Jefferson Parish Pulse: Jefferson Parish President

In the Season 2 finale, we interview Jefferson Parish President Cynthia Lee Sheng. Cynthia was on the show in Season 1 right after she had been elected Parish President, but before she had taken office. More than six months into office, Cynthia is leading the Parish through a pandemic. Cynthia talked about her first months in office, where Jefferson Parish stands with the pandemic right now, the importance of wearing a mask in public, upcoming elections and what is being done to keep voters safe at the polls and more.

About Jefferson Parish President Cynthia Lee Sheng

President Cynthia Lee Sheng was sworn into office on January 8, 2020.

Cynthia Lee Sheng served as Councilwoman At-Large for Division B in 2015 after serving as the Councilwoman for District 5 since 2009. Cynthia showed an interest in public service early in her life and obtained a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from George Washington University. She is a graduate of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center and served for 10 years as a federal law enforcement officer with the Immigration and Naturalization Service in Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Maryland and Newark, New Jersey. Before running for office and serving on the Jefferson Parish Council Cynthia practiced as a CPA specializing in litigation support.

Cynthia advocated for the revitalization of Fat City by sponsoring major zoning changes and working directly with the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office to combat illegal activity. She established the Fat City Friends committee and funded landscaping improvements to bring over 200 new trees to the area. She also funded the Fat City mural program and commissioned 10 beautiful murals by local artists. Cynthia was also instrumental in bringing the first Trader Joe’s to the greater New Orleans area by working for nearly 2 years with the property owners and neighborhood group over the controversial Tolmas Tract property that has been in litigation for decades.

Cynthia’s family is well known to Jefferson Parish residents. Her grandfather opened the House of Lee Restaurant in the 1950s at the corner of Causeway Boulevard and Veterans Memorial Boulevard. Cynthia’s father was Sheriff Harry Lee who proudly served and protected Jefferson Parish for over 28 years. Cynthia was educated at St. Angela Merici, Mount Carmel Academy, Loyola University and George Washington University. Cynthia has two teenage children, Gavin and Miranda who live with her in Metairie.

IMPORTANT LINKS

• For Jefferson Parish COVID-19 Updates, click here
• Click here for COVID-19 test sites
• For the COVID-19 Compliance Hotline, click here

Feel free to listen to the full interview below (or you can click here). You can also hear us anywhere you listen to your podcasts, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Stitcher. We would LOVE your feedback. Please send your thoughts, questions and show requests to Kelsey Scram at kscram@jedco.org.