knows how lucky
they are to get someone of his talent and dedication."

It is the second resignation of a top parish official in about as many
months. Candice Watkins, the parish's director of community development,
left about a month ago to become a state community development disaster
recovery specialist. Graves had taken over her duties until someone new is
hired for the post.

Peralta said that he has been interviewing candidates for the director of
community development position and expects to announce a new hire sometime
this week or next. In terms of Graves' post, Peralta said that he expects to
announce an interim replacement this week and then to begin searching for a
permanent replacement at the start of next year.

Graves was a planner for St. Bernard from 2004 to 2008, then became that
parish's director of community development from 2008 to 2010. He left parish
government in 2010 to work as a planner for James Lee Witt Associates.

He earned his Ph.D. in urban studies from the University of New Orleans in
2012.

In December 2012, the parish's finance director, Beverly Gariepy, announced
that she'd be leaving to become St. Tammany's new chief financial officer.
Ross Gonzales, the previous housing and redevelopment coordinator for the
parish, replaced her.